A Democrat poll showed him losing to Alan Grayson by double digits. His attempt to right the ship with a high-profile endorsement just led to more blistering attacks from his opponent. And a reporter just called him to the carpet for his utter hypocrisy on campaign finance:
Although he decried the excessive money in politics as ‘disgusting’ and said that he ‘hated it’ earlier in his address, Murphy has raised by far the most money of anyone in the contest to date – with well over $4 million in his coffers. A separate super PAC (‘Floridians for a Strong Middle Class’) supporting his candidacy has raised over $500,000, with $200,000 coming from his father, construction executive Thomas Murphy.
In the final question asked during the Q&A period, Tampa Bay Times political editor Adam Smith if he would back up his claim that he hated the big money in politics by telling his father to refrain from contributing to his super PAC. ‘I hate the money in politics, and I hate gotcha questions too,’ replied Murphy.
Murphy hasn’t only benefited from his dad’s hefty checkbook in this campaign. His first run for Congress was floated by a Super PAC financed with over a half-million dollars in cotributions from Murphy’s father and business interests:
- “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.” (Jonathan Mattise, “Gift Triples U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy’s Personal Wealth,” TC Palm, 12/30/13)
If you feel like asking Murphy any more ‘gotcha’ questions about his shameless embrace of his dad’s Super PAC dollars, you might present him with his own words from just a few months ago:
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Never before in our nation’s history has such an obscene amount of money been used to distort the will of the people and give such an extremely undue influence to anonymous, dark-money donors.”
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“We are truly living in an age when unaccountable millionaires and billionaires can pull the strings of democracy.
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“[Citizens United] is among the most detrimental to our democracy in American history, and I have always opposed it.”
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“Why should [millionaires and billionaires] have a greater say in who our elected representatives are than you or I do? Do their voices matter more than a public school teacher in Jupiter? Or a firefighter in Jacksonville? Or an elderly couple in Century Village?"
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“It’s time to take our politics out of the gutter and focus on working on the serious challenges our country faces.”
- “By fighting against Citizens United, we are fighting for our democracy itself.”
Gotcha.