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Republican senator to quit U.S. Senate

August 10, 2009 by  

Republican senator to quit U.S. SenateIn the latest example of a high-profile Republican resigning from public office, Senator Mel Martinez from Florida has announced he will step down some 17 months before the end of his term.

Martinez was quoted as saying he was not under pressure to step down and hinted he was planning to pursue a career in the private sector.

"[A]fter nearly 12 years of public service … it is time to return to Florida and my family," he said, quoted by CNN.

The move has spurred speculation about a replacement as Florida Governor Charlie Crist, who will make that decision, had already suggested he was interested in running for Martinez’s seat in 2010.

However, commentators have also pointed to the difficulties the resignation may cause to the GOP’s diversity model, as Martinez was the only Hispanic Republican in the Senate and the party is increasingly perceived by some as a bulwark of "angry white men."

A University of South Florida political scientist Dr. Susan McManus says "the Republicans need other faces," suggesting women and Latinos are abandoning the party.

Last week Martinez was only one of nine Republicans who cast their vote in favor of confirming Judge Sonia Sotomayor as the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice in a partisan vote many believe may further erode GOP support among Latinos.
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  • http://ken.robbie@yahoo.com Kenneth Murray

    When Obummer is booted out of office in 2012, what will happen to all the new government jobs he has created without using the vote? Will they have to be voted out, or will they automatically get the boot in the but, the same as their communist leader, Obummer?……

  • http://www.dhamilton.ws Haskell H

    We have to rebuild the Republican Party with “TRUE” conservatives.

    In reply to “eyeswideopen” on Medicare and Social Security. These programs are for all the people who eventually reach old age. If these stupid politicians would quit putting these funds into the General Fund there would be no problem with funding these programs. Government needs to have only a “very limited role” in our lives.

    The government is hiring more and more people into the Federal Bureaucracy and increasing their pay astronomically. It is becoming absolutely rediculous at the growth of our Government and of course they take more and more money from hard-working people to support most of these goof=balls.

    I surely hope that in the 2010 elections that we can replace these idiots with “real, honest, commonsense” people who will try to reverse most of these stupid laws that do nothing but grow the power of politicians and increase the growth of government and enslave the American people.

    Wake up people and return our Government to real Hope and Change that doesn’t control and enslave our people.

  • Shane

    I myself am American with Mexican decent not Hispanic please do the research needed and find out the difference. If this man Allowed himself to be labeled hispanic he had no business in our government anyway. I consider my self a Conservative not a Republican. Until we start voting for Conservatives we are not going to change anything. If the Republican party stood by it’s platform we should have nominated Ron Paul as our presidential runner not 2face McCain. I would like to see us conservatives to start to come together and start electing conservatives for the republican party not just anyone who clames to be Repulican. This would mean to bring in the constitutional party and unite with them.

    • LibertyTree

      If you want to elect conservatives send your money to the Club for Growth. They only support conservative canidates. They are the group that nearly defeated Specter for Senate in PA. Pat Toomey is running against him again. Toomey would have defeated him last time but the other Republican Senator and GWB would not support him. They are both gone now and Specter has rewarded both of them by switching parties. The reason he switched parties is because he was getting plastered in the polls by Toomey.

  • pete

    CORRECTION:::: LINE 2 SHOULD READ ” HE WAS QUIET ON POSITVE ACTION”

  • pete

    Don’t believe it is a big loss for the American Citizens. He failed to back the Border Guards on their right to selfdefense, he was quite pn positive legislature on building the wall on the Border. He failed to support votes to stop the illegal immigration and deportation of illegals. He supported the Amnesty Immigration Bill…. all these acts while American Citizens were losing their jobs and the Country is being taken over thru assimilation from the South. Wages are depressed, typhoid, T.B., small pox, measles, polio, whooping cough
    are starting to appear in this Country again. Who is it from??????
    THE AMERICANS, I THINK NOT.

  • Deb A.

    He’s not going to finish the job. Does this mean he doesn’t get the big government pension that the politicians all get?

  • Nanette Olson

    AMNESTY IS TREASON!!!! Good riddance to Martinez.

  • JKeyes

    Is he really a republican??

  • MMcFM

    I believe that the affront of the so-called healthcare bill, which has almost nothing to do with health, and everything to do with control of people’s lives, is an unprecedented opportunity for Latinos, union members, and legal immigrants to realize the compassion, freedom, and truth offered by people who are historically conservative in the United States — and who don’t look at someone’s color as a definition of their political value. We were once a melting pot that forged a economically strong country that provided Opportunity — which is why three of my four grandparents immigrated to the U.S. If we can just vote out Obama and his Congressional co-horts, we will be again.

    • eyeswideopen

      Since every single person immigrated to America, all four of your grandparents are immigrants. Today we are more of a melting pot than ever before, but what scares us is that “we” (meaning us white people) are becoming the minority. Economics is hard to understand, but surely even you can understand that the white middle class is no longer going to be capable of affording health care within 6 yrs when it is 41% of our salaries. Since we don’t want government in our lives why don’t we repeal Medicare? Let’s let the free market function. I will leave it to you to tell your grandparents, or parents that they no longer will have healthcare from the government.True conservative Republicans don’t believe in any government assistance. I hope we can convince you to really be a conservative and vote out Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid,grants for education, etc’s…and any other democratic socialist programs. We really don’t need to support anybody, let everyone take care of themselves!!!!

