ANDY MARTIN INTRODUCES “TOPINKA TOAST” ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

(CHICAGO)(February 23, 2006) Chicago Sun-Times editors will be the first to receive “Topinka Toast” today when Republican gubernatorial candidate Andy Martin meets with the Sun-Times editorial board at 11:00 A.M.

Later, Martin will hold a sidewalk news conference at 1:30 P.M. today, February 23rd, to introduce “Topinka Toast” on the campaign trial and to claim that the Topinka for Governor Campaign is “toast.”

“Republicans now have a five-way race for governor. I am sure my three non-Topinka opponents all feel they are going to inherit Judy’s supporters as her campaign slowly slides off into oblivion. I doubt that. Much to the amazement of all of my detractors in the media, I have become an equal player in the gubernatorial campaign. There are good reasons for my ascendancy.

“First, the coverage by some media, such as the Chicago Tribune and WBBM-TV, has been so malignant and unprincipled that it has created a sympathy backlash for me. For decades I have regaled groups with tales from the courtroom, and especially my story of how a colleague saw a client acquitted based on efforts to silence the defendant. The unprofessional behavior of the tribune and Channel 2 has backfired on those organizations.

“Second, I am the only candidate running a real campaign for governor. My opponents spent the entire summer and fall basking in coverage of their campaigns—but did nothing. Mine is the only campaign issuing Strategy Memoranda (oops; one is now long past due) pointing out in detail what we are doing and where we are going, and staying on course and on time.

“Finally, we are the only campaign that knows how to execute. We announced to interviewers such as Scott Fornek and Tom Kacich that we were going to nail Judy, and we did.

“Topinka is desperate. Carol Marin played the gender card for her Wednesday, claiming Topinka is weak because ‘she’s a woman.’ What baloney. There are strong women and there are marshmallows. I have always stated that Topinka was a creation of the media, and I have been proven right. The President’s Day Massacre exposed her as a prisoner of her handlers, ham-handed as they are, and a follower not a leader.

“Judy’s claim to the Sun-Times board that noblesse oblige led her to become a candidate as the ‘only Republican’ is tosh. Judy likes to say ‘If you give us a mousetrap, we’ll use it.’ It is about time she got rid of the mice in her own campaign, with or without a mousetrap.

“In recognition of Judy’s collapse as a candidate we are going to start distributing ‘Topinka Toast’ at Republican gatherings. If a sponsor doesn’t want a vigorous discussion of the issues, we’ll pass up that meeting. We will be giving out whole grain bread because Judy is made of whole cloth.

“In the eyes of the media I may not be the most loveable candidate. But in the eyes of the voters I am becoming known as the only opponent who can seriously take on and Take Down Blagojevich. We nailed Judy; Blago’s next,” Martin will say as he passes out his Topinka Toast.

As a former college professor Martin is also going to issue a homework assignment for the media; go back and read Strategy Memorandum #1 to be ready for #3 (#2 has been skipped due to delay).