Keyes: tax exemption for slave descendents

WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Illinois' Republican Senate hopeful Alan Keyes has called for all U.S. descendents of African slaves to be exempt from federal taxes.

The conservative former U.S. ambassador, talk show host, and, until recently, a resident of the state of Maryland, told reporters Monday that one way to repay the debt of slavery would be for living descendents of slaves to receive an exemption for one or two generations to compensate them for the exploitation of their ancestors.

Keyes was recruited by Illinois Republican Party leaders as a long-shot hopeful to take on popular Democratic Senate candidate Barack Obama after Republican candidate Jack Ryan left the race.