Tag Archives: Patrick Murphy

November 20, 2012 · 11:52 AM

Allen West Finally Concedes!

Why was Allen West so myopic after the 2012 elections in Florida?

Why did he continue to contest the vote count in specific counties?  I’m not sure we’ll ever know the answer but I can sum it up with a few guesses:  Hubris, Sociopathy or just plain stupidity.

The Huffington Post

Video

Tea party firebrand Rep. Allen West conceded his re-election fight Tuesday, two weeks after the election gave way to court appearances, two partial recounts and unending accusations by his camp that the vote count wasn’t fair.

In a statement, the Republican freshman said “there are certainly still inaccuracies in the results” but not enough to change the outcome, giving the race to Democratic newcomer Patrick Murphy.

“While a contest of the election results might have changed the vote totals, we do not have evidence that the outcome would change,” West said.

Murphy campaign manager Anthony Kusich said he was not aware of any concession call to his candidate, simply an e-mail that was publicly distributed. In his own statement, Murphy said he was “humbled by Congressman West’s gracious concession” and eager to get to work on behalf of all voters.

“To those who supported my opponent, my door is open and I want to hear your voice,” Murphy said. “I campaigned on a message of reaching across the aisle to get things done for the people of the Treasure Coast and Palm Beaches, and that is as important in this district as it is in Washington.”

Murphy declared victory in the wee hours of Election Night and has held his lead ever since, even as thousands of absentee, provisional and overseas ballots were processed and two partial recounts undertaken. But West’s campaign kept up a stream of skepticism about the results, largely focused on St. Lucie County, where elections officials acknowledged missteps.

An initial recount of some early ballots in St. Lucie gave West a slight bump. His campaign fought for a fuller recount, and received it, but it only improved Murphy’s margin of victory. He won by more than 2,000 votes.

Many have speculated West could find a new career in the place where he has been frequently seen, on cable television, but he has not said what his next step will be. “Only God knows what is in store for each of us,” he said in his statement, adding that “I will continue to fight for our republic.”

Whatever the next step, the contest between Murphy and West will go down as one of the most expensive in congressional history. Murphy eked out the win though he was out-fundraised more than four-to-one.

West, 51, is a favorite among the most conservative reaches of the Republican Party. He has made a string of headline-grabbing statements, from calling a majority of congressional Democrats communists to saying President Barack Obama, Rep. Nancy Pelosi and others should “get the hell out of the United States.”

Murphy, 29, portrayed West as an extremist who had done little else in Washington than stoke partisan fires.

In his concession statement, West offered congratulations to Murphy, saying “I pray he will serve his constituents with honor and integrity, and put the interests of our nation before his own.”

 

Related articles

4 Comments

Filed under U.S. Politics

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

November 19, 2012 · 1:14 AM

Allen West falls further behind

Allen West truly deserves everything that has come his way since November 6, 2012…

West’s desperate attempts to retain his seat in Congress gets more hilarious by the day.  It’s such a feel-good story to write about, knowing that this narcissistic former congressman will not keep his seat after all, no matter how many recounts he asks for.

Politico

Florida Rep. Allen West’s reelection prospects grew dimmer Sunday, as a recount of early ballots showed him falling further behind his Democratic opponent.

Democrat Patrick Murphy, a 29-year-old construction company executive, gained 242 votes after the St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections completed its re-tabulation, increasing his lead to more than 2,100 votes over West, a tea party hero. Murphy’s lead is just outside the 0.5 percent margin that would trigger an automatic district-wide recount under Florida law.

West won a legal battle Friday when the office’s canvassing board decided to re-tally all early votes that had been cast. The Republican had argued that those votes had been accidentally double-counted on election night and provided a winning margin to Murphy.

But with Murphy’s margin growing after the recount, West’s legal options appeared to narrow. With St. Lucie County having a noon deadline Sunday for certifying its election results, Murphy’s campaign argued that the election was effectively over. Florida has a Tuesday deadline for certifying the results from all three counties that make up the 18th Congressional District.

“By state law, he is effectively the winner,” Eric Johnson, a senior Murphy advisor, said in an interview.

