With an assist from his party leaders in Washington, Murphy has settled on a blatantly partisan bit of gamesmanship that not only exposes him as an opportunistic politician but puts Floridians at greater risk as the threat of the Zika virus continues to grow.
In turn, the Wall Street Journal eviscerated the blatant obstructionism from Senate Democrats and Murphy’s eagerness to take advantage of it:
Maybe Democrats aren’t so confident anymore about retaking the Senate in a romp. This would explain why they’d rather reserve the Zika crisis as political ammunition for the campaign than pass the bipartisan $1.1 billion bill to wipe out the mosquito-borne virus that can cause birth defects.
On Tuesday Senate Democrats for the third time this year filibustered the Zika rescue legislation, which failed 52-46…
A Zika funding bill passed the Senate 89-8 in May, with the support of every Democrat, but then Harry Reid ambushed the House-Senate compromise conference report, which has passed the House and can’t be amended…
The intended beneficiary of this obstruction appears to be Patrick Murphy, the House Democrat who is challenging Marco Rubio for the Florida Senate seat. “We can’t keep putting ideology above the health and safety of Florida families,” Mr. Murphy said Tuesday.
You almost have to admire the political nerve…
But Mr. Murphy is desperate. He’s trailing Mr. Rubio in the polls and this week the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee canceled a big Florida ad buy on his behalf. A June investigation by the local Miami CBS station caught Mr. Murphy embellishing his resume, including inventing tales about being a small-business owner and CPA.
Murphy’s gamesmanship is as transparent as it is desperate. Unfortunately for him, he needs more than a cheap point or two in order to escape his campaign’s downward spiral.