That Washington
NYT: Sen. Murray's Biggest Strength May Now Be Her Achilles' Heel
It used to be that we wanted our senators and reps in D.C. to get on the appropriations committees so they could "bring home the bacon." Both U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, for example, have gotten gold stars for being on their chambers' respective appropriations committees and heading up appropriations subcommittees like the subcommittee on transportation (Murray) and subcommittee on defense (Dicks).
And both of them have certainly brought home the bacon, or "earmarks" as budget line items are now derisively called. Murray is listed as the ninth top Senator when it comes to getting her items into the federal budget— including everything from billions for light rail in Puget Sound to infrastructure fixes at McChord Air force Base to law enforcement dollars directed at fighting meth in Tacoma to diesel-electric hybrid buses in Spokane.
But today, the New York Times, name-checking Sen. Murray, reports that the old-school model for legislators—wielding power as an appropriations all star—has fallen out of favor with voters in 2010.
We've covered GOP candidate Dino Rossi's critique of Sen. Murray's record on earmarks pretty thoroughly (and funny sidenote—we've also noted Rossi's own record of scoring earmarks as a state senator as well).
Sen. Murray seemed to have some big news last week when she passed an amendment that netted over $500 million in Medicaid and education money for Washington state. Traditionally, that sort of score would have been a devastating blow to her opponents.
According the NYT that may not be the case this year. In fact, in could even be a black mark.
"They [voters] don't wanna hear talk about spending money," Jennifer Duffy Senior Editor at the Cook Political Report tells PubliCola. "They want to hear you talk about saving money."
Washington may still be a little old fashioned, though. In the first poll, taken right after Murray's haul, she jumped 4 points while Rossi stayed flat. She increased her lead to 41-33 over Rossi in the crowded field.
UPDATE:
We put out calls early in the day for responses from the Murray and Rossi campaigns to the NYT article.
Here's what Murray campaign spokeswoman Julie Edwards told us:
And both of them have certainly brought home the bacon, or "earmarks" as budget line items are now derisively called. Murray is listed as the ninth top Senator when it comes to getting her items into the federal budget— including everything from billions for light rail in Puget Sound to infrastructure fixes at McChord Air force Base to law enforcement dollars directed at fighting meth in Tacoma to diesel-electric hybrid buses in Spokane.
But today, the New York Times, name-checking Sen. Murray, reports that the old-school model for legislators—wielding power as an appropriations all star—has fallen out of favor with voters in 2010.
Membership on the Appropriations Committee used to be a first-class ticket to Congressional success, guaranteeing lucky lawmakers the ability to campaign on the federal money they had lavished on the folks back home. But the era of the appropriator appears to be on the wane.
In a treacherous political environment where cutting spending is the more potent message and earmarks can count as a black mark, serving on the House or Senate committee that doles out federal dollars can bring more punishment than prestige.
.. lawmakers facing potentially difficult re-election bids, like Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington, have built careers serving on the spending panel and emphasizing state projects, compiling a record once widely seen as enviable but now being challenged by opponents.
We've covered GOP candidate Dino Rossi's critique of Sen. Murray's record on earmarks pretty thoroughly (and funny sidenote—we've also noted Rossi's own record of scoring earmarks as a state senator as well).
Sen. Murray seemed to have some big news last week when she passed an amendment that netted over $500 million in Medicaid and education money for Washington state. Traditionally, that sort of score would have been a devastating blow to her opponents.
According the NYT that may not be the case this year. In fact, in could even be a black mark.
"They [voters] don't wanna hear talk about spending money," Jennifer Duffy Senior Editor at the Cook Political Report tells PubliCola. "They want to hear you talk about saving money."
Washington may still be a little old fashioned, though. In the first poll, taken right after Murray's haul, she jumped 4 points while Rossi stayed flat. She increased her lead to 41-33 over Rossi in the crowded field.
UPDATE:
We put out calls early in the day for responses from the Murray and Rossi campaigns to the NYT article.
Here's what Murray campaign spokeswoman Julie Edwards told us:
"The job of a U.S. Senator is to be their state's voice in Washington, DC. ... Sometimes [that] means sitting down with community leaders and figuring out how the federal government can target investments to create jobs and build a strong economic foundation.
"Some of her opponents would rather see investments flow to California or Washington, but Patty Murray is not going to give up Washington's seat at the table. She's going to continue to fight to create jobs and bring new opportunities to our communities."
