a message from

Patrick Murphy

By nature, I am an optimist.  I believe the strength of our country comes not from politicians, but from the people themselves – our drive for innovation, our spirit of inclusion, our shared conviction that we can overcome any obstacle together.

What harms us is refusing to acknowledge our diversity – and the fact that despite our political differences, we are still one nation with considerable promise and considerable responsibility to our neighbors.

But n have been, in a word, unreal.  Truly scary stuff.  So far we’ve witnessed President Trump and his team:

• Declare war on the free press, calling it an “opposition party”
• Announce plans to reinstate torture abroad
• Initiate plans to build a wall along the border
• Issue executive orders targeting immigrants and denying healthcare to millions
• Scrub climate change efforts from the White House website and federal agencies
• Demand an investigation into non-existent voter fraud for an election he already won
• Double-down on lies at press conferences to feign popular support for these proposals

In my heart of hearts, I was hoping that the weight of the office might…might…transform Trump.  The awesome responsibility of representing the entire nation after an acrimonious campaign could have been humbling and unifying.  But after only 8 days that seems impossible.

It is more important now than ever that we unite our party.  Democrats must come together and right the ship.  We can’t let Trump’s damage to our ideals last one more minute more than it has to.  The outreach, messaging, and organizing for the 2018 midterms must begin now.

I plan to stay active here in Florida, as too much of what we’ve fought for over the past 8 years could be lost.  And together, we’ll be able to fight back stronger.

— Patrick