Wednesday, March 30, 2016

GOP Presidential Candidate and Contrarian Commentary columnist Andy Martin says that a criminal charge against Corey Lewandowski is really an attack on Donald Trump’s supporters

GOP presidential candidate and “Contrarian Commentary” columnist Andy Martin says that the criminal accusations against Donald Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski are a joke. In reality, the Democratic Party establishment is trying to “feminize” the presidential election process to benefit Hillary Clinton. Andy’s explosive allegations follow below.

News from:
ANDY MARTIN /2016        
Republican candidate for
President of the United States       

“Make America Great Again”
                    www.AndyMartinforPresident.com
www.AndyMartin.com
www.FirstRespondersOnline.us
National headquarters:
P.  O. Box 1851
New York, NY 10150-1851
New Hampshire Headquarters:
P.O. Box 742
Manchester, NH 03105
Tel. (866) 706-2639; Cell (917) 664-9329
Fax (866) 214-3210
E-mail:
Andy@AndyMartinforPresident.com
Blogs:
www.AndyforPresident.blogspot.com
www.AndyforPresident.wordpress.com


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

GOP presidential candidate and “Contrarian Commentary” columnist Andy Martin is outraged by the abuse of the criminal justice process in Florida

Andy says Michelle Fields’ criminal claims against Corey Lewandowski are a joke

Andy says Palm Beach County’s closeted homosexual prosecutor may come under back door political pressure to harass Donald Trump and Corey Lewandowski

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(Palm Beach, FL) (March 30, 2016) 

Dear American:

This is my nineteenth letter to the American people from the 2016 campaign trail (# 14 is still in progress, coming in hours; promises, promises).

Due to a fluke in scheduling I will not be returning to New Hampshire for several days. So I have had a front row seat observing the flapdoodle between former journalist Michelle Fields and Donald Trump’s campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.

Let me start with a few disclaimers. No one has asked me to write this letter. I do not know Corey Lewandowski or anyone in the Trump campaign. Corey and I are both Granite Staters, so you might perceive a little parochial bias in my coming to the defense of a fellow New Hampshireite. I am neither supporting nor opposing Trump; in fact, I wrote a rather critical letter yesterday about Trump’s campaign. So I am not in anyone’s back pocket. Ask anyone in New Hampshire who knows me. I am a straight-arrow, stand-up conservative. What you see is what you get.

When I saw the original stories yesterday about the charge against Lewandowski I wasn’t planning to write anything. Then I saw the front-page story in the New York Times today (March 30). Few of you read the Times. I know. But the newspaper is highly influential in setting the national media agenda. And that is where I come on stage.

There are three reasons why the absurd criminal accusation against Lewandowski and the brouhaha surrounding the “crime” are critical for Republicans. First, while the Trump campaign has been mesmerized by the supposed $2 billion of “free media” he has received, in recent months that “free” coverage has turned totally toxic against Trump. I’m not sure whether Trump realizes this. His campaign staff is largely inexperienced in media matters. Sometimes in the day-to-day rush the larger picture gets lost.

Second, the Lewandowski “crime” is part of a larger plan by the Clinton campaign and liberal media to “feminize” the presidential election and campaign politics. Finally, the criminal charge is profoundly sexist and is anti-woman, not pro-female.

Let’s start by looking at the Times’ characterization and reporting on the alleged “crime.” (Please see link below for the Times story.)

The Times says that “for much of the past year” Trump has lied. What does that have to do with a 4-second incident? The Times suggests Trump and Lewandowski initially lied. It is far more likely that the 4-second incident passed so quickly that neither Trump nor Lewandowski paid any attention to the matter. The “victim” first reported the crime three days later.

This “crime” is somewhat unique in that Donald Trump himself provided an exculpatory videotape of the incident and thus we can all sit as jurors in the case of “Media vs. Corey Lewandowski.”

The Times report claims Trump is “menacing,” a profoundly sexist adjective. Menacing to whom? People who intentionally seek to disrupt his lawful rallies and deprive him of his constitutional right to speak? A left-wing wacko, Nita Chaudhary, is quoted as accusing Trump of “perpetuating violence against women.” The Times said the victim’s accusations were a “self-inflicted wound” against Trump. Huh?

Of course, oleaginous former Canadian citizen Raphael “Ted” Cruz managed to be heard outside the Times article with his trademark negativity. Cruz said he would fire his own campaign manager for similar behavior. Cruz’ spokesperson accused Trump of condoning “physical attacks.”

In the crowning indignity of illogic and immaturity, Hillary Clinton, herself a victim of terrible spousal abuse, accused Trump of “inciting violent behavior” and claimed the alleged victim had been “physically manhandled” by Lewandowski.

How’s all of that for impartial reporting on a 4-second shuffle?

Now to a discussion of the reality of what the biased Times reporting reflects.

First, the Times is an elitist institution. They care not one whit for the “masses” that are supporting Trump because Americans have been victimized by the New York-Washington establishment. Initially Trump was viewed as summer entertainment whose role would fade after Labor Day. The coverage was hostile at times, but largely neutral. Megyn Kelly tried to slime Trump with a series of grossly biased questions in an August debate but Trump brushed back her lack of professionalism. Kelly fancies herself a “journalist” but she is really just a very highly paid entertainer (nothing wrong with that, but be honest). Kelly’s ego is just as inflated as Trump’s.

