We should not put a novice in the U.S. Senate
Yes, Tammy Murphy meets the New Jersey constitutional age, citizenship and residency requirements to run for U.S. Senator. However, I can think of many women with qualifications that far exceed those of Tammy Murphy whose experience has been described by a defender as “sitting at the table for six plus years as First Lady of our State helping to hammer out issues and become a sounding board to the Captain of this ship.”
I have nothing personally against Tammy Murphy, but as one high-ranking Mercer County elected official said to me recently “the Senate is too important to run a novice.” My lack of enthusiasm for her candidacy has nothing, to do with her gender.
My dissatisfaction with Tammy Murphy’s candidacy stems from my concerns about nepotism, bossism and a strong feeling that now is the time to send a clarion message to the Democratic Party power structure that we no longer want them to dictate who our candidates will be by giving the prime spot on the ballot, regardless of the merits, to candidates they select.
New Jerseyans are suffering immensely from the kowtowing approach that the Democratic Party leaders took with regard to Senator Robert Menendez, who has disgraced our state and appears to have been disloyal to our nation.
Let’s look back to 2015 when Senator Menendez was the subject of a 14-count federal indictment which charged that between 2006 and 2013 he accepted close to $1 million in gifts and campaign contributions from his personal friend, Dr. Salomon Melgen, a wealthy Florida eye surgeon in exchange for intervening with the government on Melgen’s behalf in a Medicare payment dispute; a port security deal in the Dominican Republic; and visa applications for Melgen’s girlfriends.
He beat the rap when the trial ended in a hung jury in November 2017. According to legal experts the case was affected by the Supreme Court decision in McDonnell vs. United States which vacated the corruption conviction of former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, based on a very narrow legal definition of corruption.
Menendez didn’t get off entirely Scot-free. In April of 2018 he received a four-page letter “severely admonishing” him for knowingly and repeatedly accepting gifts of significant value from Dr. Melgen without obtaining required Senate Ethics Committee approval and his failure to publicly disclose certain gifts as required by Senate Rules and federal law.
Following the trial, Senator Menendez issued the following defiant statement: “To those of you, who were digging my political grave so they can jump into my seat, I know who you are and I won’t forget.” With that the party cowardly endorsed his run for re-election.
Had Democrats had a spine he would not have been the party’s nominee in 2018. Party leaders should have made it clear to him that the gig was up and he had not displayed the high ethical standards required to serve in the U.S. Senate and there was going to be an open primary for the seat.
The consequence of bowing to power is New Jerseyans have a U.S. senator who apparently acted as an agent of Egypt and Qatar while he served as the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. It is alleged that Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez accepted bribes totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars, bars of gold bullion and a Mercedes-Benz, to use his influence to increase U.S. aid and military sales to Egypt.
Equally as disconcerting as acting in a cowardly manner out of fear, is the practice of Democratic county chairs endorsing candidates to remain in the “good graces” of the Governor. Since announcing her candidacy, Tammy Murphy has been the recipient of endorsement from a host of county chairs who are deeply indebted to Governor Murphy for the personal benefits accorded to them.
A recent article in The New York Times pointed out that “six of the seven county leaders who endorsed Ms. Murphy within three days of her entry into the race also have financial incentives to please the governor. …Two are lobbyists with millions of dollars of business before the state. Two hold generous taxpayerfunded jobs. One runs a law firm with clients hoping to do business with the state. Another sits on the board of a hospital that receives millions of dollars in state grants.”
I wish that these key leaders had kept in mind the admonition of former Governor Dick Codey’s father, “Don’t ever take a job from a politician. Because it you do he’ll have you by the balls and your heart and your mind will follow.”
Further, The Star Ledger Editorial Board in a recent column argues that Tammy Murphy’s “core claim is bogus” and that incorrectly presented “herself as the leader of a successful fight to combat our state’s “shameful” maternal death rate and narrow the racial gap that is cursing the Black community today.” They persuasively make the case that this linchpin of her candidacy is not valid.
Tammy Murphy has limited experience and a dearth of accomplishments. There is no evidence that she possesses the skills requisite to serve in the U.S. Senate. On the other hand, Representative Andy Kim’ has formidable credentials are formidable, broad on-the-ground foreign affairs experience and has demonstrated an ability function well in a legislative body. The choice is clear.