Showing posts with label Pat Brady. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pat Brady. Show all posts

Saturday, May 19, 2012

JOHN SHIMKUS SLIME: Conservative blogger Andy Martin says the Illinois 13th congressional race reeks of fraud and corruption

Independent Republican Presidential Candidate and conservative blogger Andy Martin says a meeting of Illinois Republican Chairman Saturday May 19th in Springfield, Illinois reeks of criminality and Illinois political corruption. Andy points out that Rodney Davis, a “money launderer,” is a prime candidate to be given a congressional nomination. Andy Martin says Southern Illinois’ “toxic congressman” John Shimkus is trying to strong-arm a nomination for his corrupt and probably criminal aide Davis. Wall Street executives Ken Griffin of Citadel LLC and Ann Griffin are also participants in the criminal conspiracy to launder campaign cash intended for the Illinois Republican Party.

NEWS FROM:                                                                     
ANDY MARTIN /2012
Republican candidate for
President of the United States

ContrarianCommentary.com
“The Internet Powerhouse”
Andy Martin
Executive Editor
America’s most respected independent
investigative columnist and commentator

“Factually Correct, Not Politically Correct”

www.AndyMartin.com

E-mail: Andy@AndyMartinforPresident.com
P. O. Box 1851
New York, NY 10150-1851
Tel. Cell (917) 664-9329

Blogs:


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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Republican Presidential candidate and conservative blogger Andy Martin says Congressman John Shimkus is a “toxic congressman” who is trying to steal a congressional nomination for his sleazy staff member Rodney Davis

Andy says Rodney Davis, along with State Republican Chairman Pat Brady, was involved in a sophisticated criminal scheme to launder money for the Republican Party.

The Shimkus-Davis-Brady scheme also involves Wall Street executives Ken and Anne Griffin

Andy is fighting to give 13th congressional district Republican Party voters a chance to choose their congressional candidate; he is working to block county chairman from participating in a corrupt scheme with Congressman Tim Johnson to avoid a primary election for selecting the party’s nominee for congress

(CHICAGO) (May 19, 2012) Independent Republican Presidential candidate and conservative blogger Andy Martin says John Shimkus is a “toxic congressman” for Illinois Republicans and for the Southern Illinois district where Shimkus serves.

Shimkus is now trying to strong-arm a congressional nomination for his slimy assistant, Rodney Davis. Andy says that Rodney Davis is more likely to end up in the federal pen in Wisconsin (where Illinois pols are sent) than he is to end up in Congress. Here are Andy’s views:

Rodney Davis’s handiwork, which Davis brags about in his campaign appearances, involves a sophisticated money laundering and mail fraud scheme to evade Illinois’ new campaign contribution laws. Davis admits he organized and orchestrated the money laundering operation, so prosecutors will have an easy time sending him to jail.

The money laundering scandal, as reported by Doug Ibendahl of Republican News Watch, and Bernie Schoenburg of the State-Journal Register, involves Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of  Citadel LLC, an investment firm. Griffin’s wife, Anne Dias Griffin, founded and runs Aragon Global Management. (I have not done any original investigation on this criminal conspiracy, yet; I am relying on Schoenburg and Ibendahl as sources. But, as always, I will be doing the original legal work and preparing the approach to federal and state prosecutors.)

Prosecutors will find this case more "sexy" because of the presence of the Griffins than because of the liability of Rodney Davis who concocted the scheme with State Republican Chairman Pat Brady. Here’s how the criminal conspiracy and mail fraud scheme operated (see the two links below for a detailed explanation): the Griffins donated to a number of fringe Republican Party political committees. Giving money is not illegal even though the Griffins' choice of committees was very suspicious. What comes next is the nexus of a federal criminal case.

The Griffins combined to donate more than $200,000 to more than 10 Illinois GOP organizations, including GOP committees in Logan, Douglas, Fayette, Madison and Richland counties. Those “committees” then steered more than $120,000 of the Griffins’ cash to the Illinois Republican Party in the first three months of this year. Toadies of County Chairman’s Association “Chairman” Randy Pollard were invited into the money laundering scheme and are also at risk.

