First Hispanic to Chair the Republican National Committee?

Liz Sidoti of the Associated Press breaks the news that Florida Senator Mel Martinez will become chairman of the Republican National Committee. Read the story [here]. Media Matters criticizes CNN's John King who apparently broke the story [here].

An "official" announcement has not been made yet, and tomorrow's stories will likely cite AP as the source. But it appears to be certain.

A few thoughts:

Senator Martinez will be the first Hispanic to chair the Republican National Committee.

The appointment of Sen. Martinez to Chair the RNC is an important step for the Hispanic community as it intimately ties one of the nation's leading Hispanic leaders to the strategy and policies of the Republican Party. When the RNC speaks, it will now speak with a Hispanic voice. And I think this will mean much more than speaking Spanish, it will mean speaking in a way that is at least somewhat attuned to the issues and concerns in the community.

But I assume some major Hispanic organizations will oppose the appointment because of Martinez's conservative position on life and other issues. It might be accurate to say that his personal position on major contemporary political issues are both in line with, and divergent from, the Hispanic community agenda at the same time.

Given the pummeling Republicans took at the polls in the competition for the Hispanic vote during the mid-term elections, this appointment is significant because it sends a message that the Party intends to be more in-touch with the Hispanic community in the walk-up to the 2008 presidential election.

I also think this is important because it sends a clear message about the role President Bush hopes the RNC will play in helping to support efforts to pass historic, comprehensive immigration legislation and to resuscitate the Party's image in the Latino community. When Sen. Martinez speaks about immigration, he speaks about his own personal experience.