Martinez Vows To Use GOP Post For Hispanic Outreach
WASHINGTON – Sen. Mel Martinez of Orlando became the new face of the Republican Party on Friday, pledging to attract more Hispanic voters and heal the party’s rift over illegal immigration.
“The fact that a boy at age 15 can come here from another country, with nothing, not even speaking the language of this country, and stand before you today as a leader of our great party and a United States senator is a miracle that could only happen in America,” said Martinez, who immigrated to Florida from Cuba.
He was overwhelmingly elected to a new position, general chairman, by members of the Republican National Committee. A handful of “no” votes came from representatives of border states who oppose his views on illegal immigration.
Martinez and President Bush are among Republicans who favor giving workers in the country illegally a path to citizenship. Opponents dismiss the plan as amnesty.
“I want to make sure we take [the] message to the broader Hispanic community, to the African-American community and to all communities that may never have believed that Republican ideals spoke to them,” Martinez said.
Martinez offered a hint of how he intends to increase minority interest.
In a news conference, he answered a few questions from English-speaking reporters. Then he turned to a Spanish-speaking television reporter and said, “In the interest of diversity, let me take a pregunta en espanol.”
Wild Thing’s comment…..
I don’t like Martinez! I had a gut feeling if he was in this position it would be just like this with this plan of his. No No No thank you.
OK this is a real life experience. A man that worked in the company I used to work for came here from Peru. He wanted to become a citizen and he did. His wife did not because she said, ” I don’t want to pay taxes and this way I can send more money to our families at home.” Home? Yep, she meant Peru.
Both of them think Bill Clinton is a gift from God. They HATE Bush, and are complete Democrats.
Giving in to the illegal immigrants does NOT lock in a Republican vote. And from what I can tell from the news it only shows how they think the Democratic party is the one they will vote for. So all this kissing up that Bush does for them means nothing. And it shows them that the President of the most powerful country in the entire world does not respect the existing laws of this land so why should they.
Sheesh!
This is one of the reasons I won’t renew my membership in the Republican National Committee.
I guess the Republican wing of the Democrat party loves the status quo and the number 2 leadership position, the last election for me at least pointed out that Mehlman was one of the problems the RNC had in supporting conservative values, then George goes and pushes a Cuban National into the position, a man that he want’s to give away the nation to illegal immigration. Like BobF I’ll not be supporting the RNC.
Can we fire them all now?? And send them to Venezuela?
The Republican Party(RNC) has been in suicide mode since Reagan left office. The two Bushs are basically just lackey public fronts for the Party wheels. I don’t like him, but I think Newt is also independent from the insiders and his Contract with America probably also pissed off the Party leaders.
The RNC, and Bush Jr, seem hell bent on convincing us that if we let most of Mexico and Central America into America, they will all be Conservative voters and loyal Americans.
Bullshit!! There is something other than Montezuma’s Revenge in Mexican water. There is something in their culture that makes them disdain the United States. Yes, they want to come here and share our success, but they also want to change us to the screwed up culture they are trying to escape. They are as self-destructive as the RNC.
The RNC does not represent the basic interests of most Conservatives anymore. It is an elitist group of lying manipulators on their own private power trip.
What has Martinez promised to all those Illegals that could possibly make them vote republican and what is it going to cost me the American tax payer.
I thought buying votes was illegal.
This is why I wished all 535 of our representatvies would have been voted out, absolute power corrupts absolutely.
It saddens me. Mel Martinez is a Bush/Rove protege, and the Bushyrovies still don’t get it. They just can’t give up on the hopeless idea of winning a “Hispandering contest” with the Demunists. Never mind that the recent elections completely repudiated that false notion, and failed Hispandering almost lost 2000, and turned would could have been a landslide in 2004 into a more narrow victory.
The Hispandering sentiment comes from (1)immigration romantics, and (2) the greedheads who just want cheap labor no matter what. (Read the Wall Street Journal editorial pages for an idea of these mindsets).