Under Illinois law, campaign contributions may not be made anonymously or in the name of another person or through a conduit such as the county chairmen.

Here’s the sad part: a group of sleazy and corrupt Republican Party chairmen placed Rodney Davis’ name on a list of “finalists” for a congressional nomination which is tainted by the bogus resignation of incumbent Tim Johnson. I have a pending lawsuit in Macoupin County seeking to block Johnson's scheme. My lawsuit has already had the salutary impact of forcing Pat Brady to step down as “chairman” of the corrupt county chairmen’s "selection committee." We won the first round.

How can someone such as Davis, who is involved in an open-and-shut case of money laundering and obvious federal and state criminal activity, be a prime candidate for congress? Only in Illinois. One of the county chairmen “voters,” County Chairman Deb Detmers, received immunity for her role in the criminal schemes of Shimkus and imprisoned Governor George Ryan. Only in Illinois can someone who was granted immunity from criminal prosecution then be a party leader (see story link below).

The county chairmen are led by another Illinois political thief and crook, Randy Pollard, who was a prison guard before closeted gay Senator Mark Kirk appointed Pollard to be his “office manger.” (The Pollard-Kirk connection is another federal criminal case in the making.) Kirk likes to pretend he is “above the fraud” but, notwithstanding his recent stroke, Kirk is involved in Illinois corruption with Pollard, Shimkus, Davis and the rest up to Kirk's eyeballs. Kirk is a sleazy little critter though he tries to pretend otherwise in Washington and Tel Aviv.

Shimkus is one of the most corrupt congressmen in Washington. He and Kirk were part of the cover-up of Congressman Mark Foley’s sexual harassment scandal involving Foley’s importunation of teenage congressional pages. Shimkus’ job was to protect the children in his employ; instead Shimkus allowed the Republican Party's gay mafia in the House of representatives to molest the children and to disgrace the House.

The sliminess of Shimkus, Kirk, former House Speaker Dennis Hastert and their coat-holders cost the Republican Party control of Congress in 2006. But Shimkus and his degenerate associates are still in business, this time trying to scam a congressional nomination for Davis, another leading member of Shimkus’ criminal crew.

Is it any wonder the State of Illinois has become a laughingstock, that the state is hundreds of billions of dollars in debt after being plundered by both Republicans and Democrats, and that Illinois continues to lead the nation in political corruption and criminality? For an absolutely fascinating look at how Illinois crooks are endlessly tied together, read the link below at “philosopher forum.” You see how Deb Detmers, a “voter” today, is linked to Shimkus, imprisoned Governor George Ryan and the rest. They are all part and parcel of the same wolf pack.

Monday I will be asking a judge to block the latest perverted acts of Randy Pollard and his country chairman. Their “nomination” is fatally tainted and legally void. I want Republican Party voters to have a voice and a real vote. My lawsuit seeks to undo the sleazy “retirement” of Representative Tim Johnson. Johnson has his own creepy hound, Jerry Clarke, in the dishonest “campaign” to anoint a congressional nomination in violation of the U. S. Constitution and Illinois primary election laws.

Stay tuned. I may not announce my request on Monday, but I will be asking federal and state prosecutors to consider criminal prosecution. I am working on the criminal case as well as my own civil lawsuit to mandate a primary election for the congressional replacement. Neither Clarke nor Davis will make it to the House if I have anything to say about it.
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MEDIA CONTACT: CELL (917) 664-9329
E-MAIL: Andy@AndyMartinforPresident.com

ujntsman wasd reelected in November, 2008. A few monrths later he resigned to serve
his president,” Barack Obama. SDo whyh was it so terrible that Palin resigned and Hutsman served evenless of his secondterm? Can I say “double standard” again.

