We've been writing about how right-wing fake Democrat Patrick Murphy (FL) was one of only seven Democrats-- all corrupt conservatives from the Blue Dogs and/or New Dems-- to vote for the establishment of the Republican Party's Get Hillary Committee, which started out as a Benghazi committee and is now being used as a committee to promote a GOP-manufactured e-mail "scandal," led by Republican pinhead Trey Gowdy of South Carolina. Although it has now been confirmed by bumbling imbecile Kevin McCarthy, every other Democrat knew that that's all the Benghazi committee ever was meant to be: a platform for slandering Hillary Clinton. At the time of the vote, Pelosi, Hoyer and Clyburn let it be known that a vote in favor would be looked at by the House Democratic leadership very negatively and urged every Democrat to vote no. And every Democrat did vote no except for the seven who were always giving faux "bipartisan" cover to the House Republicans for their crackpot bills and resolutions:
• Patrick Murphy (FL)• Kyrsten Sinema (AZ)• Collin Peterson (MN)• John Barrow (GA), driven from Congress the following year• Mike McIntyre (NC), driven from Congress the following year• Nick Rahall (WV), driven from Congress the following year• Ron Barber (AZ), driven from Congress the following year
I was on a media call with Alan Grayson and half a dozen Florida journalists Friday morning when he warned that Murphy's record of siding with Republicans, and in particular his vote to support the now thoroughly discredited Benghazi committee, could hurt the eventual Democratic presidential nominee in Florida. Grayson:
From the beginning the Benghazi Select Committee has been a partisan clown show, and anyone who was paying attention knew that’s exactly what would happen. Everything the Tea Party Republicans who run the Benghazi committee have done, they have done with Patrick Murphy’s permission... Murphy voted to allow Republicans to use the power of Congress to harass and smear Hillary Clinton... Murphy’s vote to support this witch hunt tells you all you need to know about him. He’s a Republican who voted like it when he thought no one was watching, and the consequences of his support for the Republican agenda will come back to haunt the Democratic Party and our presidential candidate.
Murphy's multimillionaire Republican parents-- who play fast and loose with campaign finance laws to begin with and who have given immense sums to right-wing GOP candidates-- have given Hillary thousands of dollars for her various campaigns. (Thomas is Patrick's father, and Leslie is his mother.) Journalists on the Grayson call told me that Karl Rove's operation had gotten the word out that Hillary was going to endorse Patrick's Senate campaign yesterday while she was in Florida. Instead, she ignored him. At a campaign stop at a half-empty gym at Broward College in Davie, Murphy and Ted Deutch were on a balcony overlooking the stage when she thanked "Ted Deutch and all the other elected officials here." Murphy winced and looked like he had just been punched in the stomach. Earlier she had been raising money at the home of Fred Cunningham in North Palm Beach (the heart of Patrick's district)-- where Patrick was barred from entering so as not to embarrass Hillary by forcing his mug into a photograph-- and afterwards she was at the home of lawyers Mitchell and Sharon Berger in Fort Lauderdale, before moving on to another fundraiser in Miami Beach at the home of F.J. and Abigail Pollak. Murphy followed her around like a dog hoping for a bone an endorsement. He wasn't permitted to enter any of the homes and she again neglected to even mention his name. Schumer must be spitting nails. The Tampa Bay Times reported that Murphy's campaign spokesman denied Murphy was trying to help the Republicans embarrass Hillary with his vote to authorize the Benghazi committee. Joshua Karp: "When Patrick voted for the Benghazi committee, he was 100 percent confident it would vindicate Hillary Clinton, and he warned the committee must not be 'used as a way to politicize this tragedy and the deaths of four Americans.'" If Murphy really imagined the Benghazi committee was going to vindicate Hillary, he's the only Democrat who did-- and he didn't pay attention to the warnings of the House Democratic leadership. Or maybe he's the stupidest person in Congress, which also explains why Wall Street has been spending so much money to help get him in his primary against Grayson. If you'd like to help Grayson, by the way, you can do that here on this ActBlue page.