Is Senator Mel Martinez a Liar?

Why is the confidence of the public in the Congress of the United States is currently at or near an all time low? Politicians are held by the public in lower esteem than car salesmen. The landmark lies of politicians smear all that they accomplish and the memories of their great lies follow them to their graves. It is hard to remember Richard Nixon without recalling "I am not a crook." He resigned the presidency in disgrace. The statesmanship and courage of George Bush Sr. is tarred with the sound bite, "Read my lips, no new taxes." He was turned out of office by the voters, despite victory in the first Gulf War. The catalog of Bill Clinton's lies, almost looks like a comedy script. "I did not have sex with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky." still reverberates in the national archive of infamy.

The latest imbroglio over immigration is a case in point. Why are Floridians so upset with Senator Mel Martinez? "The embodiment of the American Dream..." that's how President George W. Bush described Mel Martinez when he nominated him to one of the most important posts in his administration. Yet today the phones of the State Republican Party reverberate with frustrated, angry voters berating Mel Martinez and the treachery in Washington.

President George W. Bush called Mel Martinez to Washington to serve in his Cabinet as the nation's 12th Housing and Urban Development Secretary. After serving three years as the HUD Secretary, Mr. Martinez returned to Florida to seek the Republican nomination for the United States Senate. Prior to serving President George W. Bush in Washington, Mel was the first popularly elected Republican to serve as Orange County Chairman - which is the strong-mayor of one of Florida's largest counties. Elected in 1998 with over 60% of the vote against a popular State Senator, Mel quickly earned a reputation as a bold leader, a tax-cutter, and a champion of law enforcement and education. With the help of President Bush and Christian Conservatives, Mel won the election to the Senate against a popular Democrat, Betty Castor in 2004.

Since these lofty heights of approval, Senator Martinez's public confidence level has fallen below thirty per cent. He avoids meetings with his constituency like the plague, unless they are scripted and free of spontaneous interaction. He will appear to announce the award of money or some other grant or recognition, but his supporters in the general populace are few. Detractors have formed websites dedicated to removing Mel from office.

What is the single biggest complaint? The big lie. In 2004, Mel was against rewarding illegal aliens with citizenship. Today, this reward is the centerpiece of legislative compromise that Mel has brokered. I will leave it for the reader to judge if this comprehensive immigration reform is in fact amnesty. Mel, and President Bush argue that this reform is not amnesty. However, they have not convinced the majority of Americans that it is not amnesty. At multiple times, and in published campaign literature, Martinez made plain his stand on immigration to the electorate of Florida. Here are Mel's own words: "Our immigration policy should first and foremost ensure the security of our great Nation and those individuals posing a terrorist threat should be prevented from entering our country. I strongly oppose amnesty for illegal aliens; our immigration laws should not reward lawlessness." And in other literature: "I oppose amnesty for illegal aliens. I support a plan that matches workers with needy employers without providing a path to citizenship. Immigration to this country must always be done through legal means."

It is no wonder that politicians are adept with caveats and weasel words, because one day a clear and concise statement of basic principles will come back to haunt their reputation. This discrepancy between rhetoric and proposed law is not trivial. Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama has compiled a list of 20 loopholes that are contained in the comprehensive immigration bill. Any one of these loopholes make Mel Martinez an artful embellisher of the truth, or just incredibly ignorant of what the bill that bears his sponsorship actually states. For now, with the President's support, Mel is safe in the Senate and the RNC; he is due for re-election in 2010. Will the National Republican Party be able to survive with Mel serving both in the Senate, and as head of the Republican National Committee, in what is sure to be a contentious Presidential election in 2008? Due to the universal negative reaction from the party base of donors, the National Party has laid off sixty-five phone solicitors whose job was to raise funds for the National Congressional Campaigns. In national polls, the number of likely voters that identify themselves as Republicans has fallen from 33% to 30%. In an age when just a handful of votes can determine the outcome of a Presidential election, this is a very bad trend.