Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Illinois Republican reformer Andy Martin will not support McKenna and Sauerberg

NEWS FROM:
ANDY MARTIN
“He works for
the People of Illinois”
Republican for U. S. Senator
Suite 4406
30 E. Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611-4723
(312) 440-4124


ATTENTION: ASSIGNMENT/DAYBOOK EDITORS

ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEWS CONFERENCE – TODAY [WEDNESDAY]

U. S. SENATE CANDIDATE ANDY MARTIN WILL NOT SUPPORT SAUERBERG, VOWS TO CONTINUE BATTLE AGAINST MCKENNACRATS AND “COMBINE” CONTROL OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY

MARTIN WILL NOT ENGAGE IN A “PROFANE PROFESSION OF UNITY” FOR SAUERBERG, CALLS HIM A LIAR, EMBARRASSMENT AND COMBINE STOOGE

(CHICAGO)(February 6, 2008) Republican U. S. Senate candidate Andy Martin will hold a sidewalk news conference Wednesday, February 6th at 2:00 P.M. to announce that he is not going to support Steve Sauerberg for the U. S. Senate. Martin will continue his efforts to reform and rebuild the Republican Party and to free the party from the corrupt control of “McKennacrats” and the bi-partisan “Combine” that corrupts and controls Illinois politics.

“Two years ago,” Martin will state, “I appeared at a ‘unity breakfast’ and supported the winner of the primary, Judy Topinka. The 2006 primary was not perfect, but it was reasonably clean and fair.

“This time Andy McKenna thought he could get away with a crooked primary, and he was right. With unethical county chairmen in counties such as Tazewell and Peoria locking the door at party dinners to senate candidates, with corrupt ‘endorsements’ conducted in secret, and with a gross corruption of the democratic process, McKenna and his ‘Combine’ handlers and cronies were able to nominate a designated loser for Dick Durbin.

“I repeat what I said during the primary: Steve Sauerberg is a joke and an embarrassment to the Republican Party and to the People of Illinois. He wants to strip senior citizens of Medicare protection. He wants to strip victims of medical malpractice of their right to a jury trial. He lied, and lied and lied during the primary. He even lied in a Baptist church.

“Loyal Republicans called me on election day because of their frustration and exasperation at being unable to get a straight answer from Sauerberg on basic issues of human life. Sauerberg’s prevarications were also disclosed in a recent Chicago Tribune story. To paraphrase another ‘statesman’ of the Democratic Party, ‘What was Sauerberg thinking?’ That he could keep lying right into the general election?

“I had no answer for Mike Psak when he asked me why Republican leaders were intent on rigging the primary and denying him, a first-time candidate, a fair chance to run for office. What sin has Psak committed that he should be degraded and locked out of the primary process?

“If my life stands for anything, it stands for truth, for ethics and for constant battle against corruption of the public trust. I cannot lie to the People of Illinois and pretend the Republican Party is led by honest leaders, when it is not. I cannot pretend we held an honest and open primary, when we did not. I cannot pretend that a lackey and stooge of the McKennas, father and son, who was put forth by so-called Republican leaders as a designated loser to lie down and surrender to Dick Durbin, is a serious candidate, when he is not.

“Because my life has been about truth telling, integrity and honoring the public trust I am not able to forfeit those ethical precepts and my personal integrity to support what I know to be a crooked cabal that corrupted the Republican primary and continues to undermine the Republican Party.

“The Emperor Caligula made his horse proconsul of Rome, and the McKennas, father and son, Combinecrats all, made Steve Sauerberg a ‘candidate’ when manifestly he is not. Caligula’s machinations were a disaster for Rome, and I have no doubt that the disaster and demoralization of the Republican Party will continue under Andy McKenna and his Democrat partners.

“I will not stand by in silence and bless this corruption and perversion of the public trust with a profane profession of ‘unity’.”

NEWS CONFERENCE DETAILS:

WHO: U. S. Senate candidate Andy Martin

WHERE: Sidewalk news conference, SE corner of Huron and
Wabash (St. James Cathedral)(indoors at 30 E. Huron if
weather requires), Chicago

WHEN: Wednesday, February 6, 2008 2:00 P.M.

