Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Keet: His Checkers speech? UPDATE
Posted by Max Brantley on Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 2:18 PM
Jim Keet, the Republican candidate for governor, held a news conference today and took questions for more than 30 minutes after a brief statement. It was sort of his Checkers speech. Neither he nor his wife had done wrong on several tax and ethics issues that have cropped up lately — erroneous homestead credits, failure to pay taxes on his personal airplane, failure to disclose ownership of the plane, an apparently improper vote in Florida in 2008. He took a number of questions, then declared the subject closed. The most serious concern his failure to pay taxes since 2005 on his airplane, registered in Nevada and rented to his campaign a la the Huckster of yore.
Some questions we'd posed beforehand for Keet and some of the answers that emerged:
1) Do you regret throwing your wife under the bus for blame on tax payment errors? (He said at the news conference she did no wrong and he hadn't intended to blame her, as news coverage has depicted.)
2) In the light of the number of errors revealed, how can you say you always pay taxes properly? (He said he wasn't perfect, but all mistakes have been corrected.)
3) Why did you stop assessing your airplane, in Arkansas or anywhere else, for personal property taxes? (He said no assessment was necessary in Florida when he moved there. The Nevada excuse he had once offered — where the company that owns the plane is based — is no longer operative apparently.)
4) Did you pay a sales and use tax when you purchased the airplane, in Arkansas or Nevada? Have a receipt? (At the news conference he said he did pay.)
5) Why did you register the plane in Nevada? ("It's easier to register corporations of all types and airplanes in the state of Nevada," Keet said. "At the time we didn't know where wer're going to be because of this assignment in Florida. We didn't know where we were going to be so we registered it in Nevada. It's just a much more business friendly state in terms of registration of corporations.")
6) Why didn't you disclose your ownership in the corporation that owns the plane on your Arkansas statement of financial interest? Isn't that required? (Keet's spokesman said in a later telephone conversation that the company did not meet the income threshold that would require disclosure on his statement of financial interest, but an amendment has been filed to the report. In fact, there are two minimum standards for reporting — income and value of ownership, which Keet's $135,000 plane exceeded.)
7) Did you violate Florida law by casting an absentee ballot in November 2008 when you moved to Arkansas in August before books had closed on registering in Arkansas? ( Keet's spokesman offered a one-word response to this question in a telephone conversation shortly after the press conference, "No." The Florida statute says a ballot may not be cast by someone who's moved to another state before that's state voter registration books have closed, as Keet did. Admittedly, voting officials aren't likely to be sticklers about it as long as Keet didn't also register and vote in Arkansas. (Under fellow Republican Tim Griffin's voter caging activities in Florida, however, Keet likely would have been caught and tossed off voter rolls. )
Keet's brief statement said questions about his taxes were diversions created by his opponent. He said the Beebe campaign hired an investigator to review his records. If he's made mistakes, they've been corrected. "Now it is time to move forward and focus on the things that are on Arkansans minds," said the statement.
PS — Keet, who appeared with his wife and defended her fervently, also wants a series of debates. Sounds a little like Blanche Lincoln, don't you think?
For those of you who missed, we unveiled a nifty little bit of new technology. We carried a big segment of Keet's news conference here live over an app on Gerard's Android phone. Worked like a charm. You can watch the recorded stream here.
More from Gerard:
Keet used today's press conference, not so much to clear up any remaining questions about his personal tax issues, but to say that each of those issues had been resolved and he was ready to talk about other things, which was to be expected. What was unexpected was Keet's charge that Gov. Beebe's campaign had hired a private investigator.
"I believe these matters have been a diversion fueled by my opponent, who spent $34,000 on a private investigator, from what is really important in this race," Keet said.
Keet said the expenditure was discovered by going through the governor's campaign finance reports. In response, Gov. Beebe's campaign had this to say by email.
"If Jim Keet wanted to avoid all of the questions with his taxes, he could have paid them in the first place, as Arkansans do. We do not employ any private investigators, but it would seem the records Jim Keet is referring to are all a matter of public record that anyone can look up, not just Sam Spade and Perry Mason."
Keet challenged Gov. Beebe to a series of four debates, one for each congressional district that he said should be televised. He also gave a laundry list of issues that he said Arkansans would rather hear about including immigration, "Obamacare," controlling government spending, ethics reform and education.
Comments (24)
Showing 1-24 of 24
I'm afraid I didn't know what a checkers speech was, and had to look it up:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkers_spee…
Jim Keet is NOT A CROOK! Heh-heh.
like
dislike
It would be nice if this paper focused on something other than peripheral issues that do not really have any direct bearing on the lives of Arkansans. Criticism of this sort makes it appear that the author lacks ammunition when it comes to legitimate issues. I wonder if the paper has so closely examined arguments of individuals who question President Obama's citizenship?