Since actual voting began in February, however, and actual voters have started actually voting for Trump, the tone of the national media coverage has turned completely negative against Trump. No more summer soufflé.

Unfortunately, Trump has been unwilling to spend the mega-cash necessary to counteract the biased reporting with positive advertising. But make no mistake: the real target of the Times and other elitist, globalist institutions is not Trump; it is his supporters, the angry and aroused American people. The Times wants to stamp out opposition to trade deals, and protect the enrichment of the political class which has taken place at the expense of impoverishing ordinary Americans.

Second, Hillary Clinton, the Times and the increasingly feminized national media are trying to “feminize” American politics. Ironically, the best example of this feminization agenda is not Lewandowski but Bernie Sanders. Clinton is now saying she will not debate Sanders because he is too “negative.” Negative? Sanders is the biggest powder puff candidate in American history. He refuses to attack Clinton on her lifetime of lies, on her use of a secret email server to violate the federal Freedom of Information Act and many other Clinton abuses. But as fey as Sanders has been, he is being attacked as too aggressive, too negative. Too “male.”

I wonder what kind of a campaign Clinton and her liberal media claque have in stock if she runs against Trump. Lewandowski’s “crime” is the overture.

Both politics and media have always been somewhat rough-and-tumble. Compared to what it was in the 1950’s and 1960’s, politics today is pretty staid. But feminists seek a sexual edge in election campaigns by seeking to demonize “men” as “men,” because of the statistic that more women vote today than men. (How about it boys? Time to get off your asses, stop watching sports on TV and get out and vote.) Occasionally a boorish man does cross the line but in reality the “battle of the sexes” in politics today is pretty tame. So Clinton is trying to agitate her perceived female “base” (most of which is migrating to Sanders) by seeking to stoke sexual confrontations such as the Lewandowski/Fields manufactured “crime.”

Finally, why is the Lewandowski/Fields situation profoundly anti-woman instead of being uber-feminist? Because the liberal media seek to use Fields, in all of her naiveté, to portray women as weak, vulnerable and sensitive.

There is only one word for what Trump and Lewandowski did: brusque. They had finished a long news conference and they were quickly walking out of the room. Ms. Fields was not willing to accept “no,” and was badgering Trump. Indeed, the videotape shows that Fields herself may have committed a “battery” against Trump, since her touching of him was clearly unwanted.

I grew up in a household headed by a woman. I know all about discrimination against women in the workplace. If every time a woman appears at your side you are at risk of being accused of a crime, men will keep women at a distance, deny interview opportunities and marginalize them. Who wants to talk with a reporter that may then claim to be a potential criminal “victim?”

There is a long history of reporters and candidates/officials jostling each other for after-the-fact questioning and for positioning in the “gaggle.” Florida has now tried to criminalize a media gaggle, and sought to portray brusqueness as criminality. Does that “criminalization” of brushing-by-a-woman really benefit female reporters? I don’t think so.

The essential element in any criminal accusation is the “mens rea,” or intent to commit a crime. Can any sane person, any reasonable adult fairly claim that Lewandowski had a criminal intent in brushing by Michelle Fields? I don’t think so. Fields is being used by the liberal national media and she is destroying her own career in the process.

Would any similarly situated man complain he was the victim of a crime for what is shown on the videotape? Not on your life. A man would be ashamed and humiliated to inflate what happened to Ms. Fields into a crime.

To add yet another layer of Palm Beach/Florida entertainment and frivolity to the crime, the local State’s Attorney is a politically ambitious, closeted gay male who recently engaged in a sham “marriage” to enhance his career aspirations. While I am a strong supporter of LGBT aspirations, I am still suspicious of closeted officials since they are subject to surreptitious blackmail and pressure. State’s Attorney David Aronberg can put an end to this travesty of justice by immediately dismissing the bogus charges, and not waiting until a scheduled May court appearance for Mr. Lewandowski to do so.

I don’t know how this “crime” is going to end for Lewandowski, but the bogus “crime” is going to hurt Fields’ job prospects and it may focus unwanted attention on the gay man that has to make the ultimate prosecutorial decision.

The real criminals in this 2016 election are the liberal media and greedy politicians that have looted this nation and undermined our national security. Ordinary people are still suffering, as the rich get richer and richer. The media aim to undermine Trump to destroy the potential power of his supporters. Lewandowski’s “crime” is nothing more than abuse of the judicial process by the liberal elites of the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton.

Do the right thing State Attorney David Aronberg: put an end to this joke of a prosecution. TODAY.

Sincerely yours,

Andy

-----

LINKS TO THIS STORY (cut and paste the entire link below and not just the underlined portion):

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/30/us/politics/trump-campaign-manager-corey-lewandowski.html?

ANDY MARTIN - A BRIEF BIO:

Andy Martin is a legendary New Hampshire, New York and Chicago-based muckraker, author, Internet columnist, talk television pioneer, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. With forty-eight years of background in radio and television and with five decades of investigative and analytical experience in Washington, the USA and around the world, Andy provides insight on politics, foreign policy, intelligence and military matters. For a full bio, go to: www.AndyMartin.com; also see www.BoycottABC.com/executive_director.htm

Andy has also been a leading corruption fighter in American politics and courts for over forty-five years and is executive director of the National Anti-Corruption Policy Institute. See also www.FirstRespondersOnline.us; www.AmericaisReadyforReform.com.

He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York (LaGuardia CC, Bronx CC).

