On Dec. 2, Alan Keyes spoke at a conference of the Constitution Party in Concord, New Hampshire.

In his address, Dr. Keyes discussed the impending demise of the Republican Party and the need for the Constitution Party to be "ready" to create a "new possiblity . . . for America." He also focused on the "decisive crisis [in America] for the future of our republic."

Said Keyes,

"The republic is not in danger of collapse, but has already begun to collapse. And what we shall decide in the course of the next couple of years is whether or not that collapse shall move along to an irretrievable conclusion. I believe that this is going to result in a great crisis of our nation and of our political institutions."

Part of that crisis, Keyes said, involves our country's willingness to adopt a false notion of separation of religion and state. He reminded his audience that "if you assail the right of the people to honor God, then you assail the first principle of their self-government,"

In the full transcript, it is worth noting that Keyes went on at some length about his view of church state separation, offered here in its full context.  (If you want to skip over this quote, there is more campaign related stuff afterwards.)

We have witnessed a wholesale campaign in the course of the last several decades to drive God out of every aspect of American public and political life. Some see in this some service to a regime of "toleration" for different religious views, but we all know that what has in fact resulted is a regime of the utmost intolerance for that religious view that acknowledges the supreme authority of the Creator, God.

But if we deny the authority of the Creator, God, then we deny the first principle of this nation's existence. For, if God has no authority, then it matters not whether or not He endowed us with rights--and no authority, therefore, exists to support the claim of the people to govern themselves.

It's interesting, because we talk about issues like this--for instance, of the separation of church and state and all that--as if the only thing that's involved is whether someone's going to worship here or hear somebody else praying or see the Ten Commandments displayed somewhere. No. If you assail the right of the people to honor God, then you assail the first principle of their self-government, which is that we are endowed by our Creator with unalienable rights leading to the consequence that the only form of government that is legitimate is a form of government that respects those God-given rights. No God, no republic. No God, no representation. No God, no due process. No God, no sanctity of individual rights, liberty, and life.

The denial of God is an assault not only upon the people's conscience, but upon their claim to have from God the right to govern themselves through representative institutions.

The triumph of this false doctrine of separation, therefore, portends not only the persecution of our faith, but the destruction of our liberty. This is what happens when you back away from the moral premises of your way of life. And it is but one symptom of this nation's loss of that moral sovereignty without which the people cannot sustain their right to govern themselves."

To Keyes, the constitutional doctrine of separation of church and state gets in the way of his view that particular notions of "the authority of God" should prevail, and without them all is lost. This is a presumption underlying much of domininionism and its most visible expression, Christian nationalism. It includes a notion of "higher law," that would require judges to overrule the nation's laws in light of their religious views, or  governors of states to defy judicial decisions that in their view are inconsistent with their understandings of either higher law, or the state constitution.  In this regard, he denounces both former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush for his role in the Terri Schiavo case; and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney for failing to defy the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial court over its ruling on marriage equality.  

Keyes concluded his speech by strongly suggesting that GOP front-runners Sen. John McCain, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, and Romney were all unacceptable to Christian conservatives -- and that the nomination of any of them would be a "betrayal:"

Because I know for sure that if they nominate some pro-abort at any place on the ticket, I will leave the Republican Party. I have said this before, and I will do it. But I think that it's really important that neither I nor others leave the party alone. We must take with us all those we can rouse so that a new possibility is created for America.

But that means, y'all, that this moment of crisis for the country, crisis for the Republican Party is a moment of opportunity and challenge for you. For, in many respects, in your principles, in your platform, in your courage--in the courage that you have shown as individuals, you represent the very thing America needs most. Are you ready for this challenge? That's the question, and it's not an easy one to answer.

Indeed. The Constitution Party has recently lost state party affiliates in several states, including New York and Ohio.  But in the past several presidential contests, the party has managed to be on the ballot in over thirty states, although faring very poorly in numbers of actual votes. One of the obstacles the party has faced is that it has not had a candidate with any national star power. In the past, Keyes, Pat Buchanan, then-U.S. Senator Bob Smith (R-NH), and former Alabama Supreme Court judge Roy Moore have been courted -- with no luck for the CP. But the grumblings among the conservative factions of the GOP suggest rifts every which way, and certainly predate the 2006 election debacle.

Now if Senator Obama gets the Democratic nomination, he probably won't have to worry about losing to, or even debating Alan Keyes. But as Keyes noted, the real question is whether the GOP will face any significant defections to the Constitution Party. Keyes says he would consider it, but he wouldn't do it alone.

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