WHAT: Andy Martin will not support Sauerberg

MEDIA
CONTACT: (312) 440-4124; Cell (917) 664-9329

WEBSITE: http://www.AndyforUSSenator.com

E-MAIL: AndyforUSSenator@aol.com
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© Copyright by Andy Martin 2008. Martin holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law. See also AndyforUSSenator.blogspot.com; AndyforUSSenator.wordpress.com.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

The stealth candidate for U. S. Senator: Andy Martin; "My faith is my life"

NEWS FROM:
ANDY MARTIN
“He works for
the People of Illinois”
Republican for U. S. Senator
Suite 4406
30 E. Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611-4723
(312) 440-4124

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 4, 2008

THE STEALTH CANDIDATE: ANDY MARTIN

“MY FAITH IS MY LIFE – IT DEFINES ME”

REPUBLICANS MAY NOMINATE EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN FOR U. S. SENATE

MARTIN PROMISES TO BE A HUMBLE CANDIDATE DURING THE CAMPAIGN

(CHICAGO)(February 4, 2008) While many people were preparing to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday I attended the seating of the new Episcopal Bishop of Chicago. Watching the bishop be seated at St. James Cathedral was a very spiritual and deeply moving experience.

And it got me to thinking. Governor Mike Huckabee has been criticized for the remark that “My faith is my life. It defines me.” I feel comfortable making the same statement. Huckabee spent many years as a Baptist minister. I studied for ordination in the Episcopal Church. My own family has roots in the Anglican/Episcopal Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Greek Orthodox Church. As a child, I worshipped in all three denominations. As an adult I was drawn to my father’s faith in the Anglican (Episcopal) Communion.

Episcopalians are not usually thought of as an “evangelical” denomination. But in practice we are. We are out and about the world giving aid where help is desperately needed, responding to the admonitions of Jesus to tend to both the worldly and spiritual needs of humanity. I have volunteered in homeless shelters and soup kitchens.

Ultimately I decided not to pursue ordination; there was a surplus of priests in my diocese and it made no sense to add another priest when Christ needed people who could confront the principalities and powers in the secular world.

But if you step back for a moment and review my colorful life, a life that sometimes confuses, sometimes disrupts, sometimes distracts and occasionally even derails those who encounter me on the campaign trail, there is an evangelical element to my life’s work.

Beginning as a young law student in Champaign, I have fought against corruption for over forty years. I have exposed the arrogance and corruption of our court system, turning over the tables of those who used the courts to prey on the public. I have often forced judges to do the right thing (the persistent widow). And I have always made time to help the poor, helpless and abused. Civil rights and human rights are central to my life.

My inbox almost every day has messages from those seeking assistance with miscarriages of justice. I’m not perfect, but I do my best to help whenever I can. Even in the middle of a statewide campaign I try to make time to answer calls for help.

In this sense, I am something of a “stealth” candidate. If you were to ask most Republicans what comes to mind when they hear my name, “evangelical Christian” would not be at the top of anyone’s list. My faith is considerably quieter than that of candidates who are more vocal but perhaps not as active as I have been in addressing the need for public service in the world. Every Sunday my campaign stops for church.

As the many visiting guests entered in the Bishop’s procession today, religious leaders from many faiths and denominations, priests and rabbis, and perhaps leaders of other faiths, I thought of the great gift we have in this nation. Freedom to worship. Freedom to believe. Freedom to be different. And, yes, even freedom to disagree. Episcopalians face many challenges in our denomination. There are very heated battles over what faith means and what faith requires. There have even been lawsuits and unpleasant separations. Heaven knows that church politics can sometimes be as contentious as or more so than public politics.

Faith always raises challenges, within and without. It calls us to remember the poor, the ill, the homeless and helpless. It calls us to have the unborn in our minds every day. I wrestle with my belief structure of faith on the one hand and the conflicting needs of a society that is neutral on religion, and properly so, on the other.

Finally, Jesus always calls us to humility. There is, of course, an obvious conflict between being a chest-thumping candidate for public office and living a life of humility. The tension is constant. Christ is a relentless presence.

If there is one factor that characterizes much of Washington and the U. S. Senate today, it is a sense of arrogance and corruption, a sense of entitlement, a sense of contempt for the governed that is manifested every day.

During a campaign, candidates are always called on to make promises: promise this, promise that, declare your stand, and so on. I have not made many promises, purposefully so. But if I am called on February 5th to be the Republican Party’s candidate for United States Senator, I will make one special and spiritual commitment on February 6th. That one and only promise to Illinoisans during the fall campaign will be to proceed with humility. I will listen carefully to every point of view.

Faith will be central to my efforts to make America an ever better and even more munificent and magnificent nation in which to live and serve.

