I was more or less prepared to move past the subject altogether, but Roll Call had an item today on Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) and the now-infamous Terri “great political issue” Schiavo memo.
Most of the piece dealt with the fact that Martinez is facing some pressure from campaign advisors who are urging the freshman senator to make sweeping staff changes in the wake of the controversy. But the more interesting point dealt with just how isolated the Darling incident really was.
Martinez’s press secretary, Kerry Feehery, continues to insist that that Schiavo memo was written “unilaterally” by one aide. However, a Republican source close to the situation said the claim is “preposterous.”
The source told [Roll Call] that he knows “for certain” that two other senior Martinez staffers helped Darling write the memo and circulate it to other Republican Senators. “Those three were really working it,” the source said.
This seems far more realistic, in light of everything that’s been reported, and suggests Martinez couldn’t have handled this fiasco much worse. Indeed, his staff scapegoating never really made a lot of sense — a senator’s point man on a national controversy prepared talking points and gave them to the lawmaker, who in turn shared them with another lawmaker. Several Senate offices later confirmed they received copies as well. And yet, Martinez insists Darling was some rogue memo-writer, writing up talking points without input or collaboration, and that no one but Darling even read the memo in advance?
Moreover, the fact that a “Republican source close to the situation” is talking to Roll Call about this suggests there’s some lingering anger towards Martinez for his role in making this mess happen. All, it appears, is not yet forgiven on the GOP side of the aisle.