Stephanie Murphy, VoteVets slam members challenging election for violating oath

A new digital video from the left-leaning group singled out Scott Franklin, Brian Mast and others.

One Florida Congresswoman suggested her own colleagues will violate their oath of office by challenging Joe Biden’s election victory. The same day, a veterans group alleged two Florida Congressmen challenging results also will violate their oath as service members.

Rep. Stephanie Murphy, a Winter Park Democrat, slammed a concerted effort Wednesday to challenge slates of electors.

“Our Constitution is not about convenience; it’s about the rule of law,” Murphy tweeted. “Members of Congress who fail to defend the Constitution to appease a desperate President clinging to power violate their oath of office. This is an act of political cowardice. History will not be kind to them.”

A majority of Florida Republicans in Congress, however, feel otherwise and plan to challenge at least some state results that Biden won over President Donald Trump.

Murphy notably just won reelection as co-chair of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of centrist Democrats in Congress. She also boasts a commitment to service to country that dates back before her Congressional career. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, she worked as a civilian analyst for the Secretary of Defense.

The left-leaning veteran group VoteVets separately released a digital video with a similar theme, criticizing Republicans who served in the military but who now plan to challenge the election. The ad leads with Democratic members who served explaining their oaths in the military and in Congress require members to “support and defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic.”

“A few folks who serve alongside us seem to have already forgotten what that oath is all about,” said Colorado Rep. Jason Crow.

The ad then shows roughly a dozen Congressmen who previously wore a uniform, including Rep. Brian Mast, a Stuart Republican who lost his legs in an explosion in Afghanistan, and Rep. Scott Franklin, a Lakeland Republican and Naval Academy graduate.

Jacob Ogles

Jacob Ogles has covered politics in Florida since 2000 for regional outlets including SRQ Magazine in Sarasota, The News-Press in Fort Myers and The Daily Commercial in Leesburg. His work has appeared nationally in The Advocate, Wired and other publications. Events like SRQ’s Where The Votes Are workshops made Ogles one of Southwest Florida’s most respected political analysts, and outlets like WWSB ABC 7 and WSRQ Sarasota have featured his insights. He can be reached at [email protected].



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