After Iowa Boost, Keyes Presses On

By ELIZABETH MEHREN and MASSIE RITSCH

Jan. 31, 2000 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITERS

HUDSON, N.H. — Maybe it was the mosh pit that loosened up Alan Keyes. Perhaps it was his aggressive performance in last week’s Republican debate. Certainly his surprise third-place showing in Iowa was a factor in the confidence the onetime diplomat and talk show host has displayed as he pursued his sometimes quirky campaign in New Hampshire over the weekend.

At Pete’s Gun and Tackle in Hudson, Keyes was clearly in his element. He stood on a stool to defend the rights of gun owners before a crowd of worshipful supporters. And, in a sign of the surprise interest in his candidacy, the backers were outnumbered by reporters and camera crews.

It was Keyes’ finish in Iowa, where he won 14% of the caucus vote, that has drawn the press to his campaign. “I haven’t changed,” he told the crowd at the gun shop. “I haven’t even improved that much.”

Keyes again hopes to exceed expectations in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary. Polls put him in fourth, roughly 8 to 10 percentage points behind Steve Forbes. Though it appears unlikely that Keyes can completely close that gap, the closer he comes, the more he can justify his continued crusade for what he contends is the true conservative cause.

Keyes faces a formidable challenge. His campaign force is small--just 10 paid staff members in New Hampshire, a meager entourage by contemporary standards. But the 49-year-old candidate appears undaunted.

His mission, he insists, is “to effectively articulate the moral issues of this country.” Without him, he maintains, “that is what the Republicans will lose on. We’ve got to articulate that challenge. In terms of moral stewardship, there’s no question that the Democrats should lose the White House.”

Keyes’ decision to take his agenda to the Hudson gun shop and, on Saturday, a secondhand clothes store in Franklin, N.H., represented a departure from a campaign that has focused largely on talk show appearances and more formal speaking engagements. But regardless of his venue, his unyielding opposition to abortion is a favorite target.

Facing a group of fifth-graders in Bedford, N.H., on Thursday, Keyes asked the students, “Now tell me something, if I were to lose my mind right now and pick one of you up and bash your head against the floor and kill you, would that be right?” When the students said no, Keyes said abortion is no different.

Discussing abortion Sunday on CNN’s “Late Edition,” Keyes said he did not think he could support John McCain if he were the GOP nominee because of McCain’s recent statement--later modified--that he would let his daughter decide whether to have an abortion if she got pregnant.

“It is the classic pro-choice position,” Keyes said. “If that in fact reflects John McCain’s heart, he’s not pro-life. He’s pro-choice.”

Similarly, Keyes raised questions about rival Steve Forbes’ credentials on the issue, even though the wealthy publisher has stressed his antiabortion stance throughout the current campaign.

“He came from a very strongly pro-abortion position,” Keyes said. “He has obviously changed his stated position on this issue. I have never heard an account of that conversion I find compelling. . . . We’re not looking for someone to just take a stand.”

Keyes’ supporters may remain small in numbers, but their commitment tends to be intense. The opportunity to see Keyes in action, for instance, lured boat builder John Prop down to Franklin from his home in Bowdoinham, Maine. Prop said he has followed Keyes on C-SPAN and elsewhere.

“Usually, whatever he said, he had a message for me,” Prop said. “His ethics, his morality.”

Asked, since he seemed especially cheerful, if he was feeling optimistic, Keyes gave a broad smile.

“I always feel hopeful,” he said. “God’s in his heaven.”