What os this show us? Whetyher thessue s resigfnaitonsor religion,th emedia shamlessly create double standards tgo favr theiiberal medioa pets (fulldisclosure; I am ot aliberalmedia pet).
--------------------------
Please Donate:

www.AndyMartinforPresident.com
--------------------------
LINKS TO THIS STORY (cut and paste the entire link below and not just the underlined portion):

Bernard-Schoenburg-Billionaires-GOP-
donations-scrutinized

http://republicannewswatch.com/wp/?p=12032

http://philosopheforum.blogspot.com/2006/04/true-colors.html
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“Andy Martin is revolutionizing journalism… [Andy] brings to online journalism what Rush Limbaugh [brings] to radio or Michael Moore to film: sleek little stories that fit into larger political narratives…”

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ABOUT ANDY:

Andy is a legendary New York and Chicago-based muckraker, author, Internet columnist, talk television pioneer, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. Chicago Public Radio calls Andy a “boisterous Internet activist.” The Chicago Tribune calls him “Chicago’s own…political activist.” He has forty-four years of background in radio and television. He is the author of “Obama: The Man Behind The Mask” [www.OrangeStatePress.com] and he produced the Internet film "Obama: The Hawaii’ Years” [www.BoycottHawaii.com]. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of the “Internet Powerhouse,” http://www.contrariancommentary.com/. He comments on regional, national and international events with more than four decades of investigative and analytical experience both in the USA and around the world.

Andy has been a leading corruption fighter in Illinois and American politics and courts for over forty-five years. [www.AndyMartin.com] He is currently sponsoring http://www.americaisreadyforreform.com/. See also http://www.firstrespondersonline.us/; http://www.englishforamerica.org/

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).

UPDATES:
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Andy's columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com ContrarianCommentary.wordpress.com
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andymartinusa.posterous.com

[NOTE: We try to correct any typographical errors in our stories; find the latest version on our blogs.]
--------------------------
© Copyright by Andy Martin 2012 – All Rights Reserved
--------------------------

Friday, March 16, 2012

“Poor Little Rich Boy” Tom Smithburg tries to buy his first Republican Party office in Chicago

Independent Republican Presidential candidate and conservative blogger Andy Martin moved into Chicago’s 42nd Ward forty years ago. The Forty-Second had been home to the notorious crime syndicate hoodlum “Botchie Connors” and contained the heart of Chicago’s honky tonk district. Today the 42nd Ward hosts the “Viagra Triangle.” From his base in the 42nd Ward Andy has consistently fought local and state corruption. The latest insect on the political horizon is “Tommy Smithburg,” who is trying to buy the Republican Party’s 42nd ward Committeeman’s position with the deep pockets of his dad Bill Smithburg. And, in typical Chicago/Illinois political corruption style, craven politicians are lining up with their hands out for more Smithburg cash, all while supporting little Tommy. Charges of money-laundering are flying. Voter fraud is alleged. Welcome to Chicago, America’s “Capital of Corruption.”



NEWS FROM:


ANDY MARTIN /2012


Republican candidate for


President of the United States


www.AndyMartinforPresident.com


www.AndyMartin.com


www.FirstRespondersOnline.us



E-mail: Andy@AndyMartinforPresident.com


P. O. Box 1851


New York, NY 10150-1851


Tel. (866) 706-2639; Cell (917) 664-9329



Blogs:



www.AndyforPresident.blogspot.com


www.AndyforPresident.wordpress.com


www.YouTube.com/Martinin2012



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



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:



FOCUS ON ILLINOIS



On March 20th, Republicans will go to the polls in Illinois; Andy Martin will focus from time-to-time on interesting races taking place “below the radar” in the sewers of Illinois politics



Republican Presidential candidate and conservative blogger Andy Martin explores the peculiar political career of former Quaker Oats executive Bill Smithburg’s son, “Little Tommy” Smithburg



“Little Tommy” is in a heated race to purchase the Republican Party’s 42nd Ward Committeeman post in Chicago



Andy says Smithburg’s robo-calls and nasty mailers are taking politics in a seamy ward to a new low in sliminess



Even senile Republican “Warbucks” Jack Roeser has a bit role in this farce



(CHICAGO) (March 16, 2012) Independent Republican Presidential Candidate and conservative blogger Andy Martin opens the back doors of seamy Chicago politics to a national political audience with his latest column on the “campaign” of “Little Tommy Smithburg.”



