Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), re-elected to a third term Tuesday, carried on his day-after ritual Wednesday at New Britain’s famed Capitol Lunch (est. 1929) a mile down the road from the soon to be demolished Mt. Pleasant public housing project where his mother grew up and in a 5th Congressional District stronghold for Democrats. Talking to the press, Murphy reflected on the “bittersweet” results of winning his race but the loss of the Presidency and a thin U.S Senate majority, pledging to push back on what comes out of a second term for Donald Trump.
In an email message to supporters meant to assuage grieving Democrats Murphy pledged to be “a helper” over his six-year term.
“I will be honest with you — I’ve had a hard time coming to terms with the decision our nation made on Tuesday night. I feel angry and deeply worried for the future of our country and our democracy. I feel sad that colleagues I trusted and relied on will not be returning to the Senate with me.
When you walk into my Senate office, you are met by a framed photo of Fred Rogers. It is a picture of Mr. Rogers in the middle of a crowd of children, but in deep, personal communion with a young disabled boy. Below the photo is a quote from Mr. Rogers that went viral within the Sandy Hook community in the days after the 2012 tragedy. The quote reads: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
In an email message to supporters meant to assuage grieving Democrats Murphy pledged to be “a helper” over his six-year term.
And it’s okay for you to feel scared and anxious. It’s okay for you to wonder what kind of country we are in the wake of Tuesday’s election. But the values that bring us to civic life — decency, fairness, tolerance, love, and justice — they matter just as much today as they did Tuesday morning.
I am a U.S. Senator — now, thanks to you, for the next six years. But what I really am is a helper. And right now, our nation needs help. In the coming weeks and months, we will come to conclusions about why we lost the election and what our path forward is. And thanks to you, I will be in a position to help all of us walk down that path.
My ask is that you do not lose faith in the greatness and the exceptionality of our nation. Our daring American experiment — inclusive democracy — is more fragile than ever. But it’s still standing. And our job is to help build the work that responds to the ways people are feeling right now that caused them to throw caution to the wind and put their faith in someone like Donald Trump.
Our democracy is not promised or guaranteed. It is ours for another 247 years, but only if we can keep it. To that end, I remain committed. And to those who put me in a position of consequence at this moment — to be a helper — I am deeply indebted.”
NB Politicus 