Republican candidate calls opponent homosexual

[Ed W]

The Republican primary for President Obama's old seat is a five-way contest with Mark Kirk the front runner with about 46% support.  Andy Martin, disbarred attorney and perennial candidate, enjoys about 2% support.  In a radio ad, Martin reports a "solid rumor" that Kirk is homosexual.

I don't really care.  But then there was this charming nugget of unintended irony from Pat Brady, chairman of the Illinois Republican Party:

"His statements today are consistent with his history of bizarre behavior and often times hate-filled speech which has no place in the Illinois Republican Party," Brady said. "Mr. Martin will no longer be recognized as a legitimate Republican candidate by the Illinois Republican Party."

Since when has "bizarre behavior and hate-filled speech" disbarred a Republican?  Could this be an indication of movement toward the middle, an indication that in Illinois the party will not be dragged further to the right by vocal nutjobs?  Much as I dislike the Republican agenda, it does not serve the country to have them go into a self-imposed exile.  Perhaps Brady is signaling a return to health and sanity.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-kirk-martin-29-dec29,0,440249.story

[azbadpuppy]

The Republican primary for President Obama's old seat is a five-way contest with Mark Kirk the front runner with about 46% support.  Andy Martin, disbarred attorney and perennial candidate, enjoys about 2% support.  In a radio ad, Martin reports a "solid rumor" that Kirk is homosexual.

I don't really care.  But then there was this charming nugget of unintended irony from Pat Brady, chairman of the Illinois Republican Party:

"His statements today are consistent with his history of bizarre behavior and often times hate-filled speech which has no place in the Illinois Republican Party," Brady said. "Mr. Martin will no longer be recognized as a legitimate Republican candidate by the Illinois Republican Party."

Since when has "bizarre behavior and hate-filled speech" disbarred a Republican?  Could this be an indication of movement toward the middle, an indication that in Illinois the party will not be dragged further to the right by vocal nutjobs?  Much as I dislike the Republican agenda, it does not serve the country to have them go into a self-imposed exile.  Perhaps Brady is signaling a return to health and sanity.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-kirk-martin-29-dec29,0,440249.story

Gee there's a shocker! A republican resorting to hate speech??

The response from Brady is somewhat encouraging, but don't hold your breath...

[rwarn17588]

Could this be an indication of movement toward the middle, an indication that in Illinois the party will not be dragged further to the right by vocal nutjobs?  Much as I dislike the Republican agenda, it does not serve the country to have them go into a self-imposed exile.  Perhaps Brady is signaling a return to health and sanity.

Maybe.

But as an Illinoisan for about 40 years, I think the more likely answer is that Illinois Republicans are a lot more moderate and pragmatic than Republicans, say, in Oklahoma or in Southern states. Horse-trading and compromising are common and even encouraged. By and large, Illinois voters want stuff to get done and demand that their lawmakers be a lot more cooperative and reasonable.

Also, Illinoisans have a low tolerance for people who are loud-mouthed ideologues. The Illinois GOP is still smarting over having that insane knucklehead Alan Keyes running for Senate a few years ago. He barely got 30 percent of the vote and was a profound embarrassment. The party doesn't want another loud-mouthed knucklehead running for office.

In short, this is Midwestern pragmatism at work.

I think this is a case where Martin crossed the line, and the state GOP simply isn't going to stand for it because voters won't, either. If it's a symptom of a movement emerging on a national level, I'm all for it. But I wouldn't count on it.

[we vs us]

In short, this is Midwestern pragmatism at work.

Repeated for truth. 

[Conan71]

I love it when a lone idiot like Andy Martin somehow becomes a symbol for an entire political party.

Is this supposed to be some sort of distraction from Harry Reid's "Cash For Cloture" scam which was very likely encouraged by a certain former Senator from Illinois?

[guido911]

Is this supposed to be some sort of distraction from Harry Reid's "Cash For Cloture" scam which was very likely encouraged by a certain former Senator from Illinois?