Forty years ago I moved into Chicago’s 42nd Ward (you can check the deed for 1200 N. Lake Shore Drive). I have seen famous nite spots such as Mr. Kelly’s change hands and change names. (The Original Pancake House has somehow survived all of those years.) Politicians have headed to the graveyard or federal prison, not always in the same order. I have lived at several addresses in the ward.



The 42nd Ward Democratic Committeeman and Cook County Board President, George Dunne, and I became polite friends. Dunne was always trying to recruit me to become a “machine” politician. Politely I declined. Dunne once accused Dick Kay, WMAQ-TV’s political reporter, of being my “campaign manager.” Kay is now a flack on Chicago radio. I saw George Dunne at the Greek Islands restaurant and sent him a bottle of wine shortly before he died. In his bed.



The Crime Syndicate once tried to end my political career prematurely, if you know what I mean. But that’s a story for another day.



I have been a colorful part of a colorful ward but I have always maintained my corruption-fighting independence and integrity. That's not an easy thing to do in Illinois politics. Not for 47 years.



The latest circus in the 42nd Ward revolves around a wealthy retired Quaker Oats executive, Bill Smithburg, and his son “Little Tommy” Smithburg. Little Tommy’s sole claim to fame at the age of 24 is that while serving as the president of a Northwestern University fraternity he arranged for the “Half Pint Brawlers,” a performing dwarfs show, to appear at his fraternity during “rush” (recruitment) season. You can read the links and decide how much weight to give to Tommy’s bad judgment four years ago. Tommy claims the dwarf incident was a “learning experience.” (Isn’t that the phrase Obama is always using?)



Little Tommy’s daddy has given nearly a third of a million dollars to Illinois Republican candidates and “committees.” When the checks mount up into the hundreds of thousands, Illinois politicians take notice and start paying rapt attention. Then they get their hands out and start asking for more. So it is no surprise that a long line of Republican luminaries, palms out, are “endorsing” Little Tommy for Ward Committeeman.



There are even charges of “money-laundering” involving Little Tommy’s dad and senile Republican Daddy Warbucks Jack Roeser. (The details of all of these allegations can be found in the long list of links below which accompany and document this reporting.)



Today I got my first robo-call for Little Tommy. Hapless and incompetent former gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady of Bloomington, Illinois phoned me to endorse Little Tommy. Bloomington is a long way from Chicago but Bill Brady knows a 45 cent stamp can still carry a campaign contribution check between the two cities. There are governors and other luminaries who have “endorsed” Little Tommy. Daddy apparently isn’t embarrassed. Money can buy you anything in Chicago, and it has certainly purchased a long line of endorsers for Little Tommy.



What makes Little Tommy a complete joke is that he exemplifies everything that is crass and corrupt and just plain wrong about politics, both in Illinois and nationally. Tommy is also an embarrassment to his “generation.” Little Tommy “interned” at Goldman Sachs, the notoriously corrupt Wall Street investment Bank that helped bring down our economy and destroyed millions of working family jobs. I am sure Little Tommy didn’t “share the pain” or “feel the pain” of his malignant and malevolent co-workers at Goldman Sachs. When you steal from working people you can’t have a conscience. The work is just too dirty.



Earlier this week, a senior Goldman executive resigned—by publishing a resignation letter in the New York Times calling the firm utterly corrupt and mendacious (link below-“Why I am Leaving Goldman Sachs”). So Mr. Smithburg doesn’t really have the kind of job “experience” that would commend him to his neighbors.



Tommy says he is now working at a “healthcare-focused lower middle market private equity firm in Chicago.” Oh, yah. Tommy is trying to figure out ways to profit from the medical misery of others. That’s what they teach you when you intern at Goldman Sachs.



But perhaps I’m being unfair to Little Tommy. Maybe he really is an earnest young man that wants to “serve” 42nd Ward Republicans. As they say in the midnight TV infomercials, “but wait, there’s more.”