Tim Edson, West’s campaign manager, said the advisers would be spending the coming hours assessing the vote totals. He did not specify whether the congressman had any plans to concede. Advisers said it was unlikely any decision would come Sunday.

“We’re going to take a look at where things stand,” Edson said. “If we believe the results are fair and accurate, we’re going to decide how to move forward. That decision has not been made.”

The fresh results marked the latest chapter in an increasingly chaotic and drawn-out election, which has extended nearly two weeks past the Nov. 6 election.

Gertrude Walker, the St. Lucie elections supervisor, has acknowledged errors in counting ballots, saying there was an initial error in feeding memory cards from voting machines through the vote-counting system. At a press conference last week, Walker said her office had acted in “haste” to make public results on Nov. 6 and that “mistakes were made.” On Friday, at a canvassing board hearing, the office announced that it had found 304 early-cast ballots in a box that had previously been uncounted.

Read more here… 

Related articles

3 Comments

Filed under U.S. Politics

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

November 16, 2012 · 7:02 AM

Allen West Rejects Offer To Restart Political Career In Georgia: ‘I’m Not An NFL Free Agent’

Allen West Georgia

What an arrogant piece of work.  I, for one am glad he didn’t take the offer.  We have enough arrogant politicians in Georgia and we surely don’t need this one.

The Huffington Post

Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) on Wednesday turned down an offer from Georgia’s Republican Party chairwoman, Sue Everhart, who earlier this week urged the congressman to run for office in her state at some point in the future, in the face of his apparent electoral loss.

“No,” West told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution when asked if he’d consider Everhart’s offer. “Look, let me tell you something. I have moved my wife around for 20-some-odd years, being in the military, and she was also the daughter of a career military guy. When I retired, she chose Florida. That’s where my daughter’s in school, in college, my youngest daughter’s in high school. That’s our home. It’s a very nice thing, but I’m not an NFL free agent.”

West is currently still clinging to the hope that his loss to Democrat Patrick Murphy earlier this month is not concrete, despite the fact that Florida officials have certified the result.

While he and other top Republicans continue to explore possibilities for recounting votes, in hopes of somehow producing a victory, Everhart suggested on Monday thatWest should move back to his home state of Georgia if the final outcome doesn’t go his way.

“I would be glad to have him come back to Georgia and at some point run here,” Everhart told the Journal-Constitution. “I would certainly try to help him because he has done his job. The way he ran his race didn’t in any way interfere with the job he did. He ran as a Republican, a conservative Republican.”

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus and Florida GOP Chairman Lenny Curry have both called for a full recount of the West-Murphy contest. Murphy is meanwhile attending freshman orientation events on Capitol Hill, a move that West’s campaign has criticized as “premature.”

Related articles

 

1 Comment

Filed under Rep. Allen West

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

November 10, 2012 · 2:05 PM

All Ballots Counted, Allen West Solidly Defeated By Patrick Murphy

This sore loser would rather look like a horse’s behind than accept defeat.  This tells us a lot about his true character…

The Huffington Post

Video

Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) may be vowing that his race against Patrick Murphy is far from over, but as of early Saturday morning, all ballots were counted and legally the result is clear: West lost.

Murphy won a total of 166,799 votes to West’s 164,370, the Palm Beach Postreported. That puts Murphy ahead by 2,429 votes and gives him a 0.7 percent advantage. Florida law only requires a recount when the margin is 0.5 percent or less.

Palm Beach County officials were up until 4:45 a.m. Saturday counting all remaining ballots cast during early voting, on Election Day, absentee ballots and other problematic ballots, the Palm Beach Post reported.

The race in Florida’s 18th Congressional District still hasn’t been officially called. Palm Beach officials must submit their results to state officials for them to become official, but Saturday’s final vote tally all but ensures the race is over.

Murphy already declared victory on election night and NBC called the race for him that night, but West still hasn’t conceded. In addition to declaring on his Facebook page that the race is “far from decided,” West filed lawsuits to have ballots and voting machines impounded in Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties. The judge in Palm Beachthrew the case out on Friday, though, telling West’s lawyers that their arguments fell “woefully short” of what was required for an injunction. A St. Lucie judge is slated to hear West’s case on Tuesday.

