Rep. Chris Murphy told the New England Council in Boston Wednesday that voters are frustrated with Washington – and he is, too.
“I can’t live with government on the back of a napkin,” said Murphy, D-5th and a candidate for U.S. Senate, explaining his vote against the last-minute debt ceiling deal.
Murphy, a Cheshire resident, faces former Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, of Middletown, and Stamford state Rep. William Tong in the Democratic primary. He had a fundraiser scheduled Tuesday night in the Boston area, according to staff.
“This was a deal cut in the middle of the night with a gun to our head,” he said. “The gun was an utter collapse of the world economy.”
“There is not a corner of the state in which I don’t hear this utter, almost historic frustration with what’s happening in Washington,” Murphy said.
He said voter anger is turning into exhaustion, especially after the response to Hurricane Irene.
According to Murphy, the debate over disaster relief funding is a symbol of two philosophical divisions: government’s role in enforcing compassion and its relationship with the private sector.
“There’s absolutely no weakness in reaching out a helping hand to somebody that lifts them back up. I think that’s exactly why a lot of us believe in government in the first place,” Murphy said.
He said government has a role in doing things that are best done communally, “but we also have a degree of compassion that we want enforced through an organized mechanism and that is government.”
“I actually don’t disagree with the idea that we should pay for disaster assistance,” Murphy said, but he does oppose debating the issue during the cleanup.
He said that debate could “greatly chill disaster response in the future.”
“If states and municipalities aren’t sure they’re going to get reimbursed, are wondering whether or not they’re going to have to wait for a political deal in Washington before they get their money, then they’re probably not going to respond as fast,” he said.
“But I do think we should have a conversation about where the money comes from.”
Murphy said he also opposes the idea that “the government should have nothing to do with the private sector. There should be little to no cooperation between the two sides in trying to plan for this country’s economic future.”
He said that view of the “Tea Party crowd in Washington” is “incredibly wrongheaded.”
“If you look around the world, we are the only country that is still having this debate about whether there is a proper role for government to have in helping the private sector capture new economies that are emerging throughout the globe like the renewable energy sector or invest in the foundations of a strong economy like infrastructure and education,” Murphy said.
Murphy said government, in addition to promoting new industries, should protect current ones.
“I would argue that there is forceful government intervention that needs to be had to do that as well,” he said. “I put financial services and defense at the top of the list.”
He said defense spending is on a “downward trajectory,” but American companies can be protected by “making sure that even as the pie starts to shrink a greater portion of that pie is spent at home.”
“The default should be to buy it here,” he said.
Murphy said by closing loopholes in buy America regulations the government can create hundreds of thousands of jobs.
“We’re really the only, frankly, advanced or quickly developing country in the world that really doesn’t have an industrial policy,” he said.
“We should have a strategy about how we invest in industries that will grow and come here. We just don’t do that,” Murphy said. “We don’t have a renewable energy policy in this country. We don’t. Government kind of picks a handful of winners and losers.”
“I don’t want the government coming in and picking, on their own, what industries are going to rise and fall,” he said.
Asked what he admired about his former boss, former Sen. Chris Dodd, Murphy said Dodd’s colleagues found him to be among the most partisan and the most willing to cross the aisle.
“I consider myself a protégé of his, in a way,” he said.
Murphy said Dodd also did a lot for the financial industry. “I think Chris did a pretty good job over the years, you know, both representing that industry’s interests but also being a pretty solid consumer advocate, as well.”
“…a degree of compassion that we want enforced…”??? God help us. Murphy’s exactly the kind of career politician that we need to get out of Washington. This guys’ never had a real job other than working for the government, which puts him at the same level of economic understanding as Obama. They both need to go.
Oh Great, Dodd Junior….just what the country needs…another believer that government is the only way to get things done…..and just look at the mess he and his buddy Franks left the housing industry in….I will work hard to try to defeat Murphy in the General election.
Dodd should have jailed for what he did with Barney Frank, Freddie & Fannie
He really thinks Big Government can do a better job than the private sector. Scarey. In his world, Russia and China are perfect models! Unfortunately, the Labor tools and Democrat fools think the same way. They totally ignore the historical record and the writing on the European wall declaring the failure of the Social Democrat contract.
“I would argue that there is forceful government intervention that needs to be had to do that as well,” he said. “I put financial services and defense at the top of the list.”
“We should have a strategy about how we invest in industries that will grow and come here. We just don’t do that,” Murphy said. “We don’t have a renewable energy policy in this country. We don’t. Government kind of picks a handful of winners and losers.”
Murphy is obviously in favor of government taking over our lives. Government picks winners & losers? Name a winner. GM still owes hundreds of billions to the taxpayers. Solyndra?
What is forceful government intervention? Whar does he mean by “the government’s role in enforcing compassion?”
When Chris ran for reelection, he came to a local weekly newspaper, where he charmed the staff. He spoke of what would occur when obama and conrgress worked together. How much better things would be. I am still waiting.
Murphy appeared with Pelosi last year at the progressive bloggers convention vowing to continue the progressive campaign. He continues to feel the government credit card can be used. The Democrats balked at paying for emergency aid by cutting the energy fund that auto makers can use. THere was a lot of unused money in the fund. But giving up that money would have meant the Dems would disappoint their green energy followers, the dream of which always seems to be billions from being fulfilled. How many years have we heard, green energy would be such a help if we only had a few billion more. Murphy needs to be replaced with a fiscal conservative and we don’t need his failed ideas in the Senate.