Gadfly IL Candidate Spreads Kirk Rumors
By Reid Wilson
Frequent candidate Andy Martin (R) has launched a statewide radio ad in IL accusing GOP frontrunner/Rep. Mark Kirk (R) of being gay.
Martin, who has run for pres. twice, is best known for spreading incendiary rumors about public figures. He has filed lawsuits challenging Pres. Obama's citizenship status, run ads accusing then-candidate George W. Bush of drug use and used anti-Semitic slurs about a judge.
Now, he has purchased time on IL radio stations to take after his primary rival, sparking outrage among IL GOPers.
"Today, I am fighting for the facts about Mark Kirk. Illinois Republican leader Jack Roeser says there is a solid rumor that Kirk is a homosexual. Roeser suggests that Kirk is a member of a Republican Party homosexual club," Martin says in the ad.
The ad first ran on KMOX, a CBS affiliate in St. Louis that reaches much of downstate IL. KMOX posted a story (which features audio from the ad) in which the station makes clear they are required to give legally qualified federal candidates airtime without censorship.
Kirk is serving on active duty in his role as a Naval Reseve intelligence officer, and so cannot comment on politics. But campaign manager Eric Elk issued a statement on behalf of the campaign.
"The ad is not true and is demeaning to the political process. The people of Illinois deserve better."
The IL GOP quickly issued a statement slamming Martin and disavowing him as a candidate.
"The Illinois Republican Party disavows the statements made today by Mr. Andrew Martin in his statewide radio advertisements. His statements today are consistent with his history of bizarre behavior and often times hate-filled speech which has no place in the Illinois Republican Party. Mr. Martin will no longer be recognized as a legitimate Republican Candidate by the Illinois Republican Party," party chairman Pat Brady said in a statement.
Another GOP leader quoted in Martin's ad, Lake Co. GOPer Raymond True, denied making the statements Martin attributes to him.
Martin is no stranger to controversy. He formed a campaign committee in '86 with an anti-Semitic name. He traveled to Iraq several times, he says, to capture Saddam Hussein. And he files frequent lawsuits, many of which have been thrown out as frivolous.
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Have you looked into who is paying for these advertisements? This guy has a long history of taking money from the opposition to further their plans.
Who cares if he's gay? As a Republican voter, I care more about my freedoms, which are being eroded daily in Washington, than what he is free to do with another consenting adult on his own time.
The real scandal is that he *has* bent over for the Brady bunch by not taking a strong Second Amendment position, not bending over for some boyfriend, real or imagined.
If he won't make that stand, then get out of the way for someone who will.
The venerable Mr. Martin was more tolerable to the GOP during the Presidential race, for which he was reliably able to provide a steady and plausibly deniable Obama is a Secret Muslim rumor-bites.
Now provided some stage, and brought into the house, his inanity hits the strategically wrong targets. Oh well.
I think this will continue through 2010 and 2012 during which True Believers will cull the GOP of electable humans.
The Tea Party will Eat the GOP
Hate gets GOP votes. If it didn't ads like this would not exist. Let's not forget the 2 men kissing billboards that said "want more of this - vote Kerry". This guy knows the GOP primary voter and he's going after them. At least he doesn't try to disguise his views like many in the GOP - trying to obscure the hate with pictures of family and using keywords like "family values" or "values voter". He comes right out and says what his voters think. Good for him.
ps: this comment from Kevin, "Who cares if he's gay? As a Republican voter, I care more about my freedoms" Now - does Kevin mean the "freedom" to tell a woman what she can / cannot do with her body, or the freedom to tell others who they can / cannot marry? Laughable at best.
Slime: it's the very essence of the GOP.
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