Jeffrey Blehar of National Review Online explains why he’s paying attention to the activities of a little-known Connecticut senator.
[A]pparently the senator has more on his mind this time than a stroll through his reliably blue state. Murphy looks like he is gearing up to switch from a walk to a run — for the Democratic nomination for president in 2028. According to Politico, he has set up an ambitious anti-Trump super PAC, exactly the sort of move a politician makes when trying to broaden his fundraising footprint and activist awareness in advance of a national campaign. (This comes as little surprise to anyone who has noticed Murphy’s eagerness in recent years to gain the spotlight as a “resistance” voice on television.)
Most people have no idea who Chris Murphy is. He is not a particularly memorable politician; with his generic bearing and no serious legislative accomplishments to his name, he is indistinguishable from many of his colleagues. Still, I think it’s worth keeping an eye on Murphy’s effort over the next few years as it evolves from this early inchoate phase into a more formal campaign, precisely because he is boring and brandless. (He lacks the political baggage of Pete Buttigieg or Gavin Newsom, for example.)
That, paradoxically, makes him interesting as a sort of control experiment in the fate of the Generic White Politician in future Democratic presidential primaries. And this remains a fascinatingly open question for the Democrats. My guess is that the 2028 primary will be decided by who carries African-American southern women, not by who thrills the woke left. (It will be reported differently in the run-up to the vote.)
For now, I shall amuse myself by imagining Chris Murphy barnstorming South Carolina black churches. Imagine the legendary cringe. American politics has had a hard run in recent years, and things look to be getting only rougher; one thing that might make 2028 worth it is video of Murphy awkwardly singing and swaying along with a gospel choir in pursuit of his vanities. Perhaps we will be granted at least this.
The post Pay attention to ‘boring’ Connecticut Democrat first appeared on John Locke Foundation.
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: Mitch Kokai
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://www.johnlocke.org and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.
