Posted on 04/06/2005 7:53:03 PM PDT by Crackingham
Senator Mel Martinez, Republican of Florida, said Wednesday that a senior member of his staff had written an unsigned memorandum about the partisan political advantages of intervening in the case of Terri Schiavo that became a controversial footnote to the debate over the wisdom and motives of Congress's actions.
In a statement on Wednesday night, Mr. Martinez said that he had just learned that the memorandum originated in his office and that its author had resigned. He did not name the author, but aides said it was Brian Darling, his counsel.
Mr. Darling could not be reached for comment.
"It is with profound disappointment and regret that I learned today that a senior member of my staff was unilaterally responsible for this document," Mr. Martinez said. "It was not approved by me or any other member of my staff, nor were we aware of its existence until very recently."
Mr. Martinez added: "This type of behavior and sentiment will not be tolerated in my office. As the senator, I am ultimately responsible for the work of my staff and the product that comes out of this office. I take full responsibility for this situation."
The anonymous memorandum, which was distributed to news organizations by Democratic aides and first reported by ABC News, became widely cited in news reports as evidence that at least some Republicans were applying a political calculus to the case of Ms. Schiavo, the brain-damaged Florida woman. Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, the majority leader, and many other Republican Senators quickly disavowed the document, saying they had never seen it and that they condemned it.
In his statement, Mr. Martinez said that on March 9 he had mistakenly and unknowingly handed the document to Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat of Iowa, on the floor of the Senate. Mr. Martinez said that he had meant to reach for a different document and that he did not know how it had entered his possession.
"Senator Harkin was kind enough today to call me and tell me this afternoon that he believes the memo he received was given to him by me," Mr. Martinez said. "Until this afternoon, I had never seen it and had no idea a copy of it had ever been in my possession."
And it also takes them three paragraphs to disseminate the actual truth, so as not to tarnish the obvious malefactor.
The anonymous memorandum, typed by an aide to Senator Martinez had been mistakenly and unknowingly handed the only copy of the document to Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat of Iowa, on the floor of the Senate which was immediately reproduced, and subsequently distributed to news organizations by Democratic aides and first reported by ABC News.
Bwaaa haaa! I registered as a member of this odious web site just to post this reply. You guys are sucking it! I'm loving it! You get yourselves all whipped up, get your bunches all bunched, talking about liberal media conspiracies, etc., andonandon, and here it is: your party is falling apart! By the way, what is a conservative nowadays anyway? I think this is the new definition I saw in Webster's: "A big-spending, nation-building, big government moralist often found in the grip of paranoia and false conspiracy theories. Soon to be renamed New Democrats."
By remarkable coincidence, I had a nuke on hand with your name on it.
True, but, hey - he did come clean. >p> I'm sick of politicians that think is is political suicide to say anything negative about themselves - no matter how obvious the thing may be. We should make honesty worth SOMETHING.
Don't Blame Me... I voted for McCollum.
A Sen. McCollum WOULDN'T HAVE PASSED AN INTERNAL MEMO TO A DEMOCRAT.
Rumors are, Martinez didn't even know Harkin was a Dem. Great job, Senator.
In any case, McCollum hardly had the campaigning skills to pull off a victory, which is why I said I wished the party would have run anyone else but Martinez. Kathering Harris or Charlie Crist are good possiblities. Ideally, I would have LOVED to see the FL GOP slate Daniel Webster, you can't go wrong with a name like that. Unforunately he didn't run, so I was left with having to support Johnnie Byrd as the "default" alternative to Martinez.
At least Martinez is marginally better than his predecessor, but one more RINO in the Senate GOP delegation does not inspire much faith they will be able to pass a conservative agenda.
Have you ever had the privilege of listening to Glenn Beck when he's paired with his old partner Pat Gray? Pat does a local morning show on 950 KPRC here in Houston, with Glenn following nationally, and occasionally Glenn will call in or be in town, and they'll do some or all of a show together.
They are some of the funniest men on radio. I have had to pull over more than once while listening to them. They've been best friends for so long, one knows exactly where the other is going, and brother, that is some comedy GOLD!
"Sloppy" is the perfect word for Ingraham's speech. I'd guess at least half her sentences are fragments.
(But then, I write the way I talk, so I'm perhaps a bit critical.)
No. I hear Beck every day, and listen to Gray when I'm in Houston a couple of times a month. I've never heard them together.
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