Little Tommy’s robo-callers tell me Tommy has “new ideas” and that he wants to “grow the Republican Party.” Grrreat. There’s just one problem. All of the people Tommy’s daddy has been giving money to in the Republican Party are the same people that have devastated the party and created the current “Combine” of Republican and Democratic corruption. Tommy’s lead “endorser” is Corrupt-Republican-in-Chief State Chairman Pat Brady. Brady serves as the affable and innocuous front man for all of the Republican Party’s current sleaze.



So the obvious question is, how is Little Tommy going to make “changes” that would disenfranchise all of daddy’s political contacts who endorsed Little Tommy in the first place? It appears that Little Tommy’s words are just hollow claims that bear no connection to the tawdry reality of who is bankrolling and endorsing his candidacy.



Sadly, Little Tommy is no more than a front man for his father’s political cronies. Little Tommy is a fraud, a phony and a pitiful excuse for what passes for reform in the Illinois Republican Party. The political crooks are now so arrogant they run their own “reformers” to undermine legitimately independent candidacies.



Little Tommy’s web page says “It's time for a new day.” Maybe it’s “time for a new way.” Bill and Tommy Smithburg should take their millions elsewhere, and stop trying to pretend they are political reformers when they are only stooges for the worst elements in Republican Party politics.



On the other hand, Little Tommy would be a fine successor to crime syndicate hoodlums such as the late 42nd Ward Committeeman “Botchie” Connors, who ran one of the most successful gangster organizations in Chicago history. Come to think of it, Little Tommy lives only a stone's throw from a park memorializing the Crime Syndicate hoodlum who controlled the ward. Yes, it's Botchie's park. Maybe Little Tommy takes his inspiration from sitting in Botchie Connors’ Park. They would get along just fine together. Botchie would collect his “vig” and put Bill Smithburg’s “kid” up for something.



Hey, it’s the Chicago way. If you don’t believe me just ask Barack Obama and David Axelrod. They know all about “The Chicago Way.” And now so do you.



--------------------------



MEDIA CONTACT: CELL (917) 664-9329
E-MAIL: Andy@AndyMartinforPresident.com



ujntsman wasd reelected in November, 2008. A few monrths later he resigned to serve
his president,” Barack Obama. SDo whyh was it so terrible that Palin resigned and Hutsman served evenless of his secondterm? Can I say “double standard” again.



What os this show us? Whetyher thessue s resigfnaitonsor religion,th emedia shamlessly create double standards tgo favr theiiberal medioa pets (fulldisclosure; I am ot aliberalmedia pet).


--------------------------


Please Donate:



www.AndyMartinforPresident.com


--------------------------


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



www.SmithburgforChicago.com



http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/opinion/


why-i-am-leaving-goldman-sachs.html?scp=4&sq=


Goldman%20sachs&st=cse



http://kellytruthsquad.wordpress.com/2012/03/04/


brady-smithburg-caught-lying-about-kellys-


voting-record-see-the-records-here/



http://republicannewswatch.com/wp/?p=11903


http://kellytruthsquad.wordpress.com/


2012/03/13/kelly-takes-legal-action-against-


smithburg-rose-for-lying-about-voting-record/



http://www.chicagonow.com/publius-forum/


2012/03/william-j-kelly-hosts-visit-by-


fox-news-dick-morris/



http://illinoisobserver.org/2012/03/10/


saturday-late-night-chicago-gop-party-


alleges-fellow-republican-jack-roeser-


launders-campaign-cash-and-more/



Smithburg’s midget adventure:



http://www.dailynorthwestern.com/2.13894/


rush-event-under-investigation-1.1922358#.T0PvKnJSS4o?compArticle=yes



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e46Xp3e1_Ms



http://www.eastfieldnews.com/2.6683/


northwestern-rush-event-under-investigation-1.974637#.T1wOgYH4KWE



http://www.northbynorthwestern.com/story/


new-asg-officers-excited-to-be-here-and-bring-outs/



http://www.northbynorthwestern.com/story/


asg-names-student-businessman-former-du-head-to-ne/



http://www.dailynorthwestern.com/forum/


du-not-at-fault-no-broken-university-rules-


letter-to-the-editor-1.1922328#.T1wPBYH4KWE



42nd Ward “history”:



