Life & Mortality Quote by Alan Keyes

The line is built like a ultimatum disguised as reassurance: “I don’t think that has to be our choice…” opens the door to compromise, then slams it shut with a moral deadline. Alan Keyes isn’t bargaining over strategy; he’s policing identity. By framing the party’s future as a matter of “principle,” he shifts the argument away from policy outcomes, coalition math, or electability and into the realm of purity and belonging. If you disagree, you’re not just wrong - you’re disloyal to the party’s origin story.

Keyes’ intent is to harden the stakes. “Born in principle” is genealogical language, implying the party has an essence, not just a platform. That move turns internal debate into heresy. The subtext is a warning to party leaders and moderates: triangulation may win a news cycle, but it forfeits the party’s soul. “Decision of principle” also performs a clever bit of rhetorical bookkeeping - it suggests the party has already decided what’s right, and the only remaining question is whether it has the courage to obey itself.

Context matters: Keyes emerged as a combative conservative voice in an era when Republicans were arguing over whether to broaden the tent or enforce ideological discipline, especially on social issues. The quote functions as movement rhetoric inside a major party, leveraging fear of extinction to demand conformity. It’s less a prediction than a threat: abandon the base’s moral commitments, and you don’t deserve the brand.