Bucks
Civility Part Three Murphy
Dear Friends,
Good
morning. Congressman Patrick Murphy is on a roll. Last week,
Murphy is cautiously optimistic. “By no means is this a done deal,” Murphy said. Nonetheless, the news should benefit him, at least for now.
The second piece of good news for the congressman was being the subject of a favorable editorial in the New York Times (April 9). The Times praised him because Murphy is leading the fight to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the law that the military uses to expel gay service people.
“Murphy is predicting that he will have the needed 216-vote majority in time to add repeal [of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell] onto the defense authorization bill when it comes up in May,” the editorial stated. “Murphy is the paratrooper who fights for gay rights in the military ranks.”
A few days ago, I listened to Murphy address 15 business people from the Upper Bucks Chamber of Commerce. I wanted to interview him about civility…or the lack thereof…in the halls of congress.
Poll after poll shows that American voters are unhappy with the way elected officials conduct business in Washington. Has the Republican Party become the Party of “No”? Has the Democratic Party over reached its perception of what the population wants done? Have both parties wandered too far from middle ground?
Murphy says that he works with Democrats and Republicans alike. “Actions speak louder than words,” he began. “I’m still new. I spent my life in the military. We didn’t fight political battles.”
Murphy illustrated his working with GOP officials. “I partnered with [Bucks County Republican Commissioner] Jim Cawley to form the Bucks County Economic Development Advisory Board,” Murphy told me. “This organization is made up of chambers of commerce and business leaders. We are working on the best way for industry and business to compete in this world economy…especially during the Great Recession.”
As I mentioned in my column last week, isn’t it ironic that these two might be on the November ballot representing opposite parties? Murphy will appear as a Democratic candidate for congress; you may see Cawley’s name as the Republican candidate for Lt. Governor.
But the second term congressman will have a big fight on his hands this fall. Former Congressman [and Bucks County Commissioner] Michael Fitzpatrick is likely to be Murphy’s opponent. While it’s true that Fitzpatrick has to get past the Republican primary, most believe that to be likely.
Should Fitzpatrick be on the November ballot, you can expect him to stress civility and conservative fiscal credentials. According to the Washington Post, Fitzpatrick was one of the most independent voters in the House during the 109th Congress. He voted with his party 83 percent of the time. Only 17 of the 435 members supported their party less.
I asked Murphy what the impact would be to his district should he land a spot on the Appropriations Committee? “Being on the committee would give a platform for green energy projects,” he answered. “The U.S. must return to manufacturing. Bucks County has the advantage of river, rail, and highway transportation.”
At the Upper Bucks Chamber of Commerce meeting, Murphy noted that there are more than 60,000 small businesses in the 8th Congressional District. He told the business people that more than 26,000 of them had responded to his survey. The three topics, which headed the list of responses, were: access to capital, taxes, and health care.
Several of the business people complained that their banks were not making loans. That was denied by two bankers in attendance...one from QNB and one from Univest.
Murphy heard plenty about the recent health care reform act, which is now the law of the land. “There are 60,000 uninsured in Bucks County,” he said. Ed Nawrocki, the President of St. Luke’s Quakertown Hospital was present and agreed with the congressman.
“Eleven percent of St. Luke’s Quakertown Hospital are uninsured,” Nawrocki observed.
Murphy defends his support of the health care reform legislation. It is the first time that a President has signed health care reform since President Theodore Roosevelt first asked congress to address the problem of the uninsured. Murphy had three handouts, which spoke to the advantages of the new health care act.
One of them addressed eight “myths” about the Democratic-sponsored act, which no Republican supported. Titled “Myth versus Fact,” Murphy provided answers, which refutes these Republican accusations: 1. Reform will lead to a socialized, government take-over of health care; 2. Our country can’t afford the reform act right now; 3. Reform will hurt Medicare and seniors; 4. Reform will ration medical care; 5. Reform was rushed through with no debate; 6. Reform will fund abortions; 7. Reform will insure illegal immigrants; and 8. We won’t see any benefits of reform for years.
The Democratic Party is hoping that voters will see the benefits of the new health care act before the November election. Republicans are staking their political fortunes on the hope that voters will blame Democrats for the recession, bank and automobile manufacturers’ bailouts, and the high unemployment rate.
My bet is that voters understand which administration made all this unhappiness occur in the first place. That is, of course, President George W. Bush.
We’ll see.
It was interesting to observe how these business people reacted to the congressman. Most were anxious about the economy. They didn’t have much confidence in the federal government. “We don’t understand the health care [provisions] and don’t know how to get answers,” one exclaimed.
Still, most of the attendees had positive feelings about Murphy. We’ll get the answer in just seven months.
Sincerely,
Charles Meredith