Friday is voting day for RNC Chairman...or is it General-Chairman? Apparently, the General-Chairman is a made-up position used by some past presidents to influence the RNC. The rules are said to only call for a chairman which is to be held by a member of the RNC and elected by members of the RNC. Mel Martinez, said to be handpicked by Karl Rove and Pres. Bush, is not an RNC member. Of course, as convoluted as it sounds, some say that as General-Chairman, the rules can be ignored because, technically, he's not running for Chairman. Apparently, in the past, those who challenged the practice were ruled out-of-order in order to ramrod the chosen candidate through the system.
This year may be different, however. The Texas delegation has been outspoken about their opposition to the process, and to Martinez, and insist on following the rules. Border states, in particular, from the south to the north, seem to be upset over the Martinez nomination. Aside from the issue of re-writing rules to accommodate the administration, Martinez' support for amnesty is a major factor behind the rebellion. Although Mike Duncan of Kentucky is favored to gain the chairman position, he would be superseded by Martinez, as General-Chairman, who is expected to take orders from Rove who will push the president's agenda. Those frustrated with the lack of progress toward border security are showing their impatience with more amnesty-supporting leaders.
Just when some GOP leaders say they "learned their lesson" from the last election, it appears that more divisive practices are in the works. GOP leaders who still think they can win elections through power shenanigans and games like these that have already split the party are looking to cause major losses in the next election just as they did in the previous one. Transparency, authenticity and fairness could go a long way in uniting the party. But I guess some find personal power and egotism too gratifying to give up. It's truly a shame.
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The thing that angers me the most is that Martinez is quite clearly a figurehead. I thought we didn't do that in the Republican party.
Mel is a sitting senator with work enough to do. He has already admitted that he will only be part time, and that much of the work will fall to his staff. At this point and where the party is at, part time is not good enough. There are more qualified candidates right now with extra time on their hands in President Bush's immediate family. There is no reason whatsoever to give Martinez the job.
Bully for Texas.
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