http://books.google.com/books?id=eZWxYHslbQEC&lpg=


PA241&ots=YhaisIVF9v&dq=%22Botchie%20Connors%22%20


%2B%20Chicago&pg=PA241#v=onepage&q=%22Botchie%20


Connors%22%20+%20Chicago&f=true


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ABOUT ANDY: Andy is a legendary New York and Chicago-based muckraker, author, Internet columnist, talk television pioneer, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. Chicago Public Radio calls Andy a “boisterous Internet activist.” The Chicago Tribune calls him “Chicago’s own…political activist.” He has forty-four years of background in radio and television. He is the author of “Obama: The Man Behind The Mask” [www.OrangeStatePress.com] and he produced the Internet film "Obama: The Hawaii’ Years” [www.BoycottHawaii.com]. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of the “Internet Powerhouse,” www.ContrarianCommentary.com. He comments on regional, national and international events with more than four decades of investigative and analytical experience both in the USA and around the world.



Andy has been a leading corruption fighter in Illinois and American politics and courts for forty-seven years. [www.AndyMartin.com] He is currently sponsoring www.AmericaisReadyforReform.com. See also www.FirstRespondersOnline.us; www.EnglishforAmerica.org



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).

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

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


ContrarianCommentary.typepad.com



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


--------------------------


© Copyright by Andy Martin 2012 – All Rights Reserved


--------------------------


Thursday, March 15, 2012

Illinois Republicans cheat the state out of $50 million; liberal media scam readers and viewers with a bogus “Illinois primary”

It’s “scam time” in Illinois. Illinois Republican leaders scamming the state out of $50 million. The liberal media are scamming Americans with bogus stories about a critical “Illinois primary.” There is no such beast. Independent Republican Presidential candidate and conservative blogger Andy Martin explains how the Illinois Republican party leadership cheated the state out of $50 million. In a double-barreled attack, Andy also explains how the national media are scamming readers and viewers with talk of an “Illinois primary.” There is no “primary,” Andy says, “just 18 local elections.” It’s another Illinois scam from America’s “Capital of Corruption,” the home of both Andy and “Scammer-in-Chief” Barack Obama. Andy has been exposing and fighting Illinois corruption for forty-seven years. Andy’s work is not done.



NEWS FROM:


ANDY MARTIN /2012


Republican candidate for


President of the United States


www.AndyMartinforPresident.com


www.AndyMartin.com


www.FirstRespondersOnline.us



E-mail: Andy@AndyMartinforPresident.com


P. O. Box 1851


New York, NY 10150-1851


Tel. (866) 706-2639; Cell (917) 664-9329



Blogs:



www.AndyforPresident.blogspot.com


www.AndyforPresident.wordpress.com


www.YouTube.com/Martinin2012



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



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:



Republican Presidential candidate and conservative blogger Andy Martin explains why the “Illinois primary” now being promoted by the liberal establishment media does not exist in reality.



Andy also explains how rule-or-ruin Republican Party leaders scammed the state out of $50 million in electioneering expenditures



(CHICAGO) (March 15, 2012) Independent Republican Presidential Candidate and conservative blogger Andy Martin explains why there is no “Illinois primary,” and why Illinois Republican leaders scammed the bankrupt state out of $50 million in political expenditures:



I am getting bombarded by a constant stream of robo-calls trashing Rick Santorum in the March 20th non-existent “Illinois “primary.” Oy vey. So what’s the truth? The truth is it’s all lies. Hey, this is Illinois. There is no “primary” in the “Illinois primary.” Surprised?



I first went to the Illinois General Assembly as an intern in 1965. I have spent forty-seven years observing and exposing, and fighting, the “finest politicians money can buy.” So I speak with experience. Illinois justly deserves its nickname as America’s “Capital of Corruption.” (Oh, and “Happy Governor- Rod-Blagojevich-Goes-To-Prison-Day,” today, but that’s another story.)



