From what I hear, Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (R) really wanted the RNC job, but the White House rejected him in favor of Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.).
Sen. [tag]Mel Martinez[/tag], a Florida Republican elected in 2004, has accepted an offer by the White House to become the new chairman of the [tag]Republican National Committee[/tag], three sources tell CNN.
Under the arrangement, Martinez will remain in office and serve as the party’s lead spokesman as well as take a major role in fundraising and political outreach, while [tag]RNC[/tag] General Counsel Robert (Mike) Duncan will oversee the committee’s day-to-day responsibilities.
It’s a little odd for a sitting senator to be chairman of a political party — most senators find representing their state to keep them busy enough, especially those serving huge states like Florida. But not Mel; he has some free time to head up a national party’s office.
And who, exactly, is Mel [tag]Martinez[/tag]? I’m glad you asked.
Martinez has only been in the Senate for two years, and he hasn’t done much to distinguish himself — except during the Terri Schiavo controversy. It was, as you may recall, Martinez’s office who distributed a talking-points memo around the Senate calling the tragedy a “great political issue,” adding that ”the pro-life base will be excited” by the debate. Martinez later distanced himself from the document, but his explanation never made a lot of sense.
Indeed, throughout his recent career, Martinez’s claim to fame is the ability to pass the buck with extraordinary skill.
During a GOP primary fight in 2004, Martinez’s campaign accused a rival candidate as playing to the “radical homosexual lobby.” When asked for an apology, Martinez blamed “young Turks” on his staff.
Shortly thereafter, Martinez compared U.S. immigration to “armed thugs” for returning Elian Gonzales to his father in 2000. Martinez, confronted with a controversy, again blamed his staff.
Then the Schiavo memo came to light, and asked to explain how it came from his office, Martinez, you guessed it, blamed his staff. (It was almost comical when, in 2005, Martinez released a statement saying, “As the senator, I am ultimately responsible for the work of my staff and the product that comes out of this office.”)
Of course, Martinez isn’t just a senator; he’s a former Bush cabinet official, having served as the head of HUD during the president’s first term. There, he distinguished himself by doing almost nothing.
Martinez is the Mr. Cellophane of the Bush cabinet. “Mister Cellophane” is a song in the musical Chicago, sung by Amos Hart, the hapless and inconsequential husband of Roxie Hart, a publicity-seeking floozy jailed for killing her lover. Amos calls himself “Mr. Cellophane”:
‘Cause you can look right through me,
Walk right by me
And never know I’m there
As if to prove the point, in 2006, the president got Martinez confused with Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) at a White House event.
You don’t suppose Martinez would picked so the White House could say they chose a Latino, do you?