rssSen. Mel Martinez Resigns; Did the GOP Base Hound Him Out?
Friday, August 07, 2009 at 11:49 am
- 7 Comments
This is the sort of big-headline political news that won’t matter much in the long run.
Though he has persistently denied the “rumor” that he’ll step down, Florida Sen. Mel Martinez might announce as early as Friday that he’ll leave office early, according to a number of sources in the state and nation’s capitals.
“It’s a deeply personal decision that he will expand on later today. He decided it’s time to move to another stage of his life,” said a source familiar with the situation.
Martinez, the first Hispanic chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2007 to 2008, announced last year that he would not run for re-election in 2010 and spent the first months of the 111th Congress as an obviously unhappy but fairly reliable Republican vote.
He nonetheless took a lot of heat from the GOP base for his pro-immigration reform views and for his support of Sonia Sotomayor, whom he defended from charges of “racism” and endorsed for confirmation very early on. Martinez simply never got much respect; when he announced that he’d vote for Sotomayor, Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post tweeted, “Duh.” Jim Geraghty, hearing that Martinez might have left the Senate because he was sick of his party and his colleagues, predicts that he’ll “catch hell” for that. But between this and the pressure that pushed Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Penn.) over to the Democrats, it seems like the problem is less Martinez’s sensitivity and more the GOP base’s demand for ideological purity.
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7 Comments
Comment posted August 7, 2009 @ 4:06 pm
Boy, I am so happy to see him leaving. I cannot tell you how disappointed I have been with his lack of leadership, his obviously ardent moderate stance, and his overwhelming lack of interest in taking the steps necessary for Florida to succeed.
Comment posted August 7, 2009 @ 4:24 pm
Umm… You do know “ardent” and “moderate” are like, you know, pretty much antonyms, right?
Pingback posted August 7, 2009 @ 6:58 pm
[...] keeps asking to finish the case, court doesn’t respond thus wasting time for more cases. -The Washington Independent » Sen. Mel Martinez Resigns; Did the … by David Weigel Though he has persistently denied the “rumor” that he’ll step down, [...]
Comment posted August 7, 2009 @ 7:43 pm
Seems like a rough one for Crist but it will likely be an easy fix with just a little bit of a hailstorm one that could have been avoided. http://www.yovia.com/blogs/timlara
Pingback posted August 8, 2009 @ 5:27 am
[...] The Washington Independent » Sen. Mel Martinez Resigns; Did the …Mel Martinez might announce as early as Friday that he’ll leave office early, according to a number of sources in the state and nation’s capitals. “It’s a deeply personal decision that he will expand on later today. …Read More [...]
Comment posted August 9, 2009 @ 2:34 pm
I saw a recent poll that showed Republican favorable/unfavorable numbers among Hispanics at something like 84/16 unfavorable. Not a good future for the GOP in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and even Texas.
These guys are following Hannity, Limbaugh and Beck right over a cliff.
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