Failed immigration bill Martinez's 'bitter' pil

Friday, August 17, 2007

WASHINGTON — Did the failed immigration overhaul make Sen. Mel Martinez a “bitter” man?

This week, news outlets slammed Martinez, the Florida Republican and chairman of the Republican National Committee, for being “out of step” with those in his own party.

The criticism came Tuesday after Martinez blamed two leading Republican presidential candidates, Mitt Romney and Rudolph Giuliani, for failing to come up with a solution to the nation’s ongoing immigration crisis.

Martinez, you may recall, helped craft a measure earlier this year that would provide an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants with a pathway to legal status while sealing the borders. That plan was opposed by many Republicans, including Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, and Giuliani, the former mayor of New York.

But the Cuban-born Martinez said the two presidential candidates failed to come up with an alternate plan. “Presidential contests are about leadership,” the senator said in a speech this week, according to the St. Petersburg Times. “It’s about leading on the tough issues.”

“It was easy to say, ‘This wasn’t good enough. This isn’t right. I don’t agree with Martinez,’” the senator added. “But at the end of the day, what is your answer? How would you solve this?”

In the same speech, Martinez, who hasn’t endorsed a presidential candidate, praised Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., for being so “courageous” during the contentious debate earlier in the year.

But a day later, the senator was trounced by critics. “It is bad enough that Sen. Mel Martinez, the national chairman of the Republican Party, is out of step with a large majority of the party’s voters and volunteers on immigration,” the National Journal wrote in an editorial. “What’s worse is that he is now attacking the party’s presidential candidates for being in step with them.”

The Washington Times took it a step further in an editorial Friday.
“The junior senator from Florida is wrong on more than the substance,” the Times wrote. “This is a case of putting his own personal views and his loyalty to President Bush above the serious responsibilities of his chairmanship.

“He has just driven a wedge between himself and the two men most likely at this point to contend for the Republican presidential nomination,” the editorial continues. “To what end? He is at odds with his party. He sounds bitter. He isn’t going to change minds. And he may have just undercut the man for whom Mr. Martinez’s job requires a vigorous defense next year.”
A spokeswoman for Martinez at the Republican National Committee couldn’t be reached for comment Friday.

A spokeswoman for the Romney campaign said the former governor was aware of the senator’s comments but would not say if he found the remarks offensive.

“The governor has been very clear on where he stands on immigration,” said Kristy Campbell, a Romney spokeswoman. “His priorities are (to) secure the borders and implement an employee verification program with a tamper-proof biometric card.

“We’re not going to provide a special pathway to citizenship,” Campbell added.

He should be Recalled!!! Along with the rest of the Pol's who didnt hear us Yellin last time....

They think we have gone back to sleep, Lets prove them wrong!!