Despite joining the Blue Dog Caucus, my friend Patrick Murphy has kept his word as a representative. He has been the leader in the House on repealing the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, and he’s been a great advocate for his district. He’s been there on every tough vote. He doesn’t deserve this.
About The Author
BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
14 Comments
Recent Posts
- Day 14: Louisiana Senator Approvingly Compares Trump to Stalin
- Day 13: Elon Musk Flexes His Muscles
- Day 12: While Elon Musk Takes Over, We Podcast With Driftglass and Blue Gal
- Day 11: Harm of Fascist Regime’s Foreign Aid Freeze Comes Into View
- Day 10: The Fascist Regime Blames a Plane Crash on Nonwhite People
Time for Obama to stop appealing DADT.
Gays don’t deserve this.
There’s still at least 25% of voters in play. Turning registered voters into likely voters. Finding out what’s bugging those 18% of “Democrats” who are voting for Fitzgerald. Having undecided voters break for him. And pulling more of the independents. That’s what has to happen for him to win. Canvassing and phone banking can winnow out which Dems are in the 18% and why and recontact independents know to have supported Murphy in the last two elections. Getting good local coverage of his campaign appearances and clearly making his case can help pull some undecideds off the couch.
There are six weeks left. This can be turned around.
Does anyone have any insight into whether this whole “hold votes on the tax cuts” issue that some parts of the blogosphere have been trumpeting would really have an impact? And if so, what is the political thinking behind the Dems that are most resistant to it, who seem to be mainly vulnerable Blue Dogs?
It’s not only alarming, it’s infuriating because it didn’t need to be this way. Democrats are dying by a thousand self-inflicted wounds. Instead of elected Democrats writing diaries on Daily Kos and running their asses on Joe Scarborough, who is no more unbiased or a journalist than Rush Limbaugh, to piss on their work and backstab and undermine their party leader as Republicans would NEVER do, they should have owned and championed their work. I repeatedly said here month after month that white liberal collective “buts” were going to self-destruct Democrats. ”Passed health care after 70 years of failures BUT…” That’s why Murphy is going to lose not liberal overreach. Americans always respond favorably to success, confidence, positivity, and a good fight for core beliefs. When has constant complaining ever worked? It doesn’t work in motivating a spouse, child, and damn sure not with an electorate.
I know many here believe I over racialize everything, but when you are Black there is no such thing as over racializing anything. Part of the Black experience is compromise. We’ve always had to compromise. There has not been a single piece of civil rights legislation passed that has come close to our grandest expectations. But we accepted them because it was the best we could get, and it has been progress. A lot, no most, Black folks are pissed with white liberals/progressives because of your constant sense of entitlement that you don’t have to accept the same compromises that people of color have had to accept for our entire existence in this country. Yes, who the fuck do you think you are?! What if Black folks had not compromised and behaved as irrationally and childish the last 4 decades as white liberals/progressives have behaved in the last 18 months?
SO well said. I am bookmarking your comment. Thank you.
So not so much death by a thousand cuts as death by a thousand “buts”.
I am not, nor have I ever been, white.
1) i believe a number of people warned Patrick Murphy about joining the blue dogs and the volatility of that brand. And yes, i know, “he’s the liberal blue dog”, but a lot of progressives hear that term and the pocketbook snaps shut. And of course, republicans aren’t going to support blue dog conservative democrats, they’ll support republicans. It’s the same old lesson that democrats don’t seem to be able to internalize.
2)WHY do 18% of democrats plan to vote for Fitzpatrick? That doesn’t make sense to me, so there’s got to be some reason.
I thought Murphy was one of the few Blue Dogs people were still willing to support. And I don’t understand the drop in support since the Philly area has held up pretty well compared to the rest of the country(outside of the Northeast).
like any other group, it’s a brand. like “bikers”: I know plenty of nice bikers, but when i hear that word i think of Pagans, Hell’s Angels and worse.
“blue dog” is a brand that sucks with the rank and file, sucks with progressives, and isn’t appealing to republicans.
it’s like the AYDS diet candies, which had the misfortune to get marketed right before the AIDS crisis exploded.
donations to the dscc and the dccc are down as well: see here.
This may be due to the fact that progressives are giving to individual candidates rather than the DSCC and the DCCC, which has a bad habit of funneling money to blue dogs and conservadems (booman’s written a bit about the suckiness of these groups).
but also, outside groups have been sidelined. i realize the name “hamsher” is a bit taboo here but I think she was right about the veal pen. Mike Lux at open left echoes this too:
.
this strikes me as accurate, as does “the irony of outside progressive groups being blamed for not doing enough to help the Democrats when the White House has been complaining about the “left of the left” and the “professional left” for many months- and de-motivating donors the whole time- should not be lost on anyone. You can’t attack progressives for being too strident and then wonder why they aren’t doing more and still have much credibility.”
but hey, OFA’s got this.
I’ve been saying this since March of 2008, and frankly is the main reason I think of Obama as an opponent. If the Online left is weaker now than 4 years ago, it is simply because of this.
Re: Finances. The linked article says he has plenty of money so I’m not sure how more cash would help. I would like to see a poll on why so many Dems are defecting.
This sucks, but it is only one poll, Daily News/Franklin & Marshall College. Need to see a trend before panicking. Murphy is getting battered in a large way because of his ties to teachers unions whether accurate or not. Right now that is not a good thing in my part of Bucks County.
Disclaimer, I volunteer for Murphy. He is a very upfront guy, but is getting dragged down by the malaise that has been thrown at him from the top (Obama.) Murphy attached himself at the hip to BO back in the primaries against HRC.
As TarheelDem says this isn’t over yet, but the momentum especially after school opened is against him.
This expresses the mood of grouchy progressives very well.
Obama and the national Democratic committees are using the metaphor of Republicans driving us into the ditch. And asking that we not give the keys to the car back to the Republicans.
The grouchy response: We gave the keys to the car to Democrats and for two years they have been driving up the shoulder with the left turn signal blinking.
That pretty much captures the enthusiasm gap mentality. Note that some see that blinking left turn signal as threatening instead of promising. Thus the Republican mantra about socialism.
They could either vote as Democrats, stand together defending Democratic policies, or they could vote against Democrats, and by doing so weaken themselves and all other Democrats.
They chose to stand against Democrats.
This was a terrible error, and we will now pay for it.