'Anonymous' Senator Who Called for GOP Centrists Revealed

Human Events ^ | 12/09/2008 | Erick Erickson

[redk]

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.”

[ontap]

That’s how we got McCain.

[BillyBoy]

Good point. Primary election: "ONLY Rudy McRomney can WIN!" General election: "Gee, I think I'll cast a protest vote for Bob Barr now"

[BillyBoy]

>> What is it that you want? Electoral failure? <<

No, in 2004 I wanted Florida House Speaker Johnnie Byrd to win the primary, and then go on to defeat third tier Democrat nominee Betty Castor in the general election. We were just talking about this on another post. Many freepers seem to have a hard time grasping this point: vote for the BEST conservative in the primary, and defeat the RAT in the general election.

I don't blame the freepers who held their nose for Martinez in the general election, because he is better than Castor. I blame those who smeared fine conservative leaders in the primary and falsely portrayed Martinez as a great conservative warrior.

Yes, I am confident Byrd would have defeated Castor, and probably by a bigger margin than Martinez did (Byrd had an actual track record and crediblity). And Florida would have been a hell of lot better with him in the Senate than the clueless dope holding the seat now.

[HereInTheHeartland]

“Sarah Palin is not the voice of [the Republican] party.””

Let's see; she drew record crowds, energized many of us who were passively on the sidelines before she got in, and added at least 10 points to McCain's numbers.

But I guess that doesn't matter to the “Anonymous’ Senator”.
Maybe his goal is to have the R party also be anonymous.

[BillyBoy]

If all freepers simply learned to follow the guidelines in post #47 (stop voting for empty suits, RINOs, embarrassing screwups, etc. in the primary), we'd have a good chance of having these guys as Florida's Senators in 2008:

Senior U.S. Senator Johnnie Byrd (R-FL), Elected 2004

Junior U.S. Senator Will McBride (R-FL), Elected 2006

[St. Louis Conservative]

DLTDHYOYWO!

[Badeye]

Martinez should have my ‘tagline’ tattooed in reverse on his forehead so he has to read it while shaving each day.

[staytrue]

Yep. If they had stayed the hell out of it Katharine Harris would probably be in this Senate seat right now.

You tell them redk. But Harris will get a 2nd chance at Martinez seat.

[Recovering_Democrat]

No wonder this jackball decided not to run again.

Hey, I saw Mel campaign with Sarah. So he must be a friggin’ hypocrite.

[staytrue]

No wonder this jackball decided not to run again. Hey, I saw Mel campaign with Sarah. So he must be a friggin’ hypocrite.

Sarah is the Mesiah, ALL HAIL SARAH.

[Edgerunner]

Martinez, not wanting him name used, Who wrote this? Tonto?

[Recovering_Democrat]

Sarah is the Mesiah, ALL HAIL SARAH.

Clearly you're deluded.

[JSDude1]

Can we get rid of these Democrats in Republican Clothing?

[beezdotcom]

and spelling-challenged, too.

[JSDude1]

Sarah is not the Messiah, which is blasphemy she would disagree with..we aren’t Democrats who need a mere politician to save us!

[Constitutions Grandchild]

Governor Palin drew records crowds for three reasons: 1) She was a bolt from the blue about whom few had any background; 2) those who were aware of her policies were those among the drill here, drill now crowd and those who embraced her attempt to reign in corruption; and 3) women in the Republican Party who have waited for conservative women of merit to take their place (as have Republicans who are of Black or Hispanic descent) in the party.

Governor Palin was A) either mishandled by those responsible for grooming her on the international issues or B) needs time to mature and bone up on the issues because the media will relentlessly portray her as a neophyte or dilettante. Her educational background may not EVER satisfy an ever-increasingly educated populace — that's going to be her biggest obstacle.

I doubt very sincerely the religious right will care about that on an subjective basis, but they'd better recognize it on the objective basis.

[wardaddy]

Amnesty Mel

another example of how when they are moderate on amnesty so they are too on everything else

[Constitutions Grandchild]

I refer to Gov. Palin as the “Curt Warner” phenomena. He managed a Super Bowl ring for the Rams because no one had a chance to study the film. Once they did, they had him covered. He got one “surprise” season. If Gov. Palin is series ;-), she'll need a lot more prep time. She's got game, she lacks gravitas.

[HereInTheHeartland]

“1) She was a bolt from the blue about whom few had any background; “

I didn't know a whole lot about her, but I instantly recognized what she stood for. I saw her as someone who was not from the normal Beltway mold, and I very much liked that.
I could see her character, integrity, patriotism and base conservatism. Those things are the most important character traits for a president. Plus Alaska is a very different place from the rest of the US. It has a lot of the spirit that built this nation, again something I really liked in Palin.

We won't get a true change agent that passes the filter of the mains team media; it just won't happen. They will have disdain for anyone who is a real conservative. A faux conservative they will bless.
But a honest “lets get government out of our lives” conservative (like Reagan) will be ridiculed.

[Constitutions Grandchild]

I disagree. Reagan (whom I adored) had one thing Gov. Palin doesn't have — a career in the media — that covered a multitude of lack in other areas. He also had lived life for a few more years and experienced what this country runs on — the corporate world. He was grounded in what helped build this great nation and managed an education during the most difficult time to get one. He was blessed with a bullshit meter and knew how to deliver the lines when his knees were knocking. We need a media savvy, educated, experienced candidate who can drive a truck to the right of the center line and “sell it, Baby, sell it.”