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CNN is reporting that Republican sources have confirmed that Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL) has agreed to head the Republican National Committee after current chairman Ken Mehlman steps down.

Florida Sen. Mel Martinez has agreed to take over the leadership of the Republican National Committee after the party's current chairman, Ken Mehlman, steps down, Republican sources said Monday.

Martinez, who served as housing secretary in Bush's first term, was elected to the Senate in 2004. He will retain that seat while also serving as the party's lead spokesman and playing a major role in fund-raising. Another party veteran will run RNC's operations on a day-to-day basis, three GOP sources told CNN.

This is an unforeseen event that, nevertheless, bodes well for the future of the rumored replacement, Lt. Governor Michael Steele of Maryland. On the downside, this move also bodes well for the prospects of “comprehensive immigration reform.”

Read on…

Traditionally, the party chairman does not have a role in policy. However, this case may well turn out to be the exception to the rule. Sen. Martinez will be keeping his Senate seat while he serves as the face of the Republican Party. That makes him a policy maker, as well as a policy explainer for the Republican Party. If Sen. Martinez does play a major role in fundraising, it stands to reason that he will be raising funds from those with whom he has established connections and who agree with positions he has and will take as a sitting Senator. One of those positions, and the one for which I think he was chosen as the party standard-bearer, is support for amnesty.

Sen. Martinez’s tenure in the Senate is perhaps most noted for the vaunted Hagel-Martinez compromise struck during the immigration debate last spring. Hagel-Martinez is amnesty, pure and simple. Endorsed by the White House, Hagel-Martinez would allow for a “path to citizenship” for illegal immigrants in the country greater than five years. Illegal immigrants in the country between two and five years would also be eligible for citizenship, although they would have to return home first. Illegal immigrants in the country less than two years—assuming one can find any after this legislation passes—would not be eligible for citizenship.

It would be patently unbelievable that the White House did not sign off on Sen. Martinez’s ascension to party chairman. It appears that the Bush administration has decided that immigration reform is the hill it will die on over the last two years of the president’s term. With Sen. Martinez’s record on immigration, can anyone seriously think that amnesty opponents will receive any cover from the national party to advance their enforcement first position? They will certainly have to consider their support for enforcement first as a slap against their party, and one that may have to be paid for when it comes time for reelection. By moving to install a proponent of the president’s favored approach to immigration reform in the chairmanship of the RNC, President Bush has signaled to amnesty opponents that they are on their own.

On the bright side, I for one am happy that Lt. Gov. Steele was not chosen for this position. Steele is a vibrant personality who ran the sharpest, most efficient, and most deserving campaign of any Republican candidate this cycle. That he didn’t win a seat in the Senate is less a testament to him and more a testament to the entrenchment of Democratic politics in his deep blue state. Steele has national appeal, as evidenced by his rousing 2004 convention speech in New York. His availability outside of the political machine will only enhance that appeal in 2008, and may earn him a Vice-Presidential nomination.

Working against this theory is the fact that soon to be former Chairman Mehlman worked hard to reach out to African-Americans and to earn their votes. His efforts resulted in losses for three prominent black Republicans last Tuesday: Steele; Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell in Ohio; and Lynn Swann in Pennsylvania. Steele would have been the natural heir apparent to Mehlman if the party intended to continue its outreach efforts to blacks. Sadly, the party looks to be choosing Hispanics over blacks as the minority group most worthy of outreach. If so, then Steele may be passed over for a spot on the presidential ticket as well.

Martinez at the Republican National Committee is a boon to supporters of amnesty for illegal immigrants. The Republican Party seems intent on learning all the wrong lessons from this year’s elections. Republicans lost these elections because they spent at least two years alienating conservatives by advancing positions like amnesty. Now, with this selection, they are pushing conservatives who are concerned about border security further into the shadows in their rush to court the great middle and to pander to another favored minority group. The Republican Party would be better served to court disaffected conservatives, whatever their ethnic group, with sound conservative policies.

In the wake of the mid term elections, I wrote that conservatism will win again. With the announcement of Sen. Martinez’s selection as RNC chair, I am afraid that the Republican Party has shown its unwillingness to try.