Then, as now, “my faith will be my life.” It will define me as I campaign, and it will define my service if the People call me to Washington. As I confront the cabals and querulousness of the senate I will ask the People of Illinois to pray for me. Whether they worship God, or do not worship at all, they can say a voluntary prayer or supplication for a successful period of public service on their behalf.

My own letterhead carries the line “He Works for the People of Illinois.” That phrase highlights the fact that public service is central to my life.

The new bishop reminded us Sunday that all of us who are Christians work for Christ. It was a humbling reminder, and one I will take with me on the campaign trail on February 6th. God willing.

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© Copyright by Andy Martin 2008. Martin holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law. Comments? E-mail: AndyforUSSenator@aol.com. Media contact: (312) 440-4124. Web site: http://www.AndyforUSSenator.com. Also: AndyforUSSenator.blogspot.com; AndyforUSSenator.wordpress.com.

U.S. Senate candidate Andy Martin’s opponent comes out of the closet: he’s a moderate

NEWS FROM:
ANDY MARTIN
“He works for
the People of Illinois”
Republican for U. S. Senator
Suite 4406
30 E. Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611-4723
(312) 440-4124

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 3, 2008

U. S. SENATE CANDIDATE ANDY MARTIN SAYS SAUERBERG HAS DUMPED THE REPUBLICAN PARTY ON THE EVE OF THE PRIMARY

SAUERBERG CONFESSES TO THE ULTRA-LIBERAL PUBLIC BROADCASTING SERVICE PROGRAM “NOW” THAT HE’S A “MODERATE,” NOT A CONSERVATIVE.

“SLIPPERY STEVE” IS AT IT AGAIN, SAYS MARTIN

(CHICAGO)(February 3, 2008) Republican U. S. Senate candidate Andy Martin says his opponent, Sauerberg, has abandoned the Republican Party for liberal PBS “moderate” values.

“The doctor who said he was going to bring ‘Illinois values’ to Washington, has ended up capitulating to ‘moderate’ values’ at PBS in Manhattan before any votes are cast on Tuesday,” Martin disclosed. “Sunday, February 3rd on the ultra-liberal NOW program on PBS had Sauerberg confessed he is a moderate, not a conservative.

“Nine months ago I called Sauerberg ‘Slippery Steve,’ because of his slipperiness on abortion, gun control and other conservative issues,” Martin said. See: http://www.andyforussenator.com/community/Home/tabid/36/mid/374/newsid374/3/Default.aspx

“Now Sauerberg has admitted he is not a conservative at all, but merely a Democrat ‘moderate’ running as the ‘Combine’ candidate in the Republican Primary. On the eve of the primary election, Slippery Steve has abandoned Republicans once again.

“Which supporters will he betray next? Second Amendment? Sauerberg should be required to wear a warning label before he appears at any future republican functions,” Martin chortled. “I am the only serious, viable Republican candidate in the primary.

“Sauerberg is not a Republican; he’s a McKennacrat Combine candidate who has been anointed to be the designated loser for Dick Durbin. Other than running for the senate, what has Sauerberg done over the prior 25 years to show he is a conservative Republican? Nothing.”

Sauerberg’s capitulation to liberal PBS ‘values’ can be seen on the web. http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/405/index.html
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© Copyright by Andy Martin 2008. Martin holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law. Comments? E-mail: AndyforUSSenator@aol.com. Media contact: (312) 440-4124. Web site: http://www.AndyforUSSenator.com. Also: AndyforUSSenator.blogspot.com; AndyforUSSenator.wordpress.com.

U.S. Senate candidate Andy Martin says ATM fees reflect "monopoly" pricing

NEWS FROM:
ANDY MARTIN
“He works for
the People of Illinois”
Republican for U. S. Senator
Suite 4406
30 E. Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611-4723
(312) 440-4124

ATTENTION: ASSIGNMENT/DAYBOOK EDITORS

ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEWS CONFERENCE - TODAY

REPUBLICAN U. S. SENATE CANDIDATE ANDY MARTIN SAYS ATM FEES, LATE CHARGES ARE “OUT OF CONTROL” AND NEED FEDERAL OVERSIGHT

“THERE IS NO ‘FREE MARKET’ IN BANK AND LATE FEES,” MARTIN CHARGES

(CHICAGO)(February 3, 2008) Republican U. S. Senate candidate Andy Martin will hold an informal sidewalk news conference Sunday, February 3rd at 3:00 P.M. to announce his belief that recent ATM fee increases reflect an increasing monopolization of consumer transaction networks. He says the fee increases require a careful look by Congress.

