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President Obama lent his voice last night to the push for a mandatory cap on greenhouse gas emissions, using his first speech to a joint session of Congress to lobby for controversial legislation sure to spark a heated debate during tight economic times. Obama campaigned for president last year with climate change and energy issues atop his agenda. And he returned to those themes yesterday, saying that a cap-and-trade bill would help spark economic recovery by giving U.S. companies greater incentive to start producing more wind turbines, solar panels, biofuels and battery-powered automobiles. "To truly transform our economy, to protect...

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) looms hugely over his state’s open Senate race, holding 2-to-1 leads over all Democrats interested in the race, according to a new Strategic Vision poll. The poll finds the popular governor, who will wait until after Florida’s legislative session to make his plans known, leading Democratic Reps. Ron Klein and Kendrick Meek by 34 points each. The seat became vacant when Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) announced he wouldn’t seek a second term in 2010.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Former presidential rival John McCain expressed disappointment on Friday that President Barack Obama has not negotiated with Republicans over a huge economic stimulus plan and said he is working on an alternative package. Speaking to Reuters, Arizona Sen. McCain said the alternative plan would include what he described as "more effective tax cuts, such as a payroll tax cut" and spending on projects aimed at immediately creating jobs. "A group of us Republican senators are working on coming up with an alternative package that I would hope would have some elements to it that Americans would support,"...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican senator Mel Martinez of Florida says he will support Attorney General-nominee Eric Holder, putting him a big step closer to confirmation. Holder met with Martinez morning Friday while the Senate Judiciary Committee held a second day of hearings on his nomination. Martinez said in a statement that he believes Holder understands the unique role of the nation's top law enforcement official and intends to vote to confirm him.

Martinez won the seat in 2004 in a 50-48 squeaker, and before he announced his retirement the Democrats were openly salivating about beating him in 2010 and flipping the seat. * Florida (R): This Sunshine State seat -- currently held by Sen. Mel Martinez (R) -- is at the top of nearly every Democratic strategist's list of potential pickups. Why? Obama's win in the state has bolstered Democrats' confidence and the $14,000 Martinez raised between July and September has Republicans worried. Rep. Ron Klein (D) is giving every indication that he will run; as of Oct. 15 he had $1.8...

Senate sources confirm for me that Mel Martinez was the famous “Senator Anonymous” from three weeks ago. Martinez, not wanting him name used, told the Politico “I don’t think we have learned much from the election in terms of what people want to see.” This senator said the Republicans needed someone who could “speak from the center” and wanted it known that “Sarah Palin is not the voice of [the Republican] party.”

Sen. Mel Martinez's announcement Tuesday that he would not seek a second term immediately set off speculation about possible candidates for his seat. The following is a look at people who have indicated interest or are the subject of speculation: Republicans - Former Gov. Jeb Bush. He is seriously considering a run and party and elected officials from Florida and beyond are encouraging him, according to a former political adviser who spoke on condition of anonymity because Bush is not ready to publicly discuss his plans. But for now, the official word from spokeswoman Kristy Campbell is this: "Governor Bush...

Just announced on update on local Miami news: Mel Martinez will NOT run for a second term in 2010! Now maybe we can get a CONSERVATIVE Republican.

This is an email I received yesterday from Senator Martinez in reply to an email I had sent requesting his support to ensure that Senator Obama provided proof of his eligibility, as a natural-born US citizen, to take the office of President of the United States. Dear (Omitted): Thank you for contacting me regarding President-Elect Obama's citizenship. I appreciate hearing from you and would like to respond to your concerns. Like you, I believe that our federal government has the responsibility to make certain that the Constitution of the United States is not compromised. We must fight to uphold our...

Well, I had written to Senator Martinez ("R"-Florida) about the citizenship issue before the election. Today I got this mind-boggling response: ======================== Thank you for contacting me regarding President-Elect Obama's citizenship. I appreciate hearing from you and would like to respond to your concerns. Like you, I believe that our federal government has the responsibility to make certain that the Constitution of the United States is not compromised. We must fight to uphold our Constitution through our courts and political processes. Article II of the Constitution provides that "no Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the...

Hewing to campaign conventions, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) today visited a local pastry shop here, praised his fellow Republican officeholders and declared Florida is "a battleground state" in the election. McCain entered Pancho's Spanish Bakery & Deli in Orlando this afternoon along with his wife Cindy, Florida GOP Gov. Charlie Crist and Orange County mayor Richard Crotty (R). They all shook hands with many patrons and a few employees. There was scattered applause. "Thank you," McCain said. "We have the mayor and the governor, how about that?" Upon seeing Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), who was seated at a table, rise...