PART ONE: THERE IS NO “ILLINOIS PRIMARY”



As this is written on March 15th the national media are promoting frenzy over the “critical” Illinois primary on March 20th. But, while people can cast a “vote,” sadly, there is no real “Illinois primary.”



Herewith a couple lines of preliminary explanation. As my new line says, “I’m a ‘Draft Horse,’ not a ‘Dark Horse’ in the presidential campaign.” Newt Gingrich legitimized my strategy this week when he disclosed his own self-confessed “Draft Horse” strategy. My campaign operates on a “Santorum shoestring.” Think of us as a small but influential boutique campaign, competing against national chain store candidates. While Mitt Romney says it would take an ‘act of God’ for me or anyone but him to win, the Republican Party is so flush with godly voters right now anything can happen. And just might.



Short answer; I’m in the race to the convention to help keep the Republican Party honest. It’s a full-time job. Shovel-ready.



So why did I decide not to invest in putting my name on my home-state Illinois statewide “primary” ballot? Because it was a waste of time and a waste of money. There is no “presidential primary.”



At the statewide level, Illinois conducts a “beauty contest” vote on May 20th. That is, the “votes” voters cast for candidates on the presidential primary ballot on March 20th are meaningless. They do not allocate a single delegate. All of the delegates are allocated based on district-by-district results.



In effect, Illinois is having 18 mini-elections for national convention delegates. Rounding up delegates and alternates in eighteen (18) districts is costly and complicated. There are several districts where Santorum did not even qualify. No delegates for Rick in these districts. The only candidate who has delegate slates in every district is Romney.



So whatever the outcome of the delegate-less “beauty contest” primary “vote,” Romney has probably already won the “primary” by having the stronger delegate slates in the 18 districts.



Romney’s team is led by a statewide official who is a putative candidate for governor in 2014. Because Romney’s “leader” has his own Rolodex and his own network of supporters who are grooming him for statewide office, he was able to round up a strong delegate slate for Romney across the state.



So, yes, national convention delegates will be allocated in 18 separate elections (“We don’t want no stinkin proportional representation in Illinois”). But the “statewide” vote is meaningless and carries no significance (Missouri-style).



How did Illinois end up defying the Republican National Committee’s “rules” mandating promotional representation for pre-April 1st “primaries?” “Dey dhumbed dheir noses at dem googoos in Washington.”



PART TWO: ILLINOIS STATE REPUBLICAN LEADERS VIOLATED NATIONAL PARTY RULES IN ORDER TO PROTECT THEIR OWN CORRUPT POWER; THAT’S WHY THERE IS NO “PROPORTIONAL ALLOCATION” OF DELEGATES



There is no question that genuine primaries are big business. The New Hampshire primary is an open process. The state reaps millions of dollars in revenue from campaigns. If Illinois Republican leaders had agreed to allocate convention delegates on a proportional basis, the state would have received at least $50 million in electioneering expenditures. I would have certainly gone to the expense of getting on the ballot. Even my “boutique” campaign could have won some delegates. So what happened?



First, the facts. Illinois has the most corrupt state Republican Party in the nation. The Illinois Republican Party is a partially-owned subsidiary of the Democratic Party. One writer calls the two parties a “Combine,” not competitors. There is an informal agreement to “share their spoils,” which is why we now have—in an extreme act of political fairness and political correctness— one Democratic governor and one Republican governor in federal prison. You can’t get any more “swing state” than that.



The current Corrupt-Republican-in-Chief is State Chairman Pat Brady. Brady is a lawyer. As lawyers, we are unfailingly polite to each other. If I am protesting a corrupt Brady event, he sends out a box lunch to make sure my tummy doesn’t hurt. I never make ugly remarks. I protest with a smile. But really, Illinois is still not yet “ready for reform.” I know it’s a tough slog. But I’m not a quitter in the never-ending war against Illinois corruption (see www.AndyMartin.com for my successful record of fighting crooks).



