Posted on 05/26/2007 3:39:25 PM PDT by Baladas
WASHINGTON -- These days, Mel Martinez begins each morning in a room just off the Senate floor listening to 11 of his colleagues argue the intricacies of a potentially historic immigration proposal.
Sometimes, Martinez tries to lighten the intense atmosphere that builds up when polar opposites debate an emotional issue. Other times, the Senate's only immigrant sits quietly in an overstuffed crimson leather chair only to have someone ask: "Mel, certainly you have an opinion about this?"
Martinez is one of the so-called "Gang of 12" senators who are taking the lead on one of the hottest topics on Capitol Hill -- trying to preserve the fragile legislative compromise that would give 12-million illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.
But for Martinez, Florida's junior senator, that comfortable room is not always the easiest place to be.
Many Republicans accuse Martinez -- their party's chairman -- of being too lenient on illegal immigrants, repeatedly calling the bill's path to citizenship an "amnesty."
Many immigrant advocates accuse Martinez -- a Cuban-American who came to the United States legally at the age of 15 -- of not doing enough to help immigrants achieve the rights and respect they deserve.
"The center can be a very lonely place," said John Pitney, a former RNC official who teaches political science at Claremont McKenna College. "When opinions are this polarized, you are getting hit from both sides."
Martinez, 60, a former Cabinet secretary, said in an interview this week that he tries to ignore the attacks. Instead, he said, he is guided by his unwavering belief that what he is doing is right.
"I don't pay a lot of attention," he said. "It's so clear what I need to do for the nation, for the state, for my party. I don't feel torn inside about what I am doing."
The Senate proposal would expand the guest worker program, provide employers with new ways to verify the legal status of workers and increase security on the U.S.-Mexico border.
The full Senate began considering the bill this week and will resume debate in June after next week's Memorial Day recess.
Now in his third year in office, Martinez said he has never seen such a public outcry over a single issue.
Most of the calls and e-mails coming into his Senate office are from people who oppose the bill. But, he says, most of the comments he gets when he travels the state are from people who support it.
Immigrant groups, some of which have honored Martinez in the past, want at least two significant changes in the bill that would allow guest workers to apply for citizenship and immigrants to be granted legal residency based on their family ties.
One of those groups, the Florida Immigrant Coalition, has held prayer vigils outside Martinez's offices in Tampa, Orlando, Pensacola and Miami. Another, the Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, has targeted Martinez through print and radio ads.
"It's clear he is a national player," said Maria Rodriguez, director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition. "But he needs to represent the interests of Florida. He worries too much about his party and not enough about Florida."
Martinez was handpicked by President Bush for the job as party chairman to help Republicans win back Congress and keep the White House. He is being counted on to woo Hispanic voters, a fast-growing group whose support for the Republican Party faltered in the last election.
"No question that if this important bill passes, Mel Martinez is one of the Republicans that will get credit," said Joe Garcia of the New Democrat Network, which courts Hispanics. "I wish it was a better bill, but Mel Martinez is on the right side of history."
Martinez and Bush are in agreement on the Senate immigration bill, but much of their party is not -- a fact that is likely to hurt Republicans with Hispanic voters in future elections.
Clarissa Martinez, campaign manager for the Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, wants Martinez to think about those Hispanic voters and do more to make the Senate bill more friendly to immigrants.
"As chairman he should think of the longevity of the party," she said.
For months, a handful of senators -- Republicans and Democrats -- spent a few hours a couple of times a week behind closed doors hashing out a proposal with White House advisers. Later, after a bill was introduced, the group began meeting twice a day -- in the morning and evening - to strategize about keeping the bill intact under a barrage of dozens of amendments.
The group's leaders are Sen. Jon Kyl, a Republican from Arizona, and Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Democrat from Massachusetts. Martinez sees his role as trying to keep the group focused, as well as conveying his unique perspective as an immigrant.
"A lot of us don't feel like they're speaking for us, that this idea that we can't offer an amendment or it's going to blow up the deal is a bunch of nonsense," said Sen. Jim DeMint, a South Carolina Republican who wants to remove the citizenship part of the bill.
Last year, the Senate passed a bill that Martinez helped write though it failed in the House. But Martinez says his experience this year is far different -- sitting in a room with Republicans and Democrats trying to come up with a deal - but one that he considers more in line with what people think senators should do.
"It has been so long that people may have forgotten how a bipartisan compromise looks and smells," Martinez said. "It has strong opposition from either extreme, but a good broad center."
Last times I recall anything this bad for the country, that was opposed by 80% of the people and yet passed by an intractable Congress, were NAFTA & GATT.
“I don’t pay a lot of attention,” he said. “It’s so clear what I need to do for the nation, for the state, for my party. I don’t feel torn inside about what I am doing.”
He forgot to mention La Raza.
Martinez is NOT taking risks ~ he may not realize it, but that's what it amounts to.
Or else he and a good number of other Senators are simply "nuts".
ack...Bush/Martinez...but hey, they can speak spanish ‘together’.
Please accept my apologies for Sen. Martinez. I worked hard to help him get elected. He has been a huge disappointment.
I have called his office and sent many emails expressing my displeasure with his various stances. He doesn’t respond. I will not be supporting him again.
Sadly we are at present between working within the system and getting some rope and hanging these bastards.
“Martinez was handpicked by President Bush for the job as party chairman..”
Bush handpicked Martinez for more than Party Chairman. If I remember correctly, the Administration picked Martinez for Senator from Florida also.
I believe this is all a transparent plot to get “Son of Jeb” into the White House in the future.
The guy in the center gets run over and flattened from both sides of the street, never to rise again.
No reply from his Florida office to me, either. At least I got a robot thank-you reply from Dem Senator Bill Nelson which contained a link to an email form directly to him.
Leni
You guys were warned in the primary election that Mel Martinez was a pro-illegal alien puppet and Bush lackey. The idea that Martinez was "opposed" amnesty was laughable given that he was a member of Bush's cabinet for four years and never once spoke out against the President's proposal.
Everyone who warned what Martinez's true intentions were was attacked on this board as a nasty bigot who was "against hispanics" Everyone who supported other Republicans in the primary was told "only" Martinez could "win" statewide (a laughable statement given the 2nd tier opposition on the Dem side and how often Republicans win in Florida) and accused of "wanting Betty Castro to win".
I do find it rather amusing that the "electable" Mel Martinez barely eeked to victory in a huge GOP year by running on Bush's coattails, but the "unelectable loser" Bill McCollum won by a comfortable margin running for statewide office in a big Democrat year.
You guys shoved Martinez down our throats, now the rest of the country is stuck with this blowhard as RNC chairman. You guys that backed this loser deserve him, but we sure as hell don't.
Don't blame me, I supported Johnnie Byrd.
A vote for McCollum assured us Betty Castor. The lesser of the evils prevaled. As bad as he is, he is better than Castor.
We have three years to find a suitable opponent. I don’t see a strong conservative out there....well, maybe Alan Bense, if he will run.
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