Sometimes House Democrats Are So Bad That It Doesn't Pay To Waste Resources Trying To Save Them-- Orlando Blue Dog Stephanie Murphy

Would you defend a really bad Democratic incumbent against an even worse Republican challenger? How much energy and resources is it worth devoting to? Personally, I wouldn't even vote for Orlando area Blue Dog Stephanie Murphy, let alone defend her or contribute to her campaign. Her "F" grade from ProgressivePunch barely even scratches the surface about how she-- and other reactionaries like her in Congress-- are destroying the Democratic Party brand. Her crucial vote score is 26.09. Only 2 Democrats-- both Blue Dogs like her-- have worse scores, Josh Gottheimer (NJ) and Tom O'Halleran (AZ), each with 25.0. Conservative, libertarian-leaning Republicans Justin Amash (MI) and Thomas Massie (KY) vote more frequently for progressive proposals than Murphy does! In in the current session of Congress, North Carolina Republican Walter Jones also votes with progressives more than Murphy. Across a broad range of issues, she's as bad as they come for a Democrat. If issues are what motivates you politically, Stephanie Murphy is a bad fit-- unless you're a Republican-leaning Democrat like her.

So when I read Thursday that brainless right-wing oaf, Mike Miller, virtually a neo-Nazi from Winter Park disguised as a "mainstream" Republican, had decided to run against her... I yawned. He's anti-Choice and virulently homophobic but on actual bread and butter issues most likely to come before Congress, he's hardly worse than she is. Let's say Miller would, like fellow Floridians Brian Mast, Francis Rooney, John Rutherford and Neal Dunn wind up with a ZERO ProgressivePunch score-- or, like Dennis Ross, a 2.48 or Dan Webster's 3.38 or Gus Bilirakis' 3.91 or Tom Rooney's 4.09 or Matt Gaetz's 4.17 or even Ron DeSantis' 5.13. The difference between the number of anti-family votes these radical-right sociopaths and Murphy is hardly worth the trouble. There are 190 "better" Democrats running for reelection and dozens and dozens of better Democrats-- even great Democrats-- running in races to beat Republican incumbents pretty much as bad as Stephanie Murphy. The real tragedy in her Orlando district is less that she could lose the seat and more that there is no progressive-- or even moderate-- primarying her.

Meanwhile, Miller is a worthless imbecile whose immediate attack was exactly what you might expect from an imbecile, especially one who doesn't care about facts or even his own credibility: "This district should no longer be represented by someone whose vote is controlled by Nancy Pelosi and the ultra-left." An even worse Republican moron, David Simmons of Altamonte Springs, is probably going to run as well. An irony in the race between Miller and Murphy is that Miller, the Republican, has been a strong advocate against fracking and has actually been making more of an effort to appeal on a few progressive issues than Murphy has. She spends all her time trying to appeal to conservatives, using GOP talking points with which Hate Talk Radio has brainwashed so many Americans. Only a massive anti-Trump/anti-Ryan tsunami will save her hide in this blue-trending district where Obama and Romney were tied and where Hillary beat Trumpanzee 51.4% to 44.1%. Murphy managed to oust listless GOP hack, John Mica, a laughable relic, 182,039 (51.5%) to 171,583 (48.5%) largely because Democrats didn't know how horrible she would be in Congress. Now they know. The DCCC spent $3,629,376 and Pelosi's SuperPAC threw in another $1,054,149 on her behalf. The NRCC ignored the race until it was too late and only spent a total of $1,670,865 to help Mica. This year they are expected to spend as much as $4 or 5 million to defeat Murphy. And the DCCC will be forced to match their spending to defend someone who votes for Ryan's agenda very consistently.