Senator Mel Martinez of Florida has been named the new “general chairman” of the Republican National Committee. It’s actually going to be a divided chairmanship – Martinez will be the party’s public face while “Mike Duncan, the RNC’s current general counsel and a former party treasurer, will be named chairman and will be put in charge of running the everyday operations at the party’s Capitol Hill headquarters”.
Martinez has a history of ethical controversy, especially WRT to funding in campaigns he has run. Otherwise, he seems to be a perfectly conventional Pub conservative – hard-line pro-life, anti-SSM, etc. – except:
He is Latino and
He represents the wing of the party that supports W’s immigration policies, including the guest-worker program, etc.
IMO, this cement’s the party’s new approach of repudiating the veiled racism of the “Southern Strategy” and reaching out to minority voters. OTOH, it is bound to alienate the party’s anti-immigration wing.
If the Republicans really believe appointing Martinez will woo Hispanic voters after the incessant immigrant-bashing, “all Hispanics are assumed to be illegal until proven otherwise” hysteria from earlier this year, then they must really think the electorate is a bunch of idiots.
Martinez is Cuban, no? As far as I understand it, Latinos don’t see themselves as a unified bloc, and Cuban Republicans are a pretty specialized constituency that doesn’t really share the same concerns as other Latinos.
In any case, this has already driven the immigration Republicans crazy with anger.
And, on the other hand, despite the Republican talking points about him being a moderate and the willingness of the media to parrot him, he’s pretty obviously one of the most conservative right wingers in Congress.
I’m delighted that the GOP picked Martinez, because the opinion of the Floridians I know - who, other than my wife, lean right - is that he’s an idiot.
This choice puts the whole Murtha-v.-Hoyer thing in a wonderful context: whatever problems one might have with either one of them (and I have different problems with each man), neither is lacking for brains. Each would represent the Democratic Party far better than Martinez will represent the GOP.
I don’t know that it really matters much. Since Mike Duncan is going to be running day to day RNC operations, his skills and abilities are probably more significant.
I don’t understand why they would name a working politician. Some politician who needs a job, sure. Some unknown with killer organizational and fundraising skills, sure. But what good does Martinez do them?
(I’m pleased to note that we lefties are just as delighted to give the Republicans advice as they were to us after the last election.)
He proves (or at least, those chose him hope he will be perceived as proving) that the Republican Party has no problem with Latinos. That’s important, now. They’ve been going after the Latino vote vigorously the past few years. It helps immensely that W’s brother Jeb speaks Spanish fluently, spent several years in Mexico and in Venezuela, has a Latina wife, and has converted to Catholicism.
Then perhaps Jeb should be the RNC. Unless he wants to run for President - he was the one meant to run for President, after all.
I understand that after the immigration debacle this past summer the Republicans are in dire need of a way to demonstrate to what could be a winnable constituency that the party is not prejudiced. I think Martinez appears to be a token. He won’t actually be doing the work; he’s just a name on the letterhead.
They clearly have a lot to learn about not being so shrill and confrontational, its why they just don’t win elections, because it offends people and stuff.
Not so sure how Martinez plays as a “token Latino”. The bulk of American Hispanics are Mexican and Central American in derivation, the cultural divide with Cubans is pretty distinct. As well, many are resentful that Cubans are “political refugees” when they are merely “illegal immigrants”. As well they might.
Still, Martinez does strongly support W’s immigration policies. That’s got to count for something – and something more than it would if his name were O’Grady.
True, but as frontman, he’ll be their public face, and will have at least the occasional opportunity to embarrass the party.
Not that I have a problem with that.
(If the Republicans who were giving the Dems lots of advice, supposedly for their own good, were known as ‘concern trolls’ on the blogs, maybe I’m an ‘unconcern troll.’ I’m making no pretense of having the GOP’s best interests in mind.)
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