Thanks to C-SPAN, I was able to watch a repeat this evening of today's Republican National Committee proceedings.

As I suspected would occur, no roll-call votes took place on either (1) creating the RNC General Chairman post, or (2) electing Senator Mel Martinez to that post.

The chairman ruled that it was within the party rules to create the post. A motion was made by North Dakota National Committeeman Curly Haugland to appeal the ruling of the chair. (So far so good.)

A voice vote was taken. The chair ruled that the ayes (those who agreed with the ruling) had prevailed over the nays. (The ayes did sound louder to me.) And then, nothing.

As a general rule, anyone can request a roll-call vote after a voice vote. No one did. At that moment, the fight was over.

Martinez was then nominated by Florida National Committeewoman Sharon Day, with seconds by Maryland's Joyce Terhes and Puerto Rico's Luis Fortuno.

(Puerto Rico is not even one of the 50 states. Fortuno is the island's nonvoting delegate to Congress. When in Puerto Rico, Fortuno is far better known as a leader of the island's Statehood Party.)

Mere seconds after the Martinez nominating speeches concluded, a voice vote was called for on his nomination. The moment the last sound of the word "aye" ceased, Martinez was declared the victor. Once again, no roll-call vote was requested.

Why bother to ask for a roll-call vote in this situation? Republican National Committeemen who opposed Martinez were no doubt told that they would only lose such a vote and further divide their party.

This happens all the time in the U.S. Senate. Good people are persuaded that there is no reason to ask for a roll-call vote since it will only alienate their colleagues and lead to an "inevitable" defeat.

Smart Senators demand a roll-call vote anyway, and often win. Why? Because what people say in private they will do is not always what they will actually do when they are aware that people are watching.

So for all the sound and fury on Friday morning about demanding a secret ballot for the Martinez vote, in the end the anti-Martinez faction failed to insist upon any ballot, secret or open.

Behind the Scenes Battle?

There were many indications that a hard battle had been fought beyond the reach of C-SPAN's cameras.

A post election interview suggested that Senator Martinez was eager to defuse some of the accusations of his opponents:

My role is going to be limited. It's going to very limited to issues relating to conveying a message for our party to the American people. It is not going to be about solving the problems that may exist with the party structure in Iowa or Nebraska or Florida or anywhere else. ...When I discussed this with the president I made it very clear to him that I needed to be and intended to be a full-time senator for the state of Florida and so the job we crafted was very limited in that sense. ... I would dare say there may be days at a time when I don't have any day-to-day or any responsibilities as RNC chair.

Martinez also pledged to ensure that the Republican Party remains neutral in the upcoming race for the GOP nomination.

With regard to amnesty for illegal aliens, Congressional Quarterly reported on Friday that Martinez opponent Randy Pullen of Arizona "said he met with Martinez this week, adding that the senator pledged his support to a resolution adopted last year that would use 'all means available' to secure the border and enforcement existing immigration laws."

On Saturday, Ralph Z. Hallow quoted Martinez as saying:

"I do not support amnesty for illegal aliens," Mr. Martinez, a naturalized citizen who fled communist Cuba as a boy, insisted in an interview with The Washington Times after his election. "I do support strong border enforcement, and absolutely I support the rule of law [when it comes to] illegal aliens here."

Despite his conciliatory efforts, Congressional Quarterly wrote that Martinez "did not garner unanimous support at the RNC winter meeting in Washington, an anomaly at a gathering that elected its other leaders with a chorus of 'yeas' and standing ovations."

Is Martinez simply a latter-day Henry IV ("Paris is worth a Mass") announcing a public conversion to achieve office while maintaining far different personal views? Time will tell, but other early indications are ominous.

Again, quoting from CQ on Friday:

On Friday, Martinez tried to steer away from the issue even while acknowledging its importance to his party. "I really hope today is not about that issue," he said. "But we didn't get it done, we didn't pass a bill out of the Congress. That's what we need to do. I think that's part of what the voters were dissatisfied with. We as the party in charge could not come together on an issue that was that important. I think now what we need to do is get something done, pass a bill, when the time comes and the Democratic leadership puts it on the agenda."

The Martinez acceptance speech yesterday suggests that if he would only stick to what is an impressive life story of being a proud Catholic Cuban immigrant who achieved the American Dream, he might actually do the Republican Party some good.

Of course, it was unlikely that RNC General Chairman Mel Martinez would be a problem for the GOP. Any problems will arise from the words and actions of U.S. Senator Mel Martinez. He may believe that the jobs are separate. He will learn that his Senate floor speeches on amnesty for illegal aliens could easily drown out the "I love America" fundraising speeches.

I was asked by CNN if I was prepared to give now-Chairman Martinez a fair chance. Of course. Just as I would give Howard Dean a fair chance to prove me wrong about his views, I am interested in actions, not words, from people in both political parties.

Martinez's acceptance speech made a point of noting that President Bush had asked him to join his cabinet even before the 2000 election was called in Florida. President Bush urged Martinez to run for the Senate in 2004. Now President Bush has made Martinez the General Chairman of the Republican Party.

Given this record, it is pretty clear that Martinez is a "Bush guy" picked to put a Bush stamp upon the GOP for years to come. What is it they say about the best laid plans of mice and men?

In 1964, a victorious GOP presidential nominee, Barry Goldwater, was determined to place his own stamp on the GOP via a party chairman of his choosing.

In 1968, Richard Nixon, hardly a Goldwater backer in 1964, was the GOP's choice in 1968.

This report was orinally issued via e-mail on January 20, 2007 at 12:55 AM