Consider: The Brazilian government has a 58 percent controlling stake in Petrobras's voting shares and 32percent of its total shares, which means that some of the profits go straight to the government's bottom line, giving the politicians more money to spend on bribing their constituents. In the United States, American politicians do not benefit from a successful oil industry, since corporate profits go to shareholders, pensioners and employees; therefore Congress has a much greater incentive to respond to the concentrated power of the special interest group known as the "greens." There are plenty of other examples, says O'Grady: In Mexico,...

Legislation to combat global warming by putting limits on greenhouse gas emissions appeared headed to defeat as Democrats and Republicans accused each other of manipulating Senate rules to impede it. Opponents of the bill, co-authored by Sen. John Warner of Virginia, are "trying to fritter away the time" that Senate leaders had set aside for debate, Democratic Sen. John Kerry charged. On Wednesday, Republicans forced Democrats to have the 492-page bill read aloud on the floor, taking up more than nine hours. Majority Leader Harry Reid then scheduled a showdown vote for this morning on a motion to limit additional...

It is often said that the best way to find out how a candidate would act in office if elected, is to see who he/she surrounds himself with. Money is another factor, what people and industries are backing the candidate. These answers should be an indicator of what to expect. Who is behind the man should gauge what kind of man he is. The great Richard Viguerie tells the story of how he and other conservatives had a “seat at the table” of the presidential campaigns of Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan for. His thinking was if Conservatives aren’t at...

Less then a week after saying he has heard the American people regarding illegal immigration and their opposition to the McCain-Kennedy Pro-Amnesty bill, John McCain would still SIGN THE BILL into law if he was President and it came across his desk: (VIDEO) This explains his receiving the endorsement of fellow Pro-Amnestians, Senator Mel Martinez, (who almost single-handedly bankrupted the RNC with his support of the bill), the NY Times, Florida Governor Charlie Crist and of the Mexico-first pro-amnesty open borders advocate Dr. Juan Hernandez. “My friends", let me give you some “straight talk", a vote for John McCain is...

MIAMI -- The Latin Builders Association basked in the attention of four Republican candidates today, all of whom pledged to pay attention to issues prized by Latino voters. While Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) came at the end of the day, as association members were sipping cocktails, he came with a key guest: Sen. Mel Martinez, who formally announced he is endorsing his colleague for president. "The man that we should trust with the leadership of our nation as commander in chief ought to be John McCain," Martinez said, breaking into a mix of Spanish and English. "This is a man...

MIAMI- Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida has decided not to endorse Republican presidential hopeful Arizona Sen. John McCain. McCain was planning to campaign Monday in Miami with Martinez to help woo Hispanic voters,The Miami Herald reported Sunday. A factor in Martinez's decision to withhold his endorsement of McCain's candidacy is that he feels badly for McCain rival, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was a Martinez supporter and had expected his backing in return, the newspaper reported. McCain supporters had been told by the campaign late last week that Martinez was coming to stump with the Arizona senator. But,...

US Senator Mel Martinez (R) may draw an unexpected challenge for re-nomination when his seat comes up in 2010, possibly from ambitious State House Speaker Marco Rubio (R). Some Florida Republicans are upset with Martinez over his immigration position, others in the agricultural community are unhappy about his support for CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement), and party activists grumble about his brief, hands-off RNC Chairmanship. Considered a fairly poor campaigner with weak name ID and no discernable association with any particular issue, Martinez could be vulnerable to a challenge from the right. Others who know Martinez -- who was...

WASHINGTON -- The Republican Party's highest-ranking Latino official abruptly resigned Friday, marking the latest casualty in the GOP's bitter internal fight over immigration and dealing another setback to President Bush's years-long effort to court Latino voters. The announcement by Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida that he was quitting as general chairman of the Republican National Committee came after he had expressed frustration over the tenor of the immigration debate within his party. ... "Mel Martinez was a symbol of the party's outreach to Latinos, and that seems to be disappearing," said Lionel Sosa, a longtime Republican strategist and advisor to...

Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) resigned Friday as general chairman of the Republican National Committee, leaving all top-level leader duties for the embattled GOP to Mike Duncan, the current chairman. Martinez, who took the job nine months ago as the public face of the national GOP, stepped down during a tough time for the Republican Party, out of power on Capitol Hill and trying to gain traction in the national campaign under the shadow of an unpopular, lame-duck president. Martinez, who publicly parted ways with GOP congressional leaders earlier this year on immigration issues, will not be replaced as general chairman....