I strongly urged Brady to obey the RNC mandate and tell the Republican Party State Central Committee, an unelected and sclerotic organization, to allocate delegates proportionately based on the outcome of the statewide vote, in other words to abolish the meaningless “beauty contest.” But the last thing Republican leaders wanted was an open and honest party, or an open and honest primary. They held a “meeting” and voted “no” to proportional representation based on statewide voting.



Republican leaders both within the party structure and at the legislative level work diligently to defeat reform Republicans, and to prevent reform Republican victories. They work to keep “just enough” Republicans in power so their spoils-sharing system with the Democrats can continue. Why encourage people to run for office and win, when those winners might reject the spoils system and start demanding clean government?



To date, reformers such as myself and others have been unable to break the stranglehold which the “Combine Crooks” have on state Republican Party structure. The statewide party is doing so well under Brady they are down to one employee and “lost the lease” to their statewide headquarters. That’s what passes for “success” in the Illinois Republican Party. Total failure.



So—no surprise—the party leaders voted against proportional allocation of delegates for the March 20th election and voted to continue the boss-dominated individual district system of choosing delegates. The corrupt “establishment” glommed on to Mitt Romney not because they like Mitt but because he offered the best opportunity to perpetuate their shrinking power base.



Bottom line: the Illinois Republican Party does not exist to expand the base of the party, or to win elections, but merely to perpetuate the power of a steadily shrinking handful of corrupt politicians and their toadies. That’s why the state committee voted against holding a real primary election in which votes would be allocated on a proportional basis of the statewide totals. They were afraid they would lose!



And Illinois businesses are also the loser. I estimate a real primary, with a real election and a real outcome with delegates allocated on a proportional basis, would have pumped approximately $50 million into the bankrupt Illinois economy. Is the Illinois Republican Party the party of “business?” Not when “business” conflicts with political corruption.



Republican leaders are only the “party” of their own personal “business” and their own self-perpetuation in office. They could care less what is best for the state. Illinois was once a national powerhouse; today the state is bankrupt. Both political parties, not just both governors, ought to be in federal prison.



Sadly, Illinois Republicans rejected a real primary and rejected proportional allocation. They preferred instead to rig and control the primary process through 18 mini-primaries they could handle much more easily than one big statewide vote. Result? The state’s economy lost fifty million desperately needed dollars of pre-primary political spending as candidates refused to invest in a meaningless and delegate-less statewide vote. Thus there is no real primary on March 20th. Romney has already won the delegate battle, and the State of Illinois is once again the loser.



So why are the national media trumpeting the “critical Illinois primary?” There’s no there there.



[Footnote: additional “at-large” delegates will also be appointed in June, at a “state convention” that is controlled by the Combine Crooks.]


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ujntsman wasd reelected in November, 2008. A few monrths later he resigned to serve
his president,” Barack Obama. SDo whyh was it so terrible that Palin resigned and Hutsman served evenless of his secondterm? Can I say “double standard” again.



What os this show us? Whetyher thessue s resigfnaitonsor religion,th emedia shamlessly create double standards tgo favr theiiberal medioa pets (fulldisclosure; I am ot aliberalmedia pet).


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ABOUT ANDY: Andy is a legendary New York and Chicago-based muckraker, author, Internet columnist, talk television pioneer, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. Chicago Public Radio calls Andy a “boisterous Internet activist.” The Chicago Tribune calls him “Chicago’s own…political activist.” He has forty-four years of background in radio and television. He is the author of “Obama: The Man Behind The Mask” [www.OrangeStatePress.com] and he produced the Internet film "Obama: The Hawaii’ Years” [www.BoycottHawaii.com]. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of the “Internet Powerhouse,” www.ContrarianCommentary.com. He comments on regional, national and international events with more than four decades of investigative and analytical experience both in the USA and around the world.



Andy has been a leading corruption fighter in Illinois and American politics and courts for forty-seven years. [www.AndyMartin.com] He is currently sponsoring www.AmericaisReadyforReform.com. See also www.FirstRespondersOnline.us; www.EnglishforAmerica.org



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).

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