The back story:

There was a Senator named Barack Obama who was elected as the current President of the United States.  The governor of Illinois was tasked with filling Obama’s seat and put in place a gentleman named Roland Burris.  The governor was busted for trying to sell the Senate seat, but Burris denied ever buying it.  Burris, too, was eventually brought down and the seat became available once more.

That was enough drama to last a lifetime, right?

NO!

A Republican named Andy Martin is running for the once again vacated seat.  In hopes of securing it, he is calling upon his Republican opponent Marshall Kirk, to answer for some “alleged homosexual activity.”

In a long and rambling press release full of errors, the Martin camp says:

ANNOUNCEMENT OF MONDAY NEWS CONFERENCE IN CHICAGO

Andy Martin launches “D-Day” in Illinois politics: “Disclose the facts, Disseminate the truth and Defeat—Mark Kirk”

Martin says Illinois Republican voters deserve the facts and the truth from Kirk about Kirk’s alleged homosexual activity

Martin is blanketing the state with broadcast ads repeating allegations against Kirk made by another senate candidate’s supporters

Martin is already producing a second round of ads exposing Kirk’s other sexual peccadilloes

Andy says both parties struggle with closeted gay public officials.

(CHICAGO)(December 28, 2009) Republican U. S. Senate candidate and insurgent “Internet Powerhouse” Andy Martin will hold a Chicago news conference Monday, December 28th to announce that he has begun a statewide campaign of advertising suggesting that Mark Kirk must address media rumors of his homosexuality.

“The Chairman of Illinois Democrats for John McCain has accused Mark Kirk of being a homosexual, and living with another homosexual man in Washington, DC. Kevin DuJan, who was recognized by National GOP Chairman Michael Steele in April, 2009 as a 2008 John McCain leader, has published a widely circulated article claiming that Democrats are planning to expose Kirk’s homosexuality to retain the U. S. Senate seat in November, 2010.

“These accusations demand a full explanation from Kirk himself. Kirk’s attempts to brush off his critics with a statement claiming they ‘demean’ him will not wash with Republican primary voters. It seems that everywhere Kirk goes, ‘rumors’ follow in his wake. That’s very unusual.

“Interestingly, all of the persons behind the current Kirk attacks appear to be motivated by support for another GOP candidate in the senate primary, not my campaign.

“Earlier, Lake County Republican leader Ray True accused Kirk of being a homosexual, and said he ‘knows Kirk pretty well.’ Former Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Roeser said there is a ‘solid rumor that Kirk is a homosexual.’ Both men support another GOP candidate, not my campaign.

“Let me be clear. Homosexuality is not the issue. Every person is entitled to privacy, and everyone is entitled to equal protection of the laws. But when someone such as Kirk steps into the public arena, and wants to be elected to one of the top 100 public offices in a nation, he owes Illinois voters a campaign in the open, not a ‘campaign in the closet.’ Who does he share a house with in Washington?

“Republicans have had a persistent homosexual problem over the years, most recently with Congressman Mark Kirk and Senator Larry Craig. But both parties struggle with closeted gay man as public officials, such as Wisconsin U. S. Senator Herb Kohl and Florida Governor Charlie Crist. We need to deal honestly with human behavior.

“In my six decade career of political reform and corruption fighting in Illinois, I have been dedicated to finding the facts and searching for the truth. It is now an objective fact that some Republican leaders are making accusations against Kirk. He has to answer them. He cannot be a credible candidate for the United States Senate while accusations of homosexuality, sham marriages and live-in ‘boy friends’ are swirling around him.

“Finally, while the Kirk—is-a-homosexual story line has been all across the Republican Party leadership, and on the Internet, Republican primary voters are being kept in the dark. That’s wrong. That’s hypocritical. Kirk is swamping the state with bogus ads touting his conservative credentials while concealing his convoluted personal lifestyle from the public. Illinois State Republican Chairman Pat Brady knows the truth: how can Brady be a leader and support a liar?

“All my broadcast advertising does is take the truth to the voters. Republican Party leaders are lying. Votes have a right to the facts and the truth.

“Ironically, the current attacks on Kirk do not come from my campaign; I have nothing to do with them. All of the attacks on Kirk originate with supporters of one of the other Republican senate candidates. That GOP ‘candidate’ has to accept or reject the actions of his campaign contributors who accuse Kirk of homosexuality.

“I should point out that while my current ad is based on the public accusations by others, we are preparing to air our own investigative exposé of Kirk’s involvement in additional sex scandals. The second batch of ads is now going into production.

“If we receive enough new campaign contributions we will move into TV as well. Money is the only constraint on our anti-Kirk advertising at this point.

“The Chicago Tribune editorial board once called me an ‘absolutely brilliant campaigner’ whose ‘public-relations skills are masterly.’ That’s why the Tribune locked me out of their ‘forum’ this month with Kirk. They were afraid I would embarrass Kirk, the Tribune’s rigged ‘Combine’ candidate. The Tribune does not deserve to survive as a newspaper; they have forfeited all of their journalistic integrity.

“I am the only candidate with over forty years of radio and TV experience. I am fighting a ‘David and Goliath’ battle against Kirk. But if Kirk wins, Obama wins; if Kirk wins, America loses. I must not fail.

“I can say without fear of contradiction that January, 2010 is going to be a ‘month to remember’ in Illinois politics. The political decade is going to start with a bang. We are taking the truth to Illinois voters; it may be uncomfortable for some.

“But if a candidate hasn’t got the guts to stand up and tell voters the facts and the truth about his primary opponent, how is he going to stand up to Barack Obama and stop the socialist revolution?” Martin says. “I am ‘the name you can trust’ for U. S. Senator because I tell voters the truth. All of the references for the claims in my advertising follow these remarks (see below).

“I expect to win the Republican primary, and go on to sweep away the Democratic candidate. One year from now, I will be Illinois’ own senator, and America’s senator, as I lead the battle to stop Barrack Obama and his anti-American agenda from destroying this great nation.”

[editor: The release goes on to provide some URL's that are supposed to call Kirk's sexuality into question.  We, however, are not going to publish those links because a political candidate's sexuality should not matter.]

This Andy Martin guy reminds me of another Senator from days past: Joseph McCarthy.  While Mr. Martin felt the need to publish URL’s to back up his accusations, his own press release discloses enough information to declare him to be just like Joseph McCarthy.

Simply put, Andy Martin is a disgrace to U.S. politics.

This opinion piece was written by a guest contributor to Gay Vantage.  Please contact us if you wish to contribute your own opinions for publication!  -Editor

(Photo: andyforussenator.com)

Tags: Andy Martin, Congress, Illinois