“It is unfortunate that although we proclaim a ‘free market’ economy, in reality there are few, if any, free markets in the area of electronic transactions,” Martin will state.

“One of the basic pillars of economics has been ‘economies of scale.’ That is, the bigger enterprises and organizations become, the lower the cost of providing services and falling market prices. That theory is obviously not working in the area of ATM fees. Mechanization and electronic transfer networks are leading to higher, not lower fees. Likewise, the increasing expansion of the old AT&T into the ‘new’ AT&T has brought with it higher fees and charges for services? The price of a computer keeps falling, and the price of a cash advance at an ATM keeps rising. What gives?

“I worked for and was inspired by U. S. Senator Paul Douglas, who wrote most of our basic consumer protection laws. Banks were powerful then. But today they have become even more powerful, and increasingly exert a stranglehold over Congress.

“Overdraw a checking account? They smack you with $39 fee. Make a late payment? More $29-39 fees. These charges bear no relationship to economic reality or the cost of providing the service. They are examples of monopoly pricing. The banking industry has become a predator seeking to prey on helpless consumers. There is no free market. Likewise, when SBC operated local phone service in Illinois, late fees were modest; today AT&T has jacked them up and up.

“Banks are so powerful they got senator Hillary Clinton—in a Kerryesque turn of phrase—to admit in a recent debate that she voted for a bankruptcy reform law she hoped would be defeated. Banks forced through a bankruptcy ‘reform’ law that was engineered to prey on the most helpless in our society, victims of uninsured and unexpected medical bills. Bankers have become ghouls, not the warm and fuzzy organizations featured in their ads.”

Martin founded the Illinois Consumer Counsel in 1970. He styles himself as a “pro-consumer conservative,” willing to explore help for average citizens where our free markets are not working. Banking is such an industry he says.

NEWS CONFERENCE DETAILS:

WHO: U. S. Senate candidate Andy Martin

WHERE: Sidewalk news conference, 30 E. Huron St. (Wabash St. entrance) Chicago


WHEN: Sunday, February 3, 2008 3:00 P.M.

WHAT: Andy Martin says ATM fees, late charges must
be reviewed and limited by Congress

MEDIA
CONTACT: (312) 440-4124; Cell (917) 664-9329

WEBSITE: http://www.AndyforUSSenator.com

E-MAIL: AndyforUSSenator@aol.com
------------------------------------------
© Copyright by Andy Martin 2008. Martin holds a B.S. in Economics and Juris Doctor degrees from the University of Illinois. See also AndyforUSSenator.blogspot.com; AndyforUSSenator.wordpress.com.

Friday, February 1, 2008

Chicago slugfest as U. S. Senate candidate Andy Martin accuses Chicago Tribune reporter of “unnatural obsession”

NEWS FROM:
ANDY MARTIN
“He works for
the People of Illinois”
Republican for U. S. Senator
Suite 4406
30 E. Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611-4723
(312) 440-4124

ATTENTION: ASSIGNMENT/DAYBOOK EDITORS

ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEWS CONFERENCE - TODAY

ANDY MARTIN WILL SUE THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE’S RICK PEARSON FOR YET ANOTHER ROUND OF PEARSON’S MCKENNA-COMBINE-CONTROLLED LIES AND DISTORTIONS

“COMBINE” REPORTER SLASHES AT MARTIN IN DESPERATE LAST-MINUTE ATTEMPT TO INFLUENCE FEBRUARY 5TH PRIMARY

PEARSON CONFERS THE “GOLD SEAL OF APPROVAL” ON ANDY MARTIN AS THE CANDIDATE THE CORRUPT ILLINOIS COMBINE FEARS MOST

MARTIN PROMISES TO WIN ON FEBRUARY 5TH AND REMOVE PEARSON, MCKENNA AND THE COMBINE FROM ANY FUTURE ROLE IN CONTROLLING ILLINOIS POLITICS

JUDGE STUART PALMER IS EXPOSED AS “YET ANOTHER CROOKED COOK COUNTY JUDGE”

(CHICAGO)(February 1, 2008) Republican U. S. Senate candidate Andy Martin will hold a sidewalk news conference Friday, February 1st at 1:00 P.M. to announce that he is going to sue the Chicago Tribune and Associated Press and their law firms for defamation. The Tribune has repeatedly, maliciously and deliberately allowed a reporter with a personality disorder involving Martin to stalk Martin.

