(Headline USA) Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., slammed her party for catering to leftists and steering Democrats toward a catastrophic loss in the November midterm elections.
Murphy, who decided to retire this year rather than run for reelection, told Politico that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other Democrat leaders beat her and other moderates “into submission” to get them to support President Joe Biden’s radical “Build Back Better” agenda.
“I can’t tell you the number of times I said, ‘You can’t keep promising rainbows and unicorns when your political reality is such narrow margins in the House and a dead-even Senate,’” Murphy said.
“They took the difference between rainbows and unicorns and political reality — which is anger and disappointment — and turned that anger and disappointment against their own members.”
She said Democrat leadership constantly used threatening tactics to push moderate members to “take one [vote] for the team.”
“Some of these members who would come to me would say … ‘I can’t afford to tick off the [Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee] and have them put my money at risk,’ or, ‘I can’t afford to have my base attacking me,” Murphy explained.
“I can’t afford to have the millions of dollars of ads that I’m watching run in your district run against me,’” she said. “It’s unfortunate that that’s where we have gotten.”
Murphy called out Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y., specifically, alleging that he has abused his role as the DCCC’s chief to climb the leadership ladder in Congress.
“I don’t believe that the person who runs the DCCC should be a member who’s elected, because inevitably that member … has further aspirations in the Democratic leadership,” Murphy said.
“And in order to ascend in Democratic leadership, you have to secure the progressive vote,” she added. “And securing the progressive vote makes it difficult for you to also then protect moderates and create space for them to do what they need to do to win and hold seats.”
