Is Senator Mel Martinez a Republican or Floridian first?

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Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) figures to be a critical vote on the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2009 (S. 61) when the Senate resumes its session after a month-long recess.

The pending bankruptcy bill, if passed by the Senate, would save most of the Middle Class from imminent foreclosure and displacement from their homes.  Republicans (and the Moderate Dems Working Group) oppose the bill because they say it would cause a chilling effect on consumer lending and extend our “credit crunch.”  Although the argument has little credence, the financial industry wants to kill the bill, and these Senators are seemingly happy to oblige.

This puts Senator Martinez in a pickle because he represents a state ravaged by foreclosures.  Florida homes are being foreclosed upon at a rate of more than 10,000 per month!  Thousands of families in every corner of Florida, from the panhandle to the peninsula, are being displaced by Wall Street investors who would rather cash in on insurance policies issued by AIG than modify existing mortgages with homeowners.

So, the question for Senator Martinez is whether he is a Floridian or a Republican first.  Sadly for his constituents, it appears he is the latter. Through one of his congressional aides, I have asked for a comment from Senator Martinez on this legislation, but like the rest of his constituents, I’ve been ignored.  Ultimately, it appears that he will continue to protect the fraudsters on Wall Street, abandoning Middle-Class Floridians at the most critical time in Florida’s history.

There was a time in American politics when one’s legacy mattered – when history books were more important than check books.  As a person who emigrated from a dictatorship, one would think that Senator Martinez would put the concerns of the voters above all.  This is, after all, a representative democracy.

However, Senator Martinez will not be treated kindly by history.  As the worst decade in Florida’s history rolls on, all will recall that Senator Martinez could have helped to put a stop to it, but chose instead politics over people.