Illinois Republicans Prepare To Pick Senate Candidate - ABC-7 Chicago

[WillyT]

<snip>

August 2, 2004 — Illinois republicans are on the brink of losing another favored candidate in the race for U.S. Senate. Frontrunner Elizabeth Gorman may be out as the party struggles to find a suitable candidate to take on Barack Obama. Illinois republicans plan to meet Tuesday to try to narrow the search.

Even though Gorman may not be in the race, there are still a couple of well-known names in the running. The latest big name being tossed into the political ring is Alan Keyes, a conservative African-American commentator and former presidential candidate who jumped into a mosh pit as a campaign stunt in Iowa four years ago.

And (Ya gotta love this guy)...

The longest of the long shots is internet commentator Andy Martin. He claims to be digging up enough dirt to knock democrat Barack Obama off his political pedestal if the party chooses him instead of the other hopefuls, including businessman Jim Oberweis, investment counselor John Cox, entrepreneur Chiranjeev Kathuria, Retired General John Borling, and former Bush administration official Andrea Barthwell.

"We're doing a massive investigation on Barack Obama and it is our sincere belief that he's a fraud. I'll tell the party leaders tomorrow if they want me to take him down I will. If they want to play political games and patronage appointments I'm not in that game," said Andy Martin, GOP Senate hopeful.

<snip>

Link: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/news/080204_ns_republicans.html

Do they really think they have a chance? I mean, why waste the resources this time around? Or are they just looking for a 'placeholder' in case something happens to Obama?

:shrug:

And... ALAN KEYES???

:puke:

[Az_lefty]

1. Who's left???

:spank:

[The Sushi Bandit]

2. Read this thread for the Repuke contender

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=65789&mesg_id=65789

[WillyT]

4. Thanks Sushi !!!

Are the National Repukes even helping, or have they left it to the Illinois pukes to figure out and finance???

:shrug:

[never cry wolf]

9. Check this out

As Obama toured the state, Republicans were preparing to announce an opponent for Obama. On Tuesday, the Illinois GOP is expected to select a replacement for investment banker Jack Ryan, who withdrew from the race.

Republicans have tried to dampen enthusiasm for Obama by launching a Web site called the "Obama Truth Squad" that contains critiques of Obama's left-leaning voting record and maintains that he is far too liberal for the average Illinois voter.

Obama's exhausting 30-county, 39-city trek through Illinois, which ends Wednesday evening with a birthday barbecue, had the feel of a coronation. And Obama conceded that he is trying to grow accustomed to his ascending national profile. At each stop, Obama was greeted by large, adoring audiences, crowds whose numbers sometimes surpassed the total number of primary votes he received in that particular county.

For example, in Henry County, Obama received a total of 248 primary votes, yet his audience easily doubled that. A rally of DeKalb County Democrats on Sunday morning drew close to 1,000 cheering fans. Supporters give him rock-star treatment, seeking autographs or reaching out a hand to touch him.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0408020123aug02,1,217011.story?coll=chi-newslocal-hed

as well as THIS crap (the nationally coordinated smear campaign begins):



Obama hit for vote on sex assault bill

Chicago, IL, Jul. 27 (UPI) -- Ill. state Sen. Barack Obama's vote against tougher sentences for sexual predators surfaced Tuesday prior to his keynote address to the Democratic convention.

In 1999 Obama cast the lone vote against a proposed Illinois law to deny early release on the grounds of "good behavior" for felons incarcerated for criminal sexual offenses, said a group identifying itself as the "Obama Truth Squad."

Known in Illinois as Senate Bill 485, it provided that a person in a county jail, "May not receive a good behavior allowance if he or she is convicted of criminal sexual assault in which the victim was under 18 years of age at the time of the offense" or was "a family member "or if he or she is convicted of criminal sexual abuse or aggravated criminal sexual abuse."

Obama voted against the measure, which became law on July 15, 1999, the group said, in a news release timed to coincide with Obama's speech to Boston delegates of the Democratic convention.

http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20040727-042315-7736r.htm

with best regards from the moonie times! the echo chamber begins, I hope Obama is up to it, my money is on him!

[WillyT]

10. My Money Is On Him Too !!!

Thanks for the info!!!