He is the author of “Obama: The Man Behind The Mask” [www.OrangeStatePress.com] and produced the Internet film “Obama: The Hawaii’ Years” [www.BoycottHawaii.com]. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of the “Internet Powerhouse,” blogging at www.contrariancommentary.wordpress.com and www.ContrarianCommentary.com.

Andy’s family immigrated to Manchester, New Hampshire 100 years ago; today his home overlooks the Merrimack River and he lives around the corner from where he played as a small boy. He is New Hampshire’s leading corruption fighter and Republican Party reformer.

UPDATES:

www.twitter.com/AndyMartinUSA
www.Facebook.com/AndyMartin

Andy’s columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com ContrarianCommentary.wordpress.com

[NOTE: We try to correct any typographical errors in our stories; find the latest version on our blogs.]

----------

© Copyright by Andy Martin 2016 – All Rights Reserved

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

GOP Presidential Candidate and Contrarian Commentary columnist Andy Martin says that by starving his campaign of money, Donald Trump may be “nickel and diming himself out of the White House”

GOP presidential candidate and “Contrarian Commentary” columnist Andy Martin analyzes Donald Trump’s campaign spending and says it is an embarrassment. Trump brags about not spending money, while Ted Cruz is devoting resources to building a first class campaign operation. In reality, Trump is starving his campaign of the resources necessary to fight a winning effort. Trump has managed to stumble by with his personal appearances, but his lead is shrinking and the days when Trump’s personal approach could substitute for a real campaign may be ending.

News from:
ANDY MARTIN /2016        
Republican candidate for
President of the United States       

“Make America Great Again”
                    www.AndyMartinforPresident.com
www.AndyMartin.com
www.FirstRespondersOnline.us
National headquarters:
P.  O. Box 1851
New York, NY 10150-1851
New Hampshire Headquarters:
P.O. Box 742
Manchester, NH 03105
Tel. (866) 706-2639; Cell (917) 664-9329
Fax (866) 214-3210
E-mail:
Andy@AndyMartinforPresident.com
Blogs:
www.AndyforPresident.blogspot.com
www.AndyforPresident.wordpress.com


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

GOP presidential candidate and “Contrarian Commentary” columnist Andy Martin says “Donald Trump is trying to run a campaign on the cheap, and it shows”

Andy says Trump is ignoring the results of the 2008 and 2012 elections, when Barack Obama pioneered new techniques in national campaigning

Andy says Trump’s “campaign jalopy” may be about to lose its wheels

Andy says Trump is fooling himself if he thinks his current efforts are going to be sufficient to win the nomination and the November election

Andy’s “indictment” of Trump’s under-funded, “Potemkin” campaign

To become a regular subscriber to our emails please send an email to andynewhampshire@aol.com and place “SUBSCRIBE” in the subject line

Please feel free to forward and/or post this email

Please sign up for our enhanced Twitter feed with enhanced, original coverage

(Palm Beach, FL) (March 29, 2016) 

Dear American:

This is my eighteenth letter to the American people from the 2016 campaign trail (# 14 is still in progress, coming in hours; promises, promises).

Both as a candidate and writer I am in somewhat of a unique position. I first met Donald Trump in 1979, some thirty-seven years ago. We were neighbors then; I approved his lease to move into my condominium building (I served on the board of the condo). And so I have known him longer than almost anyone in the media or politics. I am not supporting or opposing his current campaign. He is the leader of the pack and I am bringing up the rear as a Republican candidate. But knowing about someone for decades gives you a special insight into their character, behavior and approach to life.

I started writing this analysis several days ago. The topic is a moving target. Just as I was doing some final editing, another story on Trump’s “nickel and diming” campaign strategy popped up in the Wall Street Journal (please see link #1 below).

Let me start with a conversation that Donald Trump and I had somewhere around 36 years ago, the significance of which will soon be apparent. I was serving on the board of Olympic Tower Condominium, the most avant garde building in New York because it was the first to combine luxury retail, office and residential space in one structure. Trump was a rental tenant at Olympic Tower with his new wife Ivana.

I don’t remember exactly how, but because of my experience at Olympic Tower I ended up being an informal adviser to the architects designing the new Trump Tower. Trump Tower was intended to be a replica of Olympic Tower, once again combining super-luxury retail, office and residential space in one structure.

Donald and I discussed the cheap fixtures he was planning to install in Trump Tower, barely acceptable cabinets, fittings and finishings. Donald’s answer to me was his belief that wealthy people always redesigned their spaces, so they would in any event be ripping out and replacing his “builder” fixtures. His view: why then put in quality materials to begin with? In other words, his approach was to put in the cheapest materials he could get away with, because someone else would soon be remodeling and paying the real cost of building out a first class living space. It was a classic “outer borough” mentality approach.

Trump is apparently no longer designing and building luxury buildings in New York City. His cheap-is-all-right approach has been superseded by his competitors’ first-class-up-front approach to construction and interior finishings.

Unfortunately, Trump’s “cheap is acceptable” mentality appears to be undermining, and ultimately destroying, his presidential campaign. Trump may lose the GOP nomination, or the November election, because he has fooled himself into believing he can campaign on the cheap and that he can pretend to be running a real campaign when all he is doing in reality is conducting a hollowed out (dare I say?) “Potemkin” campaign.

