Opinion: A Charlatan Runs for Senate

  Proclaimed by many in the media to be one of the House's more moderate Democratic Representatives, Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy votes with Nancy Pelosi nearly 100% of the time. Now Murphy may bring her contorted brand of moderation to the upper chamber with a run for U.S. Senate. "I know what it takes to defeat a powerful Republican incumbent because I’ve done it," the Democrat said in a recent interview. A closer look, however, reveals the truth about her slim 2016 upset. What exactly does it take to defeat a "powerful Republican incumbent" at the polls? Money. And lot's of it. Backed by swaths of donors and interest groups from outside the district, Murphy cobbled together roughly five million dollars to route incumbent Congressman John Mica in what some local analysts have called a "forced victory."

  The former Rollins professor will be embarking on a virtual listening tour as a preliminary boost to her state-wide name recognition. Murphy formally acknowledged her possible entry into the race on Wednesday. Feigning disinterest in a Senate campaign, the Congresswoman earlier in the week stated that "this isn't the moment. Right now, I'm really focused on trying to get the next Covid bill across the finish line."

  In a campaign teaser, Murphy said part of her animus to run for U.S. Senate came from her family origins in Vietnam: "My parents, facing a future where their children would not have opportunity or freedom or democracy, decided that we might die in search of light, that that was better than to live on in darkness." Despite her seemingly picture-perfect background, Murphy's latest policy proposal tells a different story, antagonizing the very freedoms she claims to cherish.

  Murphy, a purported moderate and the Chair of the House Blue Dog Caucus, recently shifted her tone leftward by introducing a bill intended to penalize Republican Members of Congress for their political views. Dubbed "Murphy's Law" by its opponents, the bill pulls the plug on clearances for any Member of Congress disseminating "false information" about the US government. The definition of the words "false information" did not appear in the text of the legislation, leaving the term open to broad interpretation.

  The McCarthyist language of the bill caused concern amongst many constituents in the district. "I can't fathom where we're at right now," Clarice of Longwood told The Orlando Local News. "When I voted for Stephanie, I didn't think she'd take this road." Accompanying her recent ideological migration, the Democrat also lobbed blistering attacks on her would-be opponent, incumbent Senator Marco Rubio: "The only person Marco Rubio cares about is Marco Rubio," the Congresswoman pontificated to NBC. 

  A recent poll conducted by The Orlando Local News found that Murphy's foreign entanglements present a great concern to the public as well, with the Democrat's husband owning a sportswear company that produces over 97% of their products in China. Before the pandemic, Murphy's husband frequented China on a regular basis, though his connections to the country remain somewhat opaque. China requires foreign investors to share earnings with a government-endorsed partner.

Pictured: A jersey produced by Sean Murphy's 3N2 sports company in China, for a client heading to China.

  Often cast as a centrist by media outlets, Murphy votes with Speaker Nancy Pelosi nearly 100% of the time. By echoing moderate talking points for her constituents at home, and toeing a hard line in D.C., the Congresswoman executes a carefully crafted smoke and mirrors campaign, tightening her grip on power.

  Nevertheless, with two terms of votes under her belt, Murphy will need to explain the discrepency between her words and her actions come election season.

  Some local politcos also speculate Murphy's run for higher office to be a gasp of desparation, with the Representative currently residing in a district that may be redrawn to her detriment this year. Signs indicate State Reprentative Anna Eskamani may seek to run for the seat should Murphy declare candidacy for U.S. Senate.