Posted on 10/20/2007 6:39:22 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
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 GOP presidents since Ronald Reagan. ...
The White House had engineered the ascent of the Cuban-born Martinez over the objections of many conservatives as part of an effort to repair the GOP's image among Latinos. That image suffered when Republican congressional leaders and conservative activists stymied administration-backed measures that would have created a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants.
Some GOP strategists say the party's poor performance among Latino voters in 2006 helped ensure Democratic victories across the country. Now, some worry that Martinez's early exit from the RNC foreshadows more trouble in 2008.
Robert de Posada, president of the Republican-leaning Latino Coalition, said Martinez's departure is especially disheartening because it follows the resignation of another high-profile Latino in the GOP: former U.S. Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales.
"The message that it sends is Latinos are not welcome," De Posada said. "The radical conservative base has a temporary victory right now."
The RNC will be run by Mike Duncan, who shared the title of chairman and was responsible for the party's day-to-day operations.
--snip--
Bush issued a brief statement saying that Martinez "represented the best of the Republican Party and its core values."
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Try Motorhead. They are the best for annoying your neighbors.
“The White House had engineered the ascent of the Cuban-born Martinez over the objections of many conservatives”
The White House has also engineered horrible PR campaigns regarding a energetic economy and the Iraq War.
I’ve said for years that Rove was the most overhyped and overestimated politico in decades. This WH has been quite the engineers and they are currently engineering and Dem landslide election for 08. A miserable failure outside of standing up to the islamo-facists early after 911.
I was surprised to hear Democrats on Lou Dobbs show admit that this will be the defining issue and not the WOT in 2008. This is a win for conservatives and Lou Dobbs.
All of the Bush PC Latinos have been failures or incompetents.
A. Gonzales---incompetent. Unable to answer congress correctly. All he ever had to say was he did it and so what. It wasn't against the law. Instead he said, "I don't recall" over a hundred times in a few hours of testimony.
M. Martinez---imcompetent. Unable to collect for the RNC. He is definitely not a leader. His own state would like a recall.
Sanchez---incompetent. Abu Grai and now he is smearing trying to sell a book. Pathetic.
>Some GOP strategists say the party’s poor performance among Latino voters in 2006 helped ensure Democratic victories across the country.
Again, LOL! All of those phone calls that crashed the DC telephone system were not from La Raza, you nitwit.
Fix the above as follows:
Some GOP strategists say the party’s poor performance among it’s core voters in 2006 helped ensure Democratic victories across the country
>Now, some worry that Martinez’s early exit from the RNC foreshadows more trouble in 2008.
Yes, for La Raza and Atzlan.
>follows the resignation of another high-profile Latino in the GOP: former U.S. Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales.
Doesn’t have anything to do with the GOP.
>”The message that it sends is Latinos are not welcome,”
The message that it sends is that Latino republicans are not welcomed by the democrat party.
IOW, republicans of any color are not welcome. - Get it straight.
> De Posada said. “The radical conservative base has a temporary victory right now.”
We are not radicals. Sorry.
No question.
All of the Bush PC Latinos have been failures or incompetents.
I think GWB was sidelined; his loyalties were skewed b/c he was a Tex-Mex governor. Jeb is married to a Mexican. They had latino nannies.....and so on.
We have all tried to figure the Bush love of Mexico. It is difficult, to say the least, as there is no confirmation.
Quite likely. I voted for him but his election victory against Betty Castor wasn’t exactly resounding. I believe he only won the state by 50k votes. I don’t expert K. Harris will do it in the primary. :^)
He has acted in their best interests.
And I do believe that that is why Bush backed and supported him to the hilt. So as to pass amnesty with the foreknowledge and certainty of his vote on the matter.
In fact, I believe that virtually all of the Bush family actions since 03 or thereabouts were for that one concept that he wanted to be the shining example of his domestic policy legacy.
Wow, very interesting! I wonder if they’ve rehired the phone operators since then.
BTTT
If you had included the wild-ass earmarks and other out of control spending. You would have been 100% correct instead of 95%. But still you did good.
He’s a stubborn Cuban guy. I know a very, very stubborn Brazilian woman he should meet. That will get loud before it gets quiet. No mas para mi.
lol...I wonder more how many “pesos” of Gringo Bush they’ve gotten. : )
Good afternoon, PGalt!
Anti-illegals bump. : )
Afternoon, nicmarlo. GRRRREAT thread. Thanks to all. Read-it-all BUMP!
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