      • LibertyTree

        I would vote to repeal all of those programs along with all Federally run programs. They should be left to the States to decide if they are needed.
        We can’t afford Health care because the Democrats won’t let tort reform pass and won’t allow people to purchase health insurance across State lines. You can purchase car insurance from a million different companies. If we were allowed to pool millions of people together in insurance policies it would drive down costs. Tort reform would also drive down costs.

      • eyeswideopen

        We can’t leave it to Florida, we had to take 3.85 billion in aid for education, because our state government had no contol and spent like they were drunk. Without the damn Fed money, we would have been closing schools like there was no tomorrow. For the first time in our history we have people leaving the state…so sad. Uncontrolled growth during the “boom” years and out of control spending will be effecting this state for about 10-12 yrs…I didn’t do a good job with my vote. I am already apologizing to my niece and nephew for the terrible problems we have in this state.

      • http://personalliberty PFFFF

        AND THERE YOU HAVE CHAOS AND SELFISHNESS. MAN YOU PEOPLE ARE HATEFUL YET YOU ALL EXPECT TO BE ON THE RECEIVING END OF THE MONEY WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO IT. MOSTLY IGNORANT COMMENTS NOT WORTH READING ANY LONGER. GO ON CONTINUE WITH YOUR HATE LIKE HOT AIR BALLOONS.

  • No Socialism in America

    I completely agree, Julia, that the left only uses latinos (and all other minorities and people of color) as pawns for their agendas and to create a system of dependency and entitlement as opposed to hard work and self-achievement

  • Julia H.

    As a Californian, it seems Hispanics have historically conservative values but are aggressively wooed by the left. Most Mexicans are Catholic, hard working and family oriented yet are all but ignored by the Right. One Latino said in an article that he resented being used as a pawn by the left and had become a US citizen only to have less freedom than he’d had in Mexico. Democrats are planning to rely on Acorn’s redistricting efforts and Hispanics to win 2010 and 2012. With just a bit of effort from Republicans we can join hands with Latinos who
    value hard work, family and freedom every bit as much as we do.

  • Robin from Indiana

    I am disappointed that any Republicans voted for Sotomayer. She was not a good choice for the position, much like Obama. Sotomayer played the race card and Obama has little to no experience for the position he was running for and won. What we are really needing is leaders with common sense, a value system, and morals! What we are getting is people who use their race to get a position and good oracle skills to by pass lack of experience. I don’t know what Martinez has going, but if he doesn’t want to serve, so be it.

    • http://resbc2006@yahoo.com Ruth

      I agree 100 percent with you. The highest court in the land should not have appointmented Sotomayer especially after we all saw how she handled the case of the New Haven Fire Department. AND, how does she say that she is a Latino??? She was born in the Bronx and her partents were born in the US Territory of Puerto Rico… so how does that make her a Latino. She has based her findings on Race and she has proved it again and again.

  • No Socialism in America

    Great point, Sharon! I’ve been saying for YEARS that the media is actually controlling the politics in this country, and it’s never been more true than now …and who controls the media? If you guessed “the liberals”, you are correct and you win the great prize of a “new world order”, A.K.A., DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM here in the U.S.

    • eyeswideopen

      I hate to inform you of this, but you are wrong, with a little research you would see that most of the media is controlled by us Republicans…ever heard of Rupert Murdock? It is sad to see that you are making judgements without the facts. It might interest you to know that most of the Wall Street CEO’ and Banking CEO’s are also Republican..

      • Glo

        Obviously you are jesting when you say most of the media is controlled by Republicans. All you have to do is watch any of the major news networks or read a newspaper or news magazine to know it is ALL very liberal with just the tiniest smattering of conservative leaning reporting.

      • eyeswideopen

        People, you can check who owns Fox news, and the newspapers. Don’t tell me you just make these crazy statements without checking any facts like Glenn Beck does. Come on, us Republicans aren’t that lazy or stupid. Check out all the prior CeO’S of Goldman Sac’s, Check who ran Freddie and Frannie, check who runs Bank of America, AIg, Who runs the FDIC and the Fed reserve…this internet is what is busting our Senator who make outlandish statements and forget that they can be fact checked… I know you will now go and do your homework, just to try and prove me wrong, but what a surprise you will have.

      • LibertyTree

        If Rupert Murdock is a Republican why does he support Democrats?He started out a Hillery supporter and then switched to Obama. You are ill informed about Wall street being Republican. They act like Specter. Switch parties with the direction of the blowing wind.

      • Michelle

        Rupert Murdock IS AS MUCH AS A REPUBLICAN AS OBOMINATION IS, IF HE IS HE IS A REPUBLICAN IN NAME ONLY AND YES THEY ARE ALL COMMUNIST/SOCIALIST PIGS

  • No Socialism in America

    Good! We don’t need someone “representing” our views who voted to confirm the racist, sexist, latino judge. I don’t care that either of them ARE latino …but I do care that they make their decisions BASED upon the fact that they are. And if being home with his family is more important to him, then he shouldn’t have run for this term in the first place. Go home to your family …you’ve done enough damage to this country already!

    • Michelle

      AMEN – WELL SAID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • http://personalliberty.com Sharon Hohlfeld

    Americans are not reacting any differently because of race or gender, it is policy. When G W Bush did not veto budgets, Rx plan which spends more money, immigration or any of the other policies that the the left wanted, he was protested. It is the left wing press and politicians that brings in race.

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