Trump has always been something of a con man and carnival barker, with grossly inflated, almost flatulent, marketing promises. And unfortunately for him, his failed ventures (Trump University, etc.) have come to overshadow his very legitimate monetary successes. Trump, for example, claimed to have sent “investigators” to Hawai’i to check on Obama’s origins, but no evidence of any such mission ever surfaced.

But today Trump may be in the process of conning himself into his biggest fiasco ever: nickel-and-diming himself out of the White House.

Trump likes to brag that he is “funding his own campaign.” But the reality is that he is not “funding his own campaign.” Rather, by refusing to invest a sufficient amount of money to run a substantial effort, Trump is almost certainly ensuring his ultimate defeat.

Presidential campaigns are expensive propositions, and have become incredibly more so as a result of efforts successfully pioneered by Barack Obama eight and four years ago to create massive, ongoing campaign structures. Instead of building a state-of-the-art, first class campaign apparatus, Trump is campaigning with the functional equivalent of his own cheap-is-acceptable construction approach.

When I started writing this story several days ago, Trump’s opponents were advertising in Wisconsin. He was not (please see link #2 below). Trump had two weeks to “move” into Wisconsin, plant his flag and develop a campaign that could finish off Ted Cruz. Right now, if I were betting, my money would be on Cruz to win Wisconsin. In any event the vote will be much closer than it should have been. Trump’s various opponents have been relentlessly attacking him in Wisconsin. Trump is making a half-hearted effort to defend himself.

Perhaps because he survived a similar onslaught of negative ads in Florida he feels he can always ignore opposition advertising. I don’t think so. (I will write more about Wisconsin later this week.)

Trump has constantly bragged about how little he has spent on his campaign. But the reality is that other than his personal appearances he has not built much of a campaign structure at all (see link #1 again). He claimed after Iowa that he didn’t know what “ground game” meant. How about his people? Didn’t they know what “ground game” meant. Were they blind to the campaign Ted Cruz was building? (please see group link #3 below) If Trump had made a serious investment in Iowa, today he would already be the nominee. Instead, by scrimping on his spending, he has allowed his opposition to grow into a formidable force that could defeat him.

In reality, Trump has failed his first test as a commander-in-chief. Any commander knows that you throw overwhelming resources into a battle to win, not lollygag around and allow your enemies to gain strength. If Trump had been president on D-Day in 1944, we might still be fighting World War II (or, even more ominously, Hitler’s new weapons would have finished off the U. S. effort and we would have had to accept a bad peace). How can he brag about how much money he has, and then starve his campaign “soldiers” of the resources they need to win? It is an irrational approach.

Ted Cruz, on the other hand, invested in a major data-based campaign (please see group link #3). Trump would have won Iowa if he had made a serious effort to win. Instead, he snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and allowed Cruz’ data-driven campaign to eke out a victory. Cruz has continued to build his campaign apparatus. Cruz could very well overwhelm Trump in Wisconsin or a later primary. When we look back on 2016, Trump’s failure to spend money in 2015, while constantly bragging about how little he was spending, may have been his fatal campaign error. But even if he wins the nomination, he will be up against a much better organized campaign (link #1 again) for November. Right now Trump is dismantling his campaign, not building a general election team (link #1).

March 28th Trump said he would be filing a lawsuit because “he wuz robbed” in Louisiana (please see group link #4). While Trump is finally building a pre-convention delegate operation, it almost certainly is being starved for resources. If Trump had kept his campaign offices open and fully staffed with local people, he would not have been ambushed in Louisiana. March 28th Trump went on a radio show (please see link #6) and later admitted he wasn’t warned in advance the host was hostile. Does Trump even have advance people in Wisconsin?

To rescue his convention delegate operation he hired someone whose most notable recent job was shilling for a Ukrainian dictator and pal of Vladimir Putin (please see link #7). Is this the best operation Trump can put together with his claimed billions of dollars? As I said, he has failed his first test as a commander in chief. Barack Obama may be a jerk, but he knew how to hire brilliant people. Trump?

How would a real “businessman” have built a “real” presidential campaign? He/she would have gone for the best data, the best ads, and provided his staff overwhelming resources to knock out the competition at the starting gate instead of allowing opponents to gain in strength and threaten his campaign later in the process.

What I am writing about is not rocket science. Barack Obama’s campaign team redefined the art of national campaigning in 2008 and again in 2012. They humiliated a supposed “number cruncher,” Mitt Romney, by whipping Romney with better numbers, better data and better organization. Cruz is following in Obama’s footsteps, building a 21st century campaign operation based on data analytics and operations, and not following a Trump-style horse-and-buggy era approach to campaigning.

I was in church with Trump on Easter Sunday (just a coincidence). But why? Why wasn’t he in Wisconsin? He had two weeks to win Wisconsin, to flood the zone with positive advertising, to cover the state with campaign offices and local staff. He should have set up a command center in Milwaukee and campaigned relentlessly (that, incidentally, was the Kennedy family style). Trump has apparently done little, or very little, in Wisconsin. He apparently still doesn’t know what a “ground game” looks like and is still relying on free media coverage (most of it increasingly hostile) to conduct his campaign.

If we were grading Trump’s campaign at the Wharton School (of Business) where he graduated, he would get a “D” or maybe even an “F” for the manner in which he is conducting his campaign.

Trump has proven himself to be a brilliant tactician, with an amazing sense of the battlefield (please see link #5). He is something akin to General George Patton. But Patton could not/did not win World War II. Eisenhower won the war, and went on to become president. Trump/Patton is/was a brilliant attacker but a limited one. It was General George Marshall and Eisenhower who assembled the overwhelming resources necessary to defeat the Third Reich. Trump can’t even assemble a substantial presidential campaign.

