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The FrontPage editorial repeats speculation I've heard in other corners: Although Alan Keyes has no chance of winning the Republican presidential nomination, he could be the Constitution Party's 2008 candidate. There are several reasons, aside from the sore loser laws that will effect him now that he is running as a Republican, that even the Constitution Party nomination will be a tough sell.

First, Keyes supports the Iraq war (albeit with caveats about democracy promotion and whether Iraq was the right target in 2003). The Constitution Party's leaders mostly oppose it. Second, Keyes has in the past favored increased legal immigration levels. The Constitution Party's platform calls for a moratorium on legal immigration. Third, many of the people who have joined the Constitution Party over the past decade were former Buchanan Republicans. During the 1996 presidential campaign, many Buchanan supporters considered Keyes an anti-Buchanan stalking horse; Keyes probably cost Buchanan the Iowa caucuses. Finally, Keyes has reportedly spurned past entreaties to join the party because of some members' fondness for Civil War revisionism.

None of this makes a Keyes third-party bid impossible. He has the ego; the Constitution Party is desperate for a nominee with higher name recognition than Michael Peroutka. But even in that small third party, Keyes would face some opposition.

topics:
Constitution, Law, Iraq, Immigration