Working with the Penguin? Not so good. (Photo: weblogs.sun-sentinel.com)

Times have been tough for the Republican Party lately. Sex scandals among senators and governors, radio personalities spewing racist hate, Sarah Palin teetering off for reasons known only to her… not to mention resignations. Now Florida Senator Mel Martinez, 62, has joined that party. He will not return to the Senate after this recess, according to http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/07/gop-sen-mel-martinez-resigning/. But will he need no fax payday loans or cash advances back in the private sector?

He stayed around for Sotomayor

Mel Martinez was one of just nine Republicans who voted in favor of confirming Sonia Sotomayor as Supreme Court Justice. It appears that he stayed in office just long enough to cast a stinging vote against his party by saying yes to the highly experienced Sotomayor. One wonders if the racist rhetoric the Republican Party had been bandying about in reference to Sotomayor backfired. Perhaps they alienated their only Hispanic member in the Senate (Mel Martinez) and will have to find a new way to make hay in Florida, where there is a large Hispanic presence.

Here’s a little window into the stinkin’ thinkin’ that’s been flying out of GOP pie holes lately. It’s not a Rush clip; that would have been too easy:

But that’s not the official story, of course

Mel Martinez, a first-term United States senator, will not seek re-election in 2010. In fact, he won’t even be coming back after the August 2009 recess. At this point, it is uncertain whether there is a candidate he will endorse to replace him.

“My priorities have always been my faith, my family and my country and at this stage in my life, and after nearly 12 years of public service in Florida and Washington, it’s time I return to Florida and my family,” Martinez said in a letter obtained by FOX News. “So today I’m announcing my decision to step down from public office, effective on a successor taking office to fill out the remainder of my term.”

He says it’s “for family”

And that may very well be a factor. Not surprisingly, the announcement drew fire from Democrats. Eric Schultz of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said that “Republicans seem to have a problem fulfilling their oaths of office. This is the largest number of retirements for one party in the Senate in the past 80 years. The country faces enormous challenges right now, and voters are watching who is up to the task.”

The departure of Mel Martinez isn’t exactly a surprise, as rumors about family issues had been around for a few months, says FOX News.

Who will take his place?

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has told the Associated Press that he will not step in to fill the vacancy, but he definitely will be appointing at least an interim replacement. He won’t appoint himself because doing so would likely anger his voting constituency. Considering that Democrats already hold a super majority in the Senate, Republicans need all the help they can get. Losing another seat definitely matters, as would staying on the good side of Hispanics in the state. GOP Senate candidate and former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio appears to be the man for the job, but nothing has been made official yet.

The stench of the Bush

Mel Martinez did not acknowledge that he’d have difficulty being re-elected in a state that Obama won in 2008. However, it is believed that his ties to former President George W. Bush (Mel Martinez was the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development) and attempts to push an immigration bill made him unpopular with fellow Republicans, reports FOX News.

I wish Mr. Martinez well in his future endeavors. Spending more time with family is something that more Americans should do, considering the fragility of family life anymore. If he finds that he needs no fax payday loans or cash advances in his private life, he can apply for them here. Won’t you do the same?

Related Video:

(Photo: abovethelaw.com)

It isn’t over yet, folks, but it appears that the confirmation process may almost be over for Judge Sonia Sotomayor. She should be on her way to a seat on the Supreme Court – Sonia Sotomayor was approved by a preliminary vote of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Now her nomination goes to the floor of the Senate for further debate and a final vote that is expected to fall in her favor, considering the Democratic majority.

Wonder how she’ll vote on the constitutionality of payday loans and unsecured loans?

J. Taylor Rushing reports on The Hill blog that Sotomayor’s nomination “sailed through the Senate Judiciary Committee by a wide margin, but only bare bipartisan support.” In other words, the Rush-minded Republicans are sticking to their backfiring guns. Remember Wile E. Coyote? Even though he was a “supra-genius,” Roadrunner could still turn the barrel of his gun back on him right before he fired. Considering that the Republicans are hardly supra-genius caliber, I fear for the safety of anyone near them. Perhaps Jeff Sessions (Alabama), John Cornyn (Texas), Tom Coburn (Oklahoma), Jon Kyl (Arizona), Charles Grassley (Iowa) and Orrin Hatch (Utah) should appear via satellite from a bunker for the time being – a bunker where no sharp objects are allowed.

Tally whacker, whack the tally

[apply_button float="right"]

The Committee vote was 13-6 to send the Sonia Sotomayor vote for Supreme Court question to the floor of the Senate. It will be debated before their next recess on Friday, August 7. The vote came as little surprise, as Democrats held a 12-7 edge on the panel. The sole Republican vote came from Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, aka the Gov. Mark Sanford state. Graham claims he “understands the Republican criticism of Sotomayor.” Yet he wanted to “demonstrate a reversal from the filibusters that were launched against Chief Justice John Roberts’ nomination in 2005 and Samuel Alito in 2006.” Whatta guy.

Despite his qualms with some of her dissertations, Graham assured The Hill of where he stands: “I base my vote on qualifications, and I came away from the hearing feeling she was well-qualified. I haven’t seen this activism that we all dread and reject… I would not have chosen her, but I understand why President Obama did.”

That wacky activist

So Sotomayor supports Puerto Rico’s independence. So she likes to eat traditional Hispanic food and had interesting things to say about the ability of a “wise Latina” to make a judgment better than a white man. On the last, Sotomayor acknowledged her mistake. Yet are these things enough to make Sonia Sotomayor an “activist judge?” Some think so, and most of them are Republicans. Her ruling (which was overturned by the Supreme Court) that the white firefighters were not the victims of reverse discrimination was popular fodder for circus clowns like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. The GOP also claim they’re frustrated over Sotomayor’s “evasions” and “backtracking” during her hearings.

Get over it. She was coached. It’s an unavoidable political fact of life now. You know that President Obama’s speeches are almost completely scripted, and that he doesn’t vary from his telestator, right? If he does the job, I don’t care what kind of machine he uses to help him deliver speeches.

Defending Sotomayor

(Photo: punditkitchen.wordpress.com)

Chairman Patrick Leahy of Vermont took the lead on the panel in supporting  Sotomayor. “Judge Sotomayor is well qualified; one need look no further than her experience, ability, temperament and judgment,” Leahy said. “In her 17 years on the bench there is not one example, let alone a pattern, of her ruling based on bias or prejudice or sympathy.”

I think that electing Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court will be a landmark move in terms of race relations. Even though being Latina won’t dictate the decisions she would make as a Supreme Court justice, it will perhaps add a perspective that the court has never had before. If that makes Rush Limbaugh uncomfortable, that suits me just fine. If he screeches like Glenn Beck and is sent to an institution, that would make me laugh at his material. What more could a circus clown ask for? Perhaps payday loans and unsecured loans for those big shoes, as Rush won’t be making the big broadcasting dollars once he joins the circus.

Related Video: