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Patty Murray on Principles & Values

Democratic Sr Senator (WA)

 


This state is my family and my family is hurting

Murray framed the election as a decision on "who is going to be your voice and your advocate in the United States Senate. This state is my family and my family is hurting," she said. "That's why I'm working so hard with your community leaders to get you jobs and get this country back on track again."

Rossi said the decision of voters is about changing leadership in a government that is spending too much and growing too big.

Source: Everett Herald coverage of 2010 WA Senate debate , Oct 14, 2010

Long history of limiting debates with her challengers

Rossi has accepted invitations to six debates. Murray, following her usual strategy of limiting debates, has agreed to just two--one in Spokane and one in Seattle.

Murray's campaign maintains that two debates is enough, and says Murray is too busy to d more considering her Senate schedule. "We had a number of very promising proposals. We considered all of them. We made a choice to accept two debates, one in Western Washington and one in Eastern Washington, that would both be available to statewide audiences and reach as many voters as possible," said Murray campaign spokeswoman.

Murray has a history of limiting debates with her challengers--a classic incumbent strategy. In 1998, during her first re-election campaign, Murray agreed to just one debate with Republican challenger Linda Smith. In 2004, Murray consented to two debates, frustrating Republican George Nethercutt, who proceeded to traverse the state "debating" an empty pair of tennis shoes.

Source: Seattle Times coverage of 2010 WA Senate debate , Sep 15, 2010

Voted with Democratic Party 96.6% of 322 votes.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), was scored by the Washington Post on the percentage of votes on which a lawmaker agrees with the position taken by a majority of his or her party members. The scores do not include missed votes. Their summary:
Voted with Democratic Party 96.6% of 322 votes.
Overall, Democrats voted with their party 88.4% of the time, and Republicans voted with their party 81.7% of the time (votes Jan. 8 through Sept. 8, 2007).
Source: Washington Post, "Congress Votes Database" on 2008 election , Sep 8, 2007

Remember that the people we serve go to Denny's

The only thing I don't want to lose is who I am. I want to stay close to my roots. If I start forgetting, my husband always reminds me. The night before I was elected to the state senate, back in 1988, I was exhausted. I had been working like hell. I'd been doorbelling and licking envelopes every single day for 10 solid months. It was really intense. So Rob said, "I'm going to take you out to dinner." I said, "How nice!" I felt like being pampered a little bit. So we got in the car, and Rob drove to Denny's. I said, "What's this?" You're taking me to Denny's? He said yes, it wasn't a joke. I was too tired to argue. We went in and ordered dinner, and then Rob said, "I want you to look around this restaurant. These are the people that you'll serve as a state senator. These are the people you must remember."
Source: Nine and Counting, by Catherine Whitney, p.101-102 , Jul 25, 2000

Voted YES on confirming of Sonia Sotomayor to Supreme Court.

Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee kicked off the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Nominee, Judge Sonia Sotomayor. In her opening statement, Judge Sotomayor pledged a "fidelity to the law:"
"In the past month, many Senators have asked me about my judicial philosophy. It is simple: fidelity to the law. The task of a judge is not to make the law--it is to apply the law. And it is clear, I believe, that my record in two courts reflects my rigorous commitment to interpreting the Constitution according to its terms; interpreting statutes according to their terms and Congress's intent; and hewing faithfully to precedents established by the Supreme Court and my Circuit Court. In each case I have heard, I have applied the law to the facts at hand."
Reference: Supreme Court Nomination; Bill PN506 ; vote number 2009-S262 on Aug 6, 2009

Voted NO on confirming Samuel Alito as Supreme Court Justice.

Vote on the Nomination -- a YES vote would to confirm Samuel A. Alito, Jr., of New Jersey, to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Reference: Alito Nomination; Bill PN 1059 ; vote number 2006-002 on Jan 31, 2006

Voted YES on confirming John Roberts for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Vote on the Nomination (Confirmation John G. Roberts, Jr., of Maryland, to be Chief Justice of the United States )
Reference: Supreme Court Nomination of John Roberts; Bill PN 801 ; vote number 2005-245 on Sep 27, 2005

Religious affiliation: Catholic.

Murray : religious affiliation:

The Adherents.com website is an independent project and is not supported by or affiliated with any organization (academic, religious, or otherwise).

What’s an adherent?

The most common definition used in broad compilations of statistical data is somebody who claims to belong to or worship in a religion. This is the self-identification method of determining who is an adherent of what religion, and it is the method used in most national surveys and polls.

Such factors as religious service attendance, belief, practice, familiarity with doctrine, belief in certain creeds, etc., may be important to sociologists, religious leaders, and others. But these are measures of religiosity and are usually not used academically to define a person’s membership in a particular religion. It is important to recognize there are various levels of adherence, or membership within religious traditions or religious bodies. There’s no single definition, and sources of adherent statistics do not always make it clear what definition they are using.

Source: Adherents.com web site 00-ADH11 on Nov 7, 2000

Member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus .

Murray is a member the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus:

The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), founded in May 16, 1994, by former Congressman Norman Mineta, is comprised of a formal group of Members of Congress (House and Senate) who have strong interests in promoting Asian Pacific American (APA) issues and advocating the concerns of APAs.

Source: CAPAC web site 02-CAPAC0 on Jan 21, 2001

Endorsed by MoveOn, for moderate progressive principles.

Murray is endorsed by by MoveOn.org, a progressive PAC

MoveOn is working to bring ordinary people back into politics. With a system that today revolves around big money and big media, most citizens are left out. When it becomes clear that our "representatives" don't represent the public, the foundations of democracy are in peril. MoveOn is a catalyst for a new kind of grassroots involvement, supporting busy but concerned citizens in finding their political voice.

Many of our current national leaders actively disregard public opinion and common sense, recklessly placing the interests of their big-money donors ahead of the good of our society. For these politicians, our only alternative is electoral action. It's time for a change in leadership. We need more new talent and new vision.

MoveOn PAC’s nationwide network of more than 2,000,000 online activists provides financial support to congressional candidates who embrace moderate to progressive principles of national government.

Source: MoveOn website 04n-MOVE on Sep 21, 2004

Religious freedom means no religious registry.

Murray signed opposing a religious registry

Press Release from 9 Senators: [Cory Booker and 13 co-sponsors] introduced legislation that would block a registry of people based on their religion, race, age, gender, ethnicity, national origin, or nationality. "Religious freedom and freedom from discrimination are fundamental rights central to the very idea of being an American," Sen. Booker said. "Forcing people to sign up for a registry based on their religion, race, or national origin does nothing to keep America secure. It does, however, undermine the freedom of religion guaranteed by our Constitution and promote the false notion that people of certain faiths and nationalities are inherently suspect. Our legislation would block Donald Trump and subsequent administrations from infringing on religious liberty by creating an immigration-related religious registry."

National origin-based immigration registry systems have proven ineffective at combatting terrorism and strengthening national security, but effective at instilling fear in certain communities. The George W. Bush-era National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS), registered over 83,000 individuals from 24 Muslim-majority countries, but yielded zero terrorism convictions.

Opposing argument: (GovTrack.us's analysis of S.54): President Trump pledged during his campaign to institute a temporary ban on all Muslim immigration and Syrian refugees "until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on." He made good on much of that promise with an executive order suspending America's refugee admission program for 120 days and banning all entry from seven majority-Muslim countries for 90 days. Trump has defended a Muslim registry as necessary to national security. "They have to be [registered]. It's all about management. Our country has no management," he said when first proposing the idea in 2015. Trump reiterated his plans as president-elect in December.

Source: S.54 & H.R.5207 17-S0054 on Jan 5, 2017

Question Trump on Emoluments clause.

Murray signed questioning Trump on Emoluments clause

Excerpts from Letter from 17 Senators to Trump Organization: The Trump Organization's continuing financial relationship with President Trump raises concerns about whether it is a pass-through for income that violates the Constitution's two Emoluments Clauses: Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 on foreign Emoluments; and Article II, Clause 7 on domestic Emoluments. Please answer the following questions to help Congress understand:

Legal Analysis: (Cato Institute, "Emoluments Clause vs. Trump Empire," 11/29/16): The wording of the Emoluments clause points one way to resolution: Congress can give consent, as it did in the early years of the Republic to presents received by Ben Franklin. It can decide what it is willing to live with in the way of Trump conflicts. If it misjudges public opinion, it will pay a political price at the next election.

FOIA argument: (ACLU Center for Democracy, "FOIA Request," 1/19/17): We filed our first Freedom of Information Act request of the Trump Era, seeking documents relating President Trump's conflicts of interest relating to his business connections. When Trump took the oath of office, he didn't take the steps necessary to ensure that he and his family's business interests comply with the Constitution. Some have even argued that upon taking the oath of office, the new president is already violating the Emoluments Clause.

Source: Letter from 17 Senators 17LTR-EMOL on May 18, 2017

Certify 2020 Presidential election as fully & fairly counted.

Murray voted NAY blocking certification of the Electoral vote

Explanation of 1/6/21 Electoral Certification, by Emily Brooks, Washington Examiner:Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Paul Gosar led an objection to counting Electoral College votes from the state of Arizona, the first formal objection to state results in a series of moves that will delay the certification of Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election over President Trump. Cruz is advocating for an `emergency 10-day audit` of election returns in disputed states. The usually ceremonial joint session of Congress that convenes to count and accept Electoral College votes will be put on hold as the House and Senate separately debate the objection.