Mitch Perry
U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy has touted himself as a nonpartisan problem solver ever since he initially ran for Congress in 2012.
So when asked whether he’s been frustrated by the partisan gridlock that seems to permeate Washington, D.C., the just-announced U.S. Senate candidate is quick to list items he says shows he’s been working for his constituents in CD 18, which encompasses all of St. Lucie and Martin counties and part of Palm Beach County.
“We’ve brought back over $2 million for constituents in veterans benefits and Social Security and Medicare benefits,” he said. He said the Water Resources and Reform and Development Act signed by President Barack Obama last summer brought a billion dollars of funding for the Everglades. “So, there’s some issues there where you say, ‘Gosh, we’ve really done a lot.'”
Murphy acknowledges, though, there is a lot of “nonsense” that has been going on since he first came to Washington two years ago.
“The fact that we had a government shutdown last year (in October of 2013). We were two hours away from shutting down Homeland Security just a couple of weeks ago. The fiscal cliff. I mean, this is nonsense. And it doesn’t matter what party you’re from. There’s plenty of blame to go around. We’ve got to do a better job of doing our job for the American people. So, there are times that can be very frustrating. And that certainly weighs into my calculus and decision-making process of why I think we can be more effective.”
Specifically, Murphy says that serving in the upper body of Congress could allow him to work with Republicans to solve problems.
“You can form these coalitions in the Senate — these Gang of 8, or Group of 6, these different groupings of people in a bipartisan fashion. And they can be, I think, a lot more effective in moving legislation through. That would be one of my first goals … to find a senator on the other side of the aisle that we could work together on issues of importance like job creation, like strengthening the middle class, protecting the environment. Find those one or two issues that we agree on, and then bring that forward, and try to grow that coalition.”
Murphy made those comments in an interview with Florida Politics this past weekend.
In another part of the interview that didn’t make the initial story posted Monday concerned his stance on the Affordable Care Act. Although he wasn’t in Congress when the Obama administration’s signature domestic legislation went into effect, that hasn’t stopped Republicans from associating the controversial law with him.
On Monday the National Republican Congressional Committee included him in a digital web ad with four other Democratic representatives who are considered vulnerable in their districts (Murphy has won twice in a GOP-leaning district). He also has previously signed on to legislation that would have delayed the penalties associated with not signing up with the ACA.
“This is a great example of an issue that frustrates me, and part of the reason I want to run for the U.S. Senate,” he said when asked his thoughts on the ACA now. “You have one group of people in the House who says, ‘The ACA is perfect, don’t touch it.’ You got another group saying, ‘It’s entirely broken, you must repeal the whole thing.'”
“The truth is somewhere in the middle,” he said, before reciting the provisions of the law that generally are universally revered, such as having young adults up to the age of 26 being able to stay on their parents’ health care plans, not being dropped from insurance because of a preexisting condition, and eliminating the so-called “doughnut hole.”
But, he said, “There’s some things that must be tweaked, and that’s where the focus needs to be,” though he didn’t elaborate on what parts of the plan need changing. “No piece of legislation is perfect. The conversation now needs to be how you improve it, and how you get it right going forward.”
He’ll be able to explain that issue and others as he embarks on a campaign to get his name and message out to the millions in the state who never heard of him until Monday. He’s got plenty of time to do it, though, because Florida Democratic primary voters won’t be deciding on his next race for another 17 months.