That's the horse trading and compromise rw was talking about.

[rwarn17588]

That's the horse trading and compromise rw was talking about.

Agreed. Find me any legislation that doesn't have it.

[azbadpuppy]

Could this be an indication of movement toward the middle, an indication that in Illinois the party will not be dragged further to the right by vocal nutjobs?  Much as I dislike the Republican agenda, it does not serve the country to have them go into a self-imposed exile.  Perhaps Brady is signaling a return to health and sanity.

If the Republican party was truly wanting to move toward a more sane, healthy place they would need to tell their current nutjob mouthpieces -Beck, Hannity, Limbaugh, Coulter and the like- to shut the F**K up. They are an embarrassment to the entire country.

Ain't gonna happen as long as this lot is representing the party. It's truly a shame.

[Conan71]

Agreed. Find me any legislation that doesn't have it.

Why are you searching for ways to justify the falsely-inflated cost of the healthcare pile?  We are paying a double quarter-pounder price for a quarter-pounder.  I can't believe anyone who has ever written a check to the IRS isn't outraged about all this waste coming out of our pockets, much less finding ways to justify it and be complacent.

[sgrizzle]

So is calling someone homosexual derogatory or is it implied that he said so in some way to make it so? I think labeling the term "hate speech" is a bit much because that implies the term is always derogatory.

[Conan71]

If the Republican party was truly wanting to move toward a more sane, healthy place they would need to tell their current nutjob mouthpieces -Beck, Hannity, Limbaugh, Coulter and the like- to shut the F**K up. They are an embarrassment to the entire country.

Ain't gonna happen as long as this lot is representing the party. It's truly a shame.

As if Olbermann, Matthews, Maddow and the like aren't an embarrassment either?  Maddow with her constant ramblings about the Christian Mafia and C-Streeters.  She's as bad as Lou Dobbs with her constant conspiracies.  I'd love to see Matthews take the DNC's skin flute out of his mouth for just a few seconds.

You apparently have fallen hook, line, and sinker for one-sided partisanship commentary if you think Beck, Hannity, Limbaugh etc. ad nauseum are the biggest problem facing the U.S. without considering how partisan hacks on the left are just as corrosive.  They must fit your paradigm better if you don't see that.  If America continues to show signs of moderating, all of these oafs will eventually find themselves out of a job if they don't espouse a less partisan viewpoint from the outer fringes of liberalism or conservatism and realize true bi-partisan ship which is best for our country lies in the middle.

[guido911]

If the Republican party was truly wanting to move toward a more sane, healthy place they would need to tell their current nutjob mouthpieces -Beck, Hannity, Limbaugh, Coulter and the like- to shut the F**K up. They are an embarrassment to the entire country.

Ain't gonna happen as long as this lot is representing the party. It's truly a shame.

Throw in Ed Schultz, James Carville, and Paul Begala as they are all about sanity and not embarrassments to this country.

[Townsend]

I can't believe any of you guys are defending any of the talking heads.  They aren't out for the betterment of our society.

They are out for the enrichment of their bottom line and will say what they need to in order to get an audience.

Seriously, arguing about these actors pushing themselves off as learned commentators is a waste of your time.

[sgrizzle]

I can't believe any of you guys are defending any of the talking heads.  They aren't out for the betterment of our society.

They are out for the enrichment of their bottom line and will say what they need to in order to get an audience.

Seriously, arguing about these actors pushing themselves off as learned commentators is a waste of your time.

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are the only political commentators worth watching, because they are the only ones honest about who they are.

[guido911]

I can't believe any of you guys are defending any of the talking heads.  They aren't out for the betterment of our society.

They are out for the enrichment of their bottom line and will say what they need to in order to get an audience.

Seriously, arguing about these actors pushing themselves off as learned commentators is a waste of your time.

Defending them? I do not know about conan, but I was pointing out that there are nutjob commentators on the left (who were conveniently overlooked by Ms. "I'm not one sided")