Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) has announced he plans to resign as co-chair of the RNC when a 2008 GOP presidential nominee is selected.

In a brief interview, Martinez, of Orlando, said Monday that he would quit after a GOP presidential nominee is selected in early 2008 because "it was a logical time.''

At the time of his selection to serve with Mike Duncan, I thought it was a poor decision. How can any elected official properly represent their constituency (especially in a state as large as Florida) and mind the business of their political party? What what the party thinking? You can't have a currently seated elected official maintain that kind of involvement. Can you say FOOLISH?

How can the party afford to maintain leadership like this?

On CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer Sunday, Martinez said immigration "could be the saving of the Republican Party, frankly. And to do nothing would be the wrong thing for the American people."

Say what, Mel? The party needs new leadership, leadership which reflects the views of those who support the organization. Many conservatives, myself included, have declined to contribute any more money or sustain an active membership in the national party because of their inability to effectively acknowledge the lack of border enforcement and the growing illegal immigration problem in our country.

Instead I got a lot of email traffic asking for more money because of the outrageous things the Democrats are saying/doing. I'd be more inclined to contribute if they instead said they needed the money to proliferate a strong message by the RNC that border security is a priority issue.

Duncan should go too. It is time for someone to produce an effective strategy for conservativism within the RNC. We shouldn't be a party that alienates viewpoints, but one that encompasses the principles on which the party stands. We should be able to explain our immigration position to those critics who support open borders. We should be able to defend our social conservative positions to moderates and Christians. We should be able to demonstrate fiscal conservatism and restraint of government growth in our actions, not just our rhetoric. And when Republicans who do demonstrate that (Senators DeMint, Coburn) idealism, we should applaud it, not shun it.

So where do we find such leadership? Lots of speculation over at HotAir. I saw some interesting names mentioned, including previously suggested Michael Steele. I bet these GOP presidential candidates would stop considering skipping minority debates with Steele at the helm.

(Yes, I know I just broke the 11th commandment. There are lots of reasons to do so. Get over it.)

(H/T: Alabama Pundit)