“For many years, Rick Pearson of the Tribune has had a very unnatural obsession with me,” Martin will state. “It’s frightening. He is a form of stalker. Since 2003 Illinois journalists have been aware of Pearson’s personal ‘problems’ involving me. Pearson is afraid to approach me in person, so he sends junior reporters to do his dirty work, and then publishes the same old lies that he has been printing over and over again. It’s time to file another lawsuit against the Tribune. Indeed a crooked Cook County Judge, Stuart palmer, did dismiss an earlier case, but that decision only came after I moved to remove the judge from the case. The judge’s ruling is legally void.

“Judge Palmer is just another crooked, fixed Cook County judge who is manipulyed by the Sonnenschein law firm. I have helped send many crooked Cook County judges to federal prison after the Greylord prosecutions. And so I am indeed very unpopular in the judicial system. But the Chicago Tribune grossly deceives its readers by making claims out of context.

“The Illinois Supreme Court was very angry at me because as a law student I worked to successfully remove two judges on the court for taking bank stock bribes, in the Ray Klingbiel - Roy Solfisburg bank stock caper. The judges were forced off the court and the court promised to retaliate against me, and did. It was my ‘finest hour’ as a lawyer. Placed in context, the court retaliated against a young lawyer for being too honest, not for being dishonest. But, hey, an honest lawyer doesn’t stand a chance in the Illinois courts. Everyone knows that.

“Rick Pearson won’t tell his readers the truth about me, but I will tell the Internet the truth about him. The rumor on the street is Pearson takes money to slant his stories.

“I did not run for Congress in 1986, and Mr. Pearson is aware of that truth. I have testified under oath. But Pearson prefers to publish the same old lies, and in the past WGN-TV has also been used as a conduit for Pearson’s slime.

“Pearson is known as a stooge of the Billionaire McKenna family and the Republican Party, and he is a valet of the ‘Combine’ that corrupts and controls Chicago politics. The Combine fears me like no other candidate. If I am nominated, I will continue to campaign relentlessly against the Combine, and if I am elected I will destroy the Combine. That is why Pearson is publishing his last-minute slime.

“Pearson’s latest story was prompted by my radio advertising openly attacking the Combine for the first time in Illinois political history. The Combine is terrified of my campaign.

“When Andy McKenna pulled his dirty ‘endorsement’ maneuver in December, he did not tell any of the legitimate media; only Pearson was advised of McKenna’s scheme.

“Pearson does correctly quote me as stating I am very proud of the enemies I have made, because I have relentlessly and successfully exposed corruption and arrogance in our federal and state court systems. [See Andymartin.com for details.] And, frankly, judges don’t like to be exposed as crooked. Yes, they retaliate. Stuart Palmer is only the latest crooked judge who I will seek to have removed from the bench.

“As I have done in the past, I treated Mr. Mendell of the Tribune with complete fairness and openness, as witnesses can attest. Unfortunately, Mendell was apparently coerced into adding his name to an article with facts he knew to be false and misleading. Mr. Pearson has ruined yet another young journalist’s career as part of his obsession to attack me. I will take up the matter with Sam Zell.

“Thank you Rick Pearson. Every day you live a lie, masquerading as a reporter when you are really an errand boy for Andy McKenna I, II, III, Junior or whatever they call themselves, and the McKenna Fortune. The ‘Combine’ loves you, and I will file suit to expose you. But, ultimately, you have given me the Gold Seal of approval as the anti-Combine candidate. Thank you.

“In the meantime, I promise the People of Illinois that we will win on February 5th, and we will remove both McKenna and Pearson from their malignant positions,” Martin will state.

NEWS CONFERENCE DETAILS:

WHO: U. S. Senate candidate Andy Martin

WHERE: Sidewalk news conference, SE corner of Huron and
Wabash (St. James Cathedral)(indoors at 30 E. Huron if
Weather requires), Chicago


WHEN: Friday, February 1, 2008 1:00 P.M.

WHAT: Andy Martin will sue the Chicago Tribune,
Associated Press and their law firms for defamation

MEDIA
CONTACT: (312) 440-4124; Cell (917) 664-9329

WEBSITE: http://www.AndyforUSSenator.com

E-MAIL: AndyforUSSenator@aol.com
------------------------------------------
© Copyright by Andy Martin 2008. Martin holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law. See also AndyforUSSenator.blogspot.com; AndyforUSSenator.wordpress.com.