Today, the Democrat grassroots rejected Murphy once again as the Progressive Democrats of America officially endorsed Grayson.
- “U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson has won the national endorsement of the Progressive Democrats of America in his race for the Democratic nomination to run for Florida’s U.S. Senate seat, he announced Thursday…‘Rep. Alan Grayson fights for the progressive change we need, on the issues which the PDA has long advocated,’ the group stated in Grayson’s release.” (Scott Powers, “Alan Grayson Gets Nod From Progressive Democrats Of America,” SaintPetersBlog, 1/28/16)
Murphy is constantly fighting his own record as he attempts to shake Grayson’s characterization of him as ‘an errand boy for Wall Street.’ But a report today from the Associated Press makes it clear that Murphy has some work left to do when it comes to rebuilding his image:
- “The two major candidates are U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, a favorite with his party’s far left, and U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, a former Republican who has sided with the GOP on issues such as loosening banking regulations and weakening President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.” (Brendan Farrington, “Florida Democrats Have Clear Choice In Race To Replace Rubio,” Associated Press, 1/28/16)
Murphy’s repeated attempts to manufacture his liberal credentials have fallen flat:
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Grayson Proposed Higher Social Security Payouts In August: “Continuing on the first theme of his U.S. Senate campaign, U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson Thursday vowed to introduce a bill that would increase Social Security retirement benefits and tie future increases to a new cost-of-living index.” (Orlando Sentinel, 8/23/15)
- Me-Too Murphy Eventually Responded With A Similar Proposal: “We introduced H.Res. 393, a resolution to protect and expand Social Security benefits, along with seventy-six cosponsors, to improve benefits.” *(Press Release, 10/15/15)
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Murphy’s 2012 Campaign Was Swimming In Super PAC Donations, Including Hundreds Of Thousands From His Father: “Murphy’s father, Thomas Murphy Jr., and Coastal Construction played prominent roles in his son’s win over ex-Republican U.S. Rep. Allen West. Murphy’s dad fueled a combined $550,000 into super PACs that bashed West in ads.” (TC Palm, 12/30/13)
- Then Murphy Shifted Left By Saying He ‘Always Opposed’ The Citizens United Decision: “Last week, an op-ed published in this paper criticized my strong opposition to the 2010 Citizens United vs. FEC decision which created Super PACs, opening a flood of unaccountable money into our political system. That decision is among the most detrimental to our democracy in American history, and I have always opposed it.” (South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 9/11/15)
With this latest rejection from his party’s grassroots, it’s clear that Murphy is still fighting an uphill battle to reinvent himself.