Trump’s campaign folly may ultimately be exposed in the words of his hero Abe Lincoln: “you can fool some of the people all the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”

I’m not sure Trump was right 36 years ago when he said he could get away with putting cheap fixtures in his new luxury building; but I am absolutely sure he is wrong 36 years later. If he keeps campaigning on the cheap, he will certainly defeat himself. It may be too late to save Wisconsin. I don’t know if it is too late to save the rest of his campaign. Time will tell. Or Ted Cruz.

If Trump’s campaign eventually implodes and demolishes the hopes of his supporters I don’t want to be around to pick up the pieces.

Sincerely yours,

Andy

-----

LINKS TO THIS STORY (cut and paste the entire link below and not just the underlined portion):

[1]

http://www.wsj.com/articles/clinton-digs-in-as-trump-moves-on-1459208576

[2]

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/03/24/ted-cruz-and-john-kasich-begin-advertising-in-wisconsin/?

[3]

http://www.techrepublic.com/article/big-data-is-the-new-ground-game-how-ted-cruz-won-iowa/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-inside-story-of-how-ted-cruz-won-iowa/2016/02/02/238b0b94-c839-11e5-a7b2-5a2f824b02c9_story.html

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/01/ted-cruz-trump-iowa-caucus-voter-targeting

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-02-02/how-ted-cruz-engineered-his-iowa-triumph

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/cruz-campaign-credits-psychological-data-and-analytics-for-its-rising-success/2015/12/13/4cb0baf8-9dc5-11e5-bce4-708fe33e3288_story.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/poll-trump-leads-gop-race-nationally-but-with-weaker-hold-on-the-party/2016/03/07/890cc8d0-e496-11e5-bc08-3e03a5b41910_story.html

[4]

http://www.wsj.com/articles/ted-cruz-gains-in-louisiana-after-loss-there-to-donald-trump-1458861959

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/03/28/donald-trumps-campaign-to-protest-delegate-selection-in-louisiana/

[5]

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/28/us/politics/donald-trump-republican-voters.html?

[6]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/03/28/trump-lands-in-wisconsin-with-an-awkward-radio-interview/

[7]

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/03/28/donald-trump-hires-paul-manafort-to-lead-delegate-effort/

New citations after emailing:


ANDY MARTIN - A BRIEF BIO:

Andy Martin is a legendary New Hampshire, New York and Chicago-based muckraker, author, Internet columnist, talk television pioneer, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. With forty-eight years of background in radio and television and with five decades of investigative and analytical experience in Washington, the USA and around the world, Andy provides insight on politics, foreign policy, intelligence and military matters. For a full bio, go to: www.AndyMartin.com; also see www.BoycottABC.com/executive_director.htm

Andy has also been a leading corruption fighter in American politics and courts for over forty-five years and is executive director of the National Anti-Corruption Policy Institute. See also www.FirstRespondersOnline.us; www.AmericaisReadyforReform.com.

He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York (LaGuardia CC, Bronx CC).

He is the author of “Obama: The Man Behind The Mask” [www.OrangeStatePress.com] and produced the Internet film “Obama: The Hawaii’ Years” [www.BoycottHawaii.com]. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of the “Internet Powerhouse,” blogging at www.contrariancommentary.wordpress.com and www.ContrarianCommentary.com.

Andy’s family immigrated to Manchester, New Hampshire 100 years ago; today his home overlooks the Merrimack River and he lives around the corner from where he played as a small boy. He is New Hampshire’s leading corruption fighter and Republican Party reformer.

UPDATES:

www.twitter.com/AndyMartinUSA
www.Facebook.com/AndyMartin

Andy’s columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com ContrarianCommentary.wordpress.com

[NOTE: We try to correct any typographical errors in our stories; find the latest version on our blogs.]

----------

© Copyright by Andy Martin 2016 – All Rights Reserved

Monday, March 28, 2016

GOP Presidential Candidate and Contrarian Commentary columnist Andy Martin offers to host a GOP presidential summit as two presidential candidates (Andy and Donald) worship at same church

GOP presidential candidate and “Contrarian Commentary” columnist Andy Martin is offering to convene a “coffee klatch” of his GOP presidential candidate opponents so that they may speak informally and privately about resolving their differences and reaching agreement on a “fresh start” going forward. Andy has extensive experience as a mediator and negotiator. Andy and Donald Trump attended the same church on Easter Sunday and Andy offers his candid observations.

News from:
ANDY MARTIN /2016        
Republican candidate for
President of the United States       

“Make America Great Again”
                    www.AndyMartinforPresident.com
www.AndyMartin.com
www.FirstRespondersOnline.us
National headquarters:
P.  O. Box 1851
New York, NY 10150-1851
New Hampshire Headquarters:
P.O. Box 742
Manchester, NH 03105
Tel. (866) 706-2639; Cell (917) 664-9329
Fax (866) 214-3210
E-mail:
Andy@AndyMartinforPresident.com
Blogs:
www.AndyforPresident.blogspot.com
www.AndyforPresident.wordpress.com


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

GOP presidential candidate and “Contrarian Commentary” columnist Andy Martin offers to convene a presidential candidates’ summit so that the GOP contenders can try to reach agreement on a fresh start

Andy is an experienced negotiator and mediator

Andy and Donald Trump attended the same church Easter Sunday; Andy offers his personal observations

To become a regular subscriber to our emails please send an email to andynewhampshire@aol.com and place “SUBSCRIBE” in the subject line

Please feel free to forward and/or post this email

Please sign up for our enhanced Twitter feed with enhanced, original coverage

(Palm Beach, FL) (March 28 2016)  GOP presidential candidate Andy Martin has sent the leading GOP presidential candidates a letter offering to convene a candidates-only summit at which they can discuss resolving their differences so as to enable a “fresh start” that will allow them to proceed without any rancor. Andy mailed the letters and they should start being delivered in four or five days.