:hi:

[Judi Lynn]

12. Great article on Obama from the Tribune.

Wanted to post these photos which were advertised for sale there, too, although they concern John Kerry.





From the article:

Obama's wife, Michelle, said her husband's celebrity has provoked discussions in the campaign about the level of security surrounding him, something that aides are still studying. She said she worries for her husband's safety as these events become more raucous.

"You have to achieve a balance between looking out for his safety and not looking like he is afraid of the community he is serving," she said.

Obama's reception at each stop is a stark contrast to the days of the Senate primary, when the state senator from Hyde Park ventured outside of his political base in the Chicago region only to find a few dozen supporters, if that.

Accompanied by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and U.S. Rep. Lane Evans (D-Ill.) over the weekend, Obama said he wanted to thank Illinois voters for giving him the opportunity to be chosen as the Democrats' keynote speaker. He also clearly wanted to downplay any chatter that his new, national celebrity might go to his head, causing him to forget that his main mission will be to represent the interests of Illinoisans should he win the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Peter Fitzgerald.

He said he relied on his wife to keep his head from swelling beyond proportion, and joked that she ribbed him, saying his "jug ears" looked even larger on television during his keynote address.
(snip/...)

He'll NEED security with the kind of Republican lunatics we've got in this country.

[Tight_rope]

3. Try with all your might...but it's not going to work...Obama rules!

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

5. Pardon my ignorance, but who the hell

is Andy Martin? Never heard of him.

And as for Elizabeth Gorman, the Orland Park soccer mom, there's a real candidate to run against Barack Obama. What has she ever done politically except probably give a lot of money from her and her husband's bankrupt car dealership to the Goopers.

[freetobegay]

6. Well the only question is will it be

a wife beater? A drug addict? A sexual deviant? Curious minds want to know!

[Judi Lynn]

7. Maybe they won't be paying way too much attention to Andy, after all

Looks as if his reputation preceeds him. You have to realize, however, he's strange to people like us. To Freepers, he may seem the soul of propriety.

(snip)
A news story out of the New Times Broward-Palm Beach written July 31, 2003 said this of Martin:

Martin, of course, is mad. Quite mad. He's an enigma wrapped in a riddle who probably should be wrapped in a straitjacket. The would-be senator is one of the most prolific and compulsive lawsuit filers in the United States, a first-class shadow-dwelling fugitive from justice, and a perennial also-ran political candidate whose stance on the issues has changed about as often as Michael Jackson's proboscis.

Martin claims his English grandfather fought with T.E. Lawrence against the Turks before joining a British military intelligence unit and disappearing for good.

The Illinois Supreme Court, however, refused to admit him to the bar, pointing to a military psychiatric exam that allegedly found him to have personality defects that include delusions involving both paranoia and grandeur.

Through the years, he made the ballot for numerous local and federal races in Illinois, New York, and Connecticut. After following his mother down to Florida, he's been as busy as ever, running for governor twice, the state Senate, a couple of flings for the presidency, and three times for the U.S. Senate.

Martin never won a race, but he made some headlines. In 1994, he was found to have broken election laws when he accepted a $50,000 campaign loan from Mom. While Martin is cagey about his finances, I think that loan, plus a courtroom admission that Mom pays his rent and telephone bills, gives a clue about who finances his many far-flung ventures. When I asked him about his net worth, he said it's about zero.
(snip/...)

http://www.ilsenate.com/news.asp?ID=20

So he also has been thinking of running for the Senate from Florida.
Here's his material he put up for that eventuality:


http://www.andymartin.com/

[LTR]

11. Ooooooh! I want THAT guy!!!

Let's hope the GOP comes to their sentence and runs a real populist candidate like Andy Martin!

(/sarcasm)

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

13. JudiLyn, thanks for the links.

He sounds like he's certifiable. Just what the Illinois Goopers need or want right now.

I'm enjoying watching this charade go on for as long as it takes.

I'm surprised they havent' tried to woo Lee Daniel or Pate Phillip out of retirement yet.

[Beetwasher]

8. I'm Waiting W/ Baited Breath

This oughta be good...Who wants to be sacrificed?

I smell Senate control...