Martinez: An Impressive Record Of Passing The Buck
Martinez: An Impressive Record Of Passing The Buck
Today’s Miami Herald notes rookie Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) has made a bit of a habit out of hiding behind his staff when asked to take responsibility for unpopular actions. Indeed, Martinez has shown he is never afraid, no matter how grievous his mistakes, to pass the buck to a subordinate. Here are the greatest hits:
9/22/04: After a Martinez campaign ad referred to opponent Bill McCollum as being a tool of ”the radical homosexual lobby” (a phrase which also popped up in Martinez’s last-minute direct-mail fliers), Martinez tells the press:
‘We made mistakes…A couple of young turks in my campaign went further than they should have.
9/28/04: The Martinez campaign sends out a news release calling the federal agents who seized Elian Gonzalez “armed thugs.” Martinez once again blames his staff. From Inside Politics with Judy Woodruff:
MARTINEZ: No, no. I never said that. And it was something that was put out by someone in the office and immediately withdrawn, as we saw what had happened.
WOODRUFF: So it wasn’t your words.
MARTINEZ: Absolutely not my words and never would be my words.
WOODRUFF: How did this happen?
MARTINEZ: Well, it’s someone who was writing for the campaign. And it’s inappropriate that they should use those words. Those are inappropriate words. I would never have used them.
4/7/05: It is discovered that a controversial memo calling Terri Schiavo a “great political issue” for conservatives originated in Martinez’s office. Martinez personally handed the memo to Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), explaining it contained “talking points.” Besides firing subordinate Brian Darling, Martinez releases this statement:
It is with profound disappointment and regret that I learned today that a senior member of my staff was unilaterally responsible for this document…Until this afternoon, I had never seen it and had no idea a copy of it had ever been in my possession.
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Another Republican Avoiding Responsibility?
I’m shocked,just Shocked I tell ‘ya!
April 8th, 2005 at 10:54 amI’ll bet Tom DeLay is happy – maybe the latest scandal will take some heat off of his scandal(s). Nah, we still have plenty of room…
April 8th, 2005 at 10:57 amWhy bother to be responsible. As long as the voting public will allow him to pass the buck he will.
That is the kind of person he is.
With luck, in 5 years the public will respond, but don’t bet on it.
April 8th, 2005 at 11:07 amMy old boss is now a Judge, and when an attorney messes up in court and tries to blame his assistant, he has them haul out the old checkbook. To use an excellent legal term, Martinez is a weenie.
April 8th, 2005 at 11:32 amWhere’s Tony? We need some spin.
April 8th, 2005 at 12:45 pmRepug #1 rule: DENY, DENY, DENY
April 8th, 2005 at 1:53 pmA little trivia note:
Brian Darling, an aide to Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL), who was outed as the author of the memo suggesting that Republicans use the Terri Schiavo tragedy for political gain, specifically against Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) in 2006, went to the University of Massachusetts.
Darling, who resigned April 6, has worked for the Alexander Strategy Group, a Washington-based lobbying firm with connections to embattled Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX). Among the former DeLay aides who are or were employees of Alexander Strategy Group was Tony Rudy.
Rudy, like Darling, was from the Class of 1989 at UMass.
How do I know this? Because I also went to UMass.
For more, check out http://jabbs.blogspot.com
April 8th, 2005 at 2:11 pmI might suggest that some reporter could always ask the Senator who is responsible for his staff. He will of course claim that responsibility falls on his chief of staff. Well, then who is responsible for his chief of staff? UUUUGGGGHHH mmmmmmmmm… uuuuummmm.. Someone???
April 8th, 2005 at 5:06 pmApparently, personal responsibility, like taxes, is for the ‘little people.’ Mel should really get to know some of the women who inhabit Florida jails because their boyfriends or husbands hid drugs in the home of which they were unaware. Same for those poor boobs who were jailed after being caught as a passenger in a car where the owner had drugs or guns in the trunk. If only they hadn’t neglected to be a wealthy Republican with a staff to blame.
In politics, as in the corporate world, the pawns are sacrificed to protect the king — the GOP is quickly running out of pawns.
April 8th, 2005 at 6:39 pmI’d like to propose a new designation for the staff members of Republican Congresspeople:
Red Shirt Staffers.
If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, you obviously never watched the original Star Trek
April 10th, 2005 at 12:25 amMartinez is a slime ball, but living in Miami, I can tell you that no matter what his stance on the issues is, there are huge numbers of people who voted for him and will continue to vote for him for one simple reason: he’s Cuban.
Now I don’t mean to sound racist, but the cold hard truth here in Miami is that you can be a mass murderer running for office, even, and as long as you’re Cuban and your opponent isn’t, you’re a shoe-in.
Honestly, whatever happened to judging someone on the content of their character?
April 10th, 2005 at 9:25 pmI wonder if Martinez and Jeb are still robbing
April 11th, 2005 at 8:43 ambanks?
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January 3rd, 2006 at 1:45 pm