In a coincidence, both Andy and Donald Trump attended the same church on Easter Sunday. Andy has been a member of the parish for over twenty-five years and Trump attends occasionally (please see link below). Andy offers his candid observations below. Andy is scheduled to return to New York shortly where he will make a major announcement.

The text of Andy’s letter to the other candidates follows below, without the letterhead:

March 28, 2016

Donald Trump
725 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10022-2516

Ted Cruz
P.O. Box 25376
Houston, TX 77265

John Kasich
Suite 2016
620 E. Broad Street
Columbus, OH 43215

Dear Candidate:

We are all aware of the unusual rancor that has erupted over the past few days. I would like to invite you to an informal meeting of candidates so that we can sit down casually and see if we can agree to work together for the ultimate good of the American people and Republican Party.

In announcing my candidacy I agreed to support the nominee of the convention, and I have not deviated from that view. Perhaps if one of you wanted to convene an informal “coffee klatch” for-candidates-only, there would be resistance. But I am obviously the least among you, and so I can extend the welcome so that no one feels compelled to decline.

I have been or will be critical of all of you; no surprise there. But I am impartial in my criticism, and unwavering in my commitment to support the winner/nominee.

The current controversy and finger pointing is not helping either the party or any of you. It is a negative sum game. While I was sitting in church with Donald Trump on Easter Sunday (he was three pews behind me) and listening to the liturgy I thought to myself, “why not invite everyone to start anew during the season of Eastertide? Easter is a time for new beginnings and fresh approaches to life. We have a point of departure where we can come together and unify. Let’s put the past behind us and agree to fresh approach going forward. We can do as little or as much as all of us can agree on at our meeting.

I would be happy to organize a candidates-only and off-the-record meeting in New York, Chicago or wherever you would like to convene.

Please get in touch.

With best wishes,

Andy

-----

“In one of my many (and profitable) lives I have been a negotiator and mediator,” Andy says. “Ironically, listening to the Easter liturgy I was moved to consider whether the good will and spiritual renewal of Easter could be applied to heal the bitterness of the GOP presidential campaign. Because I am the ‘least’ of the candidates, no one has to fear an invitation from me. As an experienced mediator I would work to make everyone feel comfortable and try to arrive at a positive resolution. That is if my opponents want to accept my invitation. That’s up to them. I have extended an open hand.

“In New Hampshire, we know each other. While the state is no stranger to bare-knuckled campaigning, the types of ‘sex stories’ that are appearing in the national press would not be accepted by New Hampshire voters. I pray that the coarseness that has infiltrated national campaigning does not seep down to the Granite State.

“I was scheduled to be in New York on Easter Sunday, but due to a scheduling error on my part I unexpectedly had to return to Florida. I have been an active member of the Palm Beach parish for over 25 years and years ago also served as an usher. Now that my home is in New Hampshire I am mostly a winter ‘snow bird.’ When I went to take a seat in the front row Sunday, I was surprised to see Donald Trump sitting three rows behind me. I knew he was somewhere in the church, because the Secret Service had run us through security procedures.

“I hadn’t seen Donald ‘up close’ for about a year. He was there Sunday with Melania and Barron. I noticed a tender moment when ‘dad’ was helping his son decipher a church program (memo to file: lets get Barron enrolled in Sunday school). When they approached for communion, Melania and Barron took the wafer but neither took the wine. Donald seemed to enjoy the service. He was married at Bethesda-by-the-Sea, and attends occasionally. Of course, in common with every Christian church we have many hundreds (thousands?) of Christmas/Easter parishioners and they are always welcomed. I think Trump is sending the right message; he is comfortable in church and his promises to protect religion are sincere ones. That may explain his surprise appeal to some evangelical voters.”

LINKS TO THIS STORY (cut and paste the entire link below and not just the underlined portion):

http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/news/local/trump-attending-easter-services-at-bethesda-by-the/nqstf/

ANDY MARTIN - A BRIEF BIO:

Andy Martin is a legendary New Hampshire, New York and Chicago-based muckraker, author, Internet columnist, talk television pioneer, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. With forty-eight years of background in radio and television and with five decades of investigative and analytical experience in Washington, the USA and around the world, Andy provides insight on politics, foreign policy, intelligence and military matters. For a full bio, go to: www.AndyMartin.com; also see www.BoycottABC.com/executive_director.htm

Andy has also been a leading corruption fighter in American politics and courts for over forty-five years and is executive director of the National Anti-Corruption Policy Institute. See also www.FirstRespondersOnline.us; www.AmericaisReadyforReform.com.

He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York (LaGuardia CC, Bronx CC).

