Sunday, August 16, 2015

Via press release on Friday, Andy Martin, a perennial candidate for political office and self-proclaimed “Birther King”, announced he is seeking the U.S. Republican Party’s 2016 presidential nomination, his fourth bid for the White House. In his announcement and subsequent release, Martin expresses a desire to participate in Republican presidential debates and aligns himself with fellow Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Additionally, he outlines six reasons for running, including degrading the candidacy of former Florida governor Jeb Bush, who is also seeking the Republican nomination.

“I have been a loyal Republican,” says Martin in his announcement, “loyal to the principles of our party but not necessarily loyal to some of its failed leaders.”

Martin, best known for spreading multiple conspiracy theories concerning the birth and religion of U.S. President Barack Obama, previously ran for the Democratic Party presidential nomination in 1988, and unsuccessfully sought the backing of the Republican Party in 2000 and 2012. In 2012, he received a total of 19 votes in the New Hampshire Primary, the only primary ballot on which he appeared.

For 2016, Martin does not harbor high expectations of electoral success, though he hopes to receive an invitation to the debates. In reference to the seventeen candidates invited to the two August 6 Fox News debates, Martin casts himself as the “eighteenth candidate,” willing to participate in the second-tier debate. Moreover, he declares himself as the “second-most exciting” candidate, reserving first place for Trump, whom Martin praises throughout his announcement. Although he described Trump’s previous foray into politics as a “charade” during a 2011 interview with Wikinews, Martin now sees himself as Trump’s “tag team” partner in attacking the Bush candidacy.

“Trump has the raw media power to weaken Bush,” says Martin, “I have the negative information and hardball media tactics to make Bush a toxic candidate for the Republican base.”

Martin adamantly opposes Bush because of the foreign policy of the candidate’s brother, former President George W. Bush. He also criticizes Bush for his alleged economic benefit from the collapse of Lehman Brothers, labeling Bush as a “front man for a handful of corrupt plutocrats that have raped [the nation’s] economy.” Martin has previously criticized the Bush family during his 2000 campaign, when he ran television ads accusing then-presidential candidate George W. Bush of abusing cocaine and alcohol.

In addition to preventing Bush from gaining the Republican nomination, Martin intends to focus his campaign on protecting the prestige of the New Hampshire Primary and Iowa Caucus, defending the economic legacy of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, combating political correctness, emphasizing U.S. relations with Greece, and fighting political corruption.

Martin filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission last month to run for president in 2016 officially. He joins 139 other Republican Party presidential candidates who have done likewise.