Both ignore the real costs to excessive immigration (obviously illegal aliens but in some categories even legal immigration.)
A few Republicans who were anti-immigration did lose their seats in the recent elections, but those losses were due to perceptions of corruption, or other scandals, or Iraq war weariness. They lost despite being anti-immigration, not because of it.
The Bushyrovies, romantics and greedheads just don’t get it. You would think the massive pro-illegal alien demonstrations last year, on Communist May Day, no less, would have been a wake-up call to reality. Sadly, not.
Of course, the Republican Party should encourage that “talented tenth” of African American Republicans to run for office (or in the case of Mexican Americans, that talented one-third) but some Republicans need to get it through their thick elephantine skulls:
1. Republicans CAN’T out-pander “Dem-Masters Of Pandering”, and to do so is political suicide. Those of us who regularly vote Republican do so on principle, not because we are being pandered to. In fact, lately, we have been ignored and even face-slapped, this illegal alien accomodation being the most recent case in point.
2. People who have been accustomed for generations to nanny-statism will only vote Democrat and hate Republicans anyway. One-third of Mexican Americans is about as good for Republicans as it will ever get, simple as that. When Republicans go “anti-immigration”? About 1/3. When they cave in to illegal aliens? Maybe a bit higher than 1/3. While alienating their entire base. Really smart move there, guys! X-P
3. Race Relations are not a simple white / non-white dichotomy; black and brown and yellow often have frictions with each other too. When a caveman like Pat Buchanan received standing ovations in Koreatown, and when Pete Wilson (the last real Republican governor California had) TRIPLED the normal vote share Republicans get among African Americans because of his strong stance against illegal aliens, well, someone at the Republican Party should have been taking notes.
4. Even the terms “Latino” or “Hispanic” confuse matters. Mel Martinez, from what I know of him, is a staunch Republican on most issues, as are most Cuban Americans. But Mexican Americans or Puerto Ricans are quite different.
Anyway, unless the people running the party wise up, be prepared for bad political news for the next few election cycles.
Nick, you’ve got some good stuff but I wouldn’t say Republicans, or a few Republicans, are anti-immigration. I would use the term anti-illegal immigration.
I replied to the RNC in one of their many pleas for money that I would not support them because they did not even understand why they lost the last election.
This man just exemplafies why they lost.
Bob, same here. I have told them that on the phone too when they have called a few times to ask for donations.
Jack, right before our very eyes they want to mess with a party that has been strong on things. This last election should have taught the RNC something, but apparently not. waaaa
Yankeemom…hahaa yes for a nice vacation in how it could be if they keep this up. Thanks Yankeemom.
Tom, exaclty and I miss the good old days, because I was always gung ho and worked hard for the RNC. Now I am on wait and be angry mode. I have told, written and call the ones that need to know how so many of us feel. Now it is up to them to listen, learn and get their act together. I pray they do!
Mark you are so right!!!
DE644, I did the same thing. I sure hope more and more people do like you said. I still have to believe that if everyone did, it would scream out to them how disgusted we are.
Nick…….”You would think the massive pro-illegal alien demonstrations last year, on Communist May Day, no less, would have been a wake-up call to reality. Sadly, not.”…..
Sadly not is right, I sure thought it would shock people into reality.No such luck for so many people they don’t seem to even care. sigh
“Nick, you’ve got some good stuff but I wouldn’t say Republicans, or a few Republicans, are anti-immigration. I would use the term anti-illegal immigration.”
You are right BobF; I forgot to put the term “anti-immigration” in sarcastic quotation marks in a few places.
(Although it is true that certain categories of legal immigration have been abused too, refugee status for instance).
Now my lovely fiancee’ is from Korea, and so many of my friends are from Asia or Latin America. Nevertheless, the naive notion that if the Republican Party just lets ’em in, they will be eternally grateful is patently false.