A West campaign spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

Murphy’s campaign is ready to move on.

“As expected, the election night results have been confirmed, and it is time to put the campaign behind us,” Murphy campaign spokesman Anthony Kusich said in a statement. “Patrick looks forward to representing the treasure coast and palm beaches in Washington and working with both parties to get Florida back to work.”

Related articles

 

Comments Off

Filed under Rep. Patrick Murphy

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

October 3, 2012 · 9:08 AM

Democrat Targets West’s Military Career In Brutal TV Ad

Democrat Targets West’s Military Career In Brutal TV Ad

Any scrutiny toward Allen West is welcomed in my book…

TPM 2012

Democratic candidate Patrick Murphy struck back on Tuesday at Rep. Allen West (R-FL), after West ran an ad about Murphy’s arrest in 2003 bar-fight. In response, Murphy went after a key event for West in 2003 — when his military career was ended.

In a race that has possibly featured the most intensely negative ads of the cycle, this one is a doozy.

“You need the facts about Allen West in 2003,” the announcer says, in response to how West’s ad touted his own military service in that year. “West was criminally charged with violating the Uniform Code of Military Justice; found guilty of three counts of aggravated assault; and relieved of his command. The final Army report: West ‘performed illegal acts…merited court martial…faced 11 years in prison.’ Allen West: He just isn’t who he says he is.”

The Murphy campaign confirmed to TPM it is spending about $175,000 to air the ad, starting on Tuesday.

West fired a handgun next to the head of an Iraqi policeman during an interrogation, and after first having the officer beaten. West said this was done in order to stop an impending attack on his unit, but no evidence of such a plan was found based on the policeman’s coerced confession.

The incident did, however, help West gain notoriety with conservative activists, and to launch a political career that ultimately saw him elected to Congress in the 2010 Republican landslide.

The West campaign was clearly angry about the new ad, responding in a statement to reporters.

“What kind of man who has never worn the uniform attacks an honorably discharged combat veteran for acting to protect the lives of his soldiers?” said West campaign manager Tim Edson. “A desperate man and apparently the same kind of man who calls a decorated combat veteran a coward, hides behind his father’s racist attack ads, gets into drunken bar fights, verbally assaults police officers and then uses his family’s connections to get out of trouble. Patrick Murphy is a spoiled brat and a truly terrible person.”

 

1 Comment

Filed under U.S. Politics

Tagged as , , , , ,

March 15, 2012 · 12:50 PM

PA GOP Governor Defends Ultrasounds Bill: Tells Concerned Women ‘You Just Have To Close Your Eyes’

 

I’m speechless…

Think Progress

More than 10 state legislatures are considering or have passed bills forcing women to receive an ultrasound before having an abortion. And Pennsylvania lawmakers are considering one of the most far-reaching ultrasound bills in the nation.

Gov. Tom Corbett (R) reaffirmed this week that he supports the anti-abortion measure so long as it’s not obtrusive because women could simply close their eyes during the procedure:

QUESTION: Making them watch…does that go too far in your mind?

CORBETT: I’m not making anybody watch, OK. Because you just have to close your eyes. As long as it’s on the exterior and not the interior.

Watch his answer:

Critics say Corbett’s comments show he doesn’t understand how the bill would even work. While the Pennsylvania legislation has been amended to remove references to invasive transvaginal ultrasounds, the language suggests a transvaginal ultrasound could still be required if the embryo is too small. Patrick Murphy, a Democrat running for attorney general, called for Corbett to apologize for his statement. “It’s unthinkable that he would so casually dismiss this by advising women to just close their eyes,” Murphy said.

The state House canceled a vote on the bill this week because medical associations have voiced concerns about the measure. And 48 percent of Pennsylvania voters oppose the ultrasound bill, with 42 percent supporting the measure, according to a new Quinnipiac poll. And 64 percent of voters oppose requiring transvaginal ultrasounds.

Meanwhile, Corbett’s approval rating among Pennsylvanians is dropping.

Related articles

 

3 Comments

Filed under GOP, GOP Cluelessness

Tagged as , , , , , , ,