He is the author of “Obama: The Man Behind The Mask” [www.OrangeStatePress.com] and produced the Internet film “Obama: The Hawaii’ Years” [www.BoycottHawaii.com]. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of the “Internet Powerhouse,” blogging at www.contrariancommentary.wordpress.com and www.ContrarianCommentary.com.

Andy’s family immigrated to Manchester, New Hampshire 100 years ago; today his home overlooks the Merrimack River and he lives around the corner from where he played as a small boy. He is New Hampshire’s leading corruption fighter and Republican Party reformer.

UPDATES:

www.twitter.com/AndyMartinUSA
www.Facebook.com/AndyMartin

Andy’s columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com ContrarianCommentary.wordpress.com

[NOTE: We try to correct any typographical errors in our stories; find the latest version on our blogs.]

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© Copyright by Andy Martin 2016 – All Rights Reserved

Sunday, March 27, 2016

GOP Presidential Candidate and Contrarian Commentary columnist Andy Martin explains Europe in crisis : The Last Days of “Europe:” Part One: Brussels terrorism, Donald Trump and NATO

GOP presidential candidate and “Contrarian Commentary” columnist Andy Martin analyzes Donald Trump’s views on the future of NATO and Europe in light of the latest Brussels terrorist attack

News from:
ANDY MARTIN /2016        
Republican candidate for
President of the United States       

“Make America Great Again”
                    www.AndyMartinforPresident.com
www.AndyMartin.com
www.FirstRespondersOnline.us
National headquarters:
P.  O. Box 1851
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E-mail:
Andy@AndyMartinforPresident.com
Blogs:
www.AndyforPresident.blogspot.com
www.AndyforPresident.wordpress.com


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

GOP presidential candidate and “Contrarian Commentary” columnist Andy Martin says “Donald Trump has identified a foreign policy challenge that needs a fresh approach”

Andy says “Europe,” i.e. the European Union, cannot survive in its current form

Andy says nations that want a national security blanket from the United States will have to invest more in their own defense

Andy says NATO has achieved its original objectives and, surprisingly, those objectives are still reasonable

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BULLETIN: Due to an unplanned development Andy is still in his South Florida war room, able to observe the Trump campaign and celebrate Easter with family and friends

(Palm Beach, FL) (March 22, 2016) 

Dear American:

This is my seventeenth letter to the American people from the 2016 campaign trail (# 14 is still in progress, coming in hours). Due to a fluke, my return was delayed so I am still in Florida.

The world shudders at the latest terrorist attack in Brussels earlier today. Civilians killed, lives disrupted, a society on the verge of dismemberment. And yet, our political leaders know precious little about “Europe,” or how the European Union came into being, or what the future looks like if the EU fails to adjust and adapt.

While I am going to gleefully support the Republican nominee, I still keep my finger in the presidential pie until there is one, and for a special reason. I am the only Republican presidential candidate with real foreign policy experience. I first went to Brussels over 50 years ago; I have edited several books on “Europe” and the European Union (“EU”); I speak French, and have also studied German, Spanish and Greek. So I am conversant with European culture and politics.  No other candidate has that background and experience as a resource to draw on.

In today’s letter, Part One, I will explain how Donald Trump and his views are going to affect the future of “Europe.”

Why the quotation marks around “Europe?” Because Americans usually think about going to Europe as a trip or junior year of college abroad. We know little of the EU and its origins or workings, little of what President Barack Obama has done to reverse seventy years of post-World War II political stability. Europe will always be a delightful place to visit; the political future of the continent is less positive.

Two weeks ago a group of conservative foreign policy “experts” attacked Donald Trump and said he was unqualified to be president (please see link #1 below). Yesterday Trump questioned the value of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and our involvement in Asia (please see link #2). Today ISIS struck again, in Brussels.

Trump’s frustrations are not new. For decades military leaders have fretted about the imbalance in financial commitments to national defense by the United States as compared with Europe or Asia. As Trump correctly claims, we spend to defend foreign nations. And we don’t always receive a “thank you.”

Where is NATO headquartered? Brussels. Where is the EU headquartered? Brussels. In a city and nation that is unable to defend itself, and unwilling to make the commitment to defend itself, serious questions are raised. The EU, moreover, is constantly at war with U. S. tech giants for violating EU “security” protocols. Unwittingly, the EU has created an environment that is favorable to terrorist organizations and operations. The attacks in Paris and Brussels prove my point.

Trump seems to embody the aphorism “it’s better to be lucky than be smart.” Every time he makes what appears to be an outrageous foreign policy claim, within days his unorthodox view is vindicated by events. He questioned NATO yesterday: today a terrorist attack on the doorstep of NATO. Timing is everything.

So does Europe have a future? Not in its current form. Today I discuss what Obama has done to weaken “Europe” (Obama actually favors the concept of “Europe,” as an excuse for American abdication); next, I will explain Trump’s impact on “Brexit,” the United Kingdom vote in June on whether to leave the EU. Finally I will offer my own unorthodox (“contrarian”) views on how the EU should deal with the nation of Turkey.

After America bailed out Europe and won the war against Nazi Germany in 1945, leaders were concerned that the United States would recede from a leadership role as it had previously done in 1918. In the words on one British diplomat, NATO was created to “keep the Americans in (Europe); to keep the Russians out (of Europe); and to keep the Germans down, so that Germany would never be able to launch a new continental war (please see link #3 below).

