The real thing

From the Washington Post-

Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), a close White House ally and a Cuban American, has agreed to become the next general chairman of the Republican National Committee, GOP officials said. The appointment comes in the wake of an election that yielded shrinking GOP support from Hispanic voters.

Martinez, a first-term senator, will remain in office and serve as the party's chief spokesman and fundraiser heading into the 2008 elections. Mike Duncan, the RNC's current general counsel and a former party treasurer, will manage day-to-day operations and be elected chairman in January, Republican aides said.



Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee, addresses the RNC state chairmen's meeting in Colorado Springs, Colo., in this May file photo. Mehlman will step down from his post when his two-year term ends in January, GOP officials said Thursday. (Ed Andrieski - AP)

The current RNC chairman, Ken Mehlman, will step aside in January, after spending much of his tenure updating the party's technological infrastructure and reaching out to minority groups, especially African Americans and Hispanics. Exit polls last week showed that Mehlman's efforts were overwhelmed by voter concerns about the war, corruption and the hard-line approach some Republicans assumed in this year's immigration debate.

Many conservative bloggers are unhappy with the Martinez selection. Ed at Captain's Quarters, Stop the ACLU, Michelle Malkin and Iowa Voice to name a few. Much of the unhappiness stems from Martinez's views on illegal immigration. So what does TFM think?

Who cares.

That's my bottom line. The only problem I have with the Martinez selection is that this will be a distraction from the Senator's true job. To serve the people of Florida. Otherwise I could care less.

Note- TFM is a registered Democrat.

President Bush is the actual head of the Republican party in any case. The RNC chair's job is to raise money, not be the face of the party(Unlike Howard Dean and the Democratic Party).

So get over it everyone. As Don Surber notes, Republicans got a actual Senator instead of a unsucessful Senatorial candidate.

Update- The Professor at Right Wing Nation thinks some of the conservative blogosphere is seriously out of touch with reality at present.

Linked to- Right Wing Nation, Third World County,