Unbiasednewslover - you think Jim Keet's failure to properly pay his taxes is a peripheral issue? I disagree. As Meredith Oakley stated in her column today, on each count, Keet blamed someone else - his wife, his accountant, his business manager, etc. If he is elected Governor should we expect him to pass the buck to those around him when things don't go right? Quite frankly its his blaming other people that concerns me more than his skirting tax law.
"I wonder if the paper has so closely examined arguments of individuals who question President Obama's citizenship?"
A. President Obama is not running for Gov. of Arkansas
and
B. People who think he is not an American citizen and have issues with the state of Hawaii are crazy. C.R.A.Z.Y. The kind of folks who think the moon landing was done on a sound stage.
Is he getting out of the race because of all the bad press on dodging taxes and illegally voting in Florida?
This is not a paper, this is a blog. Unlike the MSM, the arguments of individuals who question President Obama's citizenship have been thoroughly examined here. The opinions expressed here belong to their authors, again, unlike the MSM.
“In a false quarrel there is no true valour.”
William Shakespeare
Max, what are the consequences to the Republican Party of Arkanas if Keet drops out? What's that about losing their place on the ballot if they don't get x% vote in previous election? What am I remembering?
Their candidate for governor must obtain 3 percent of the vote for the party to automatically qualify for the ballot. I'm not expecting Keep to drop out, however.
"UPDATE: Keet's statement is a stonewall. He tries to say questions about his taxes were diversions created by his opponent. If he's made mistakes, they've been corrected. "Now it is time to move forward and focus on the things that are on Arkansans minds," said the statement."
I would like to say I am "shocked, shocked I say" to hear a Republican make a bullshit statement like this...but I'm not.
What a swarmy tact Keet takes. Of course this is material - most things in a politicians life are on the table as it goes to his make-up.
Can you imagine if Obama said"let's move forward..the nut job preacher at my church was then and this is now".
Who and what is this guy?
Were questions asked? Answers given? I hope someone had the decency to ask some of the point blank questions listed above...especially about the voting. The voting issue really has me intrigued.
Looks like somebody at Republican central needs to do better vetting.
I wonder if Keet lied to his own party inquisitors?
Hugh,
Perhaps Keet would have done better, if he and his speech writer knew what the "Checkers" speech was too!
Why were the American Flags upside down in the background? Is he sending a subtle message. Also isn't this the same guy calling for ethics reform standing next to Doyle Webb a few weeks ago?
"I'm trying to be too open and too honest.."
That has to be the most foolish statement any candidate has ever made or will ever make.
Political hoop jumping! To be believed a message has to be concise and....... his does not qualify.
from Hughman's link...how much I had forgotten all the drama surrounding Nixon's "Checkers" speech which earned him the nickname "Puppy dog Nixon." This excerpt is one I appreciated"
"Eisenhower expressed a reluctance to see Nixon leave the ticket, and felt that he should have a chance to make his case to the American people. Nixon enquired if the general would be able to make a decision on Nixon's fate immediately after the broadcast, and when Eisenhower equivocated, Senator Nixon angrily burst out: "General, there comes a time in matters like this when you've either got to shit or get off the pot."
Eisenhower's indecisiveness was legendary. Put Puppy Dog would on occasion never mince words. 60 million people watched the Checkers speech, almost unheard of today.
.
Well....no one is going to beat Beebe this year, so whatever Keet has done or not done doesn't really matter. If Keet's personal affairs are this haphazard, just imagine what his term in office would be like.
He's having fun being rich and damn the details. Rich folks can do that every day for a lifetime as long as they don't try to run for public office. Running for office is a bitch. Next thing he knows someone will be photographing his penis.
Let him stay in the race, get beat like a drum on election day and then he can spend the rest of his life impressing his golf buddies by saying he once ran for Governor. Or let him go get a good Republican cloth airplane and get back to us before November.
Keet indicates that Tax Questions a Diversion Fueled by Beebe
http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.as…
What an idiot...must be Huckleberry trained.
After watching the video, is that a total implosion from Keet? Or just, like, 95%? What a complete egotistical denial for him to think that he's now settled any of these issues and that everyone should just move on.
If anything, he managed to raise more questions and put his foot deeper in his own mouth.
This press conference will be remembered as the Keet for Governor death rattle.
Total implosion.
I'd say 100% implosion. All he did was prove that he'll do anything to avoid owning up to his problems. It's always someone else's fault even though he's been ducking taxes in multiple states and even casting an illegal vote a year after he left Florida.
Ka-boom. There goes the Keet campaign.
He pretty clearly did not break the law when voting in Florida. That's ignoring all the facts that have been presented, including right here on this blog. Freakin' idiots.
OTOH, this tax issue (and lack of responsibility) upset me terribly. I was going to vote for Keet, but I will leave that spot blank now.
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