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, no one believed a new Russian dictator such as Vladimir Putin could arise. No one believed that Russia would attack peaceful nations and attempt to redraw borders by force. And so Americans elected the African-American flower child, Barack Obama, to dismantle our commitment to Europe. Joseph Stalin is said to have contemptuously asked, “How many divisions does the pope have?” Well, today, we can ask, “How many divisions does NATO have?” The reality: close to none. NATO is a paper tiger and Putin is aware of that fact. Europeans have lost the will to defend themselves and Donald Trump questions whether we should shed American blood in place of a local commitment.

Obama has withdrawn armored divisions from Europe, closed facilities and pursued a foreign policy that is, ironically, almost a carbon copy of Trump’s (without any of the protests from the foreign policy “establishment” that criticize Trump).

The result: chaos. Russian continues to be a military threat. Radical Islam is attacking. And the EU is paralyzed. NATO? Don’t ask.

So is Trump right? Or wrong? Or, as I believe, right and wrong?

First, United States taxpayers are not going to continue to defend Europe while Europeans refuse to defend themselves. Trump is right. Solution: NATO must amend the Charter to mandate a common level of defense expenditures by all signatories. We should not promise to defend nations under Article 5 of the NATO (Washington) Treaty that will not spend equally on their own defense. We need to develop a financial formula that minimizes our financial outgo for European defense while still retaining a robust presence there (Poland is asking for more American forces).

Second, I do not believe a US withdrawal from Europe is in our national interest. Since our own troops are likely to fight overseas, and not at home in Ohio, positioning military resources overseas makes excellent sense and strategy. Trump is therefore wrong that withdrawing troops improves our own national security. Almost seventy years of safety and stability before Obama arrived on the scene contradict Trump. And Obama’s (i.e. Trump’s) policy of withdrawal has failed to meet our own national security needs. Obama is now forced to reinforce our garrisons in Europe, the same ones he emptied out years ago.

Third, Europe is going to have to take terrorism and collective national security much more seriously. Trump is right. Nations that refuse to defend themselves, and allow hostile Muslim populations to fester in their midst, are doomed. The solutions will not be easy, pleasant or cheap.

Finally, just as this is being written, Trump has created a new kerfuffle today over the identities of his “foreign policy” advisors. Surprise. Realistically, the media establishment and the foreign policy establishment are going to make every effort to create “issues” with anything and everything Trump says. Ironically, as an “outsider,” Trump’s “fresh start” and “clean sheet of paper” approach to national security and international security is essential and valuable.

While I generally support the seventy years of stability that my family shed blood to defend, we must always be open to new ideas, new approaches and new solutions. Trump is an unabashed nationalist. But, what have the “internationalists” given us, other than the messed up world created by Bill Clinton, George Bush and Barack Obama?

Europe cannot continue in its current form. Whether consciously or unconsciously, Trump has identified a problem that needs fresh thinking in Washington. Ironically, despite the relentless criticism directed at DT, he is the only one open to considering new approaches. Trump may not always be right, but he is equally not always wrong.

Until Easter you can reach me in, or read me from our war room in South Florida.

Sincerely yours,

Andy

-----

LINKS TO THIS STORY (cut and paste the entire link below and not just the underlined portion):

[1]

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c25b73b8-e0bb-11e5-9217-6ae3733a2cd1.html#axzz43fHZXBTK

http://warontherocks.com/2016/03/open-letter-on-donald-trump-from-gop-national-security-leaders/

https://www.conservativereview.com/commentary/2016/03/lt-col-michael-waltz-trump-not-ready-to-be-president

[2]

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c25b73b8-e0bb-11e5-9217-6ae3733a2cd1.html#axzz43fHZXBTK

[3]

NATO

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hastings_Ismay

New citations after emailing:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/brussels-shows-europes-shockingly-dysfunctional-approach-to-security/2016/03/22/24af5b58-f06e-11e5-85a6-2132cf446d0a_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-a%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

ANDY MARTIN - A BRIEF BIO:

Andy Martin is a legendary New Hampshire, New York and Chicago-based muckraker, author, Internet columnist, talk television pioneer, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. With forty-eight years of background in radio and television and with five decades of investigative and analytical experience in Washington, the USA and around the world, Andy provides insight on politics, foreign policy, intelligence and military matters. For a full bio, go to: www.AndyMartin.com; also see www.BoycottABC.com/executive_director.htm

Andy has also been a leading corruption fighter in American politics and courts for over forty-five years and is executive director of the National Anti-Corruption Policy Institute. See also www.FirstRespondersOnline.us; www.AmericaisReadyforReform.com.

He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York (LaGuardia CC, Bronx CC).

He is the author of “Obama: The Man Behind The Mask” [www.OrangeStatePress.com] and produced the Internet film “Obama: The Hawaii’ Years” [www.BoycottHawaii.com]. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of the “Internet Powerhouse,” blogging at www.contrariancommentary.wordpress.com and www.ContrarianCommentary.com.

Andy’s family immigrated to Manchester, New Hampshire 100 years ago; today his home overlooks the Merrimack River and he lives around the corner from where he played as a small boy. He is New Hampshire’s leading corruption fighter and Republican Party reformer.

UPDATES:

www.twitter.com/AndyMartinUSA
www.Facebook.com/AndyMartin

Andy’s columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com ContrarianCommentary.wordpress.com

[NOTE: We try to correct any typographical errors in our stories; find the latest version on our blogs.]

----------

© Copyright by Andy Martin 2016 – All Rights Reserved