No Rocket Scientist- Sen. Patty Murray (D) Washington

Michael and Mark Twain share the same quality wit, clarity of thought and ability to express it.

Is there anyone in Washington who can beat her in 2004? I'd love to see it happen. With Daschle and Edwards already planning to run for president, we stand to pick up a net of three seats in the Senate in 2004, barring a disaster that could throw things either way.

Chatty Patty has won this award mulitiple times. Makes me proud to be a citizen of Washington...NOT!!!

Sadly, there is no conservative on the horizon in that state....least of all, one who could win in King County. In fact, I'm not even sure that the GOP Chair in that state isn't a Dem plant!

she’s dumb as a box of rocks

I resent this comparison.
Did you ever hear a rock make such stupid statements?

No.

A rock knows its place.

Rocks are useful things, unlike Ms. bin Murray.

A few months ago, Washingtonian magazine surveyed Capitol Hill staffers about the best and worst in Congress. In the category labeled "No Rocket Scientist" our gal was ranked at the very top in the Senate, a not inconsequential accomplishment given the stiff competition.
From http://www.washingtonian.com/inwashington/bwcongress.html:

Babes & Whales

Hill Staffers Pick the Best and Worst of Congress—the Leaders, Followers, Dimwits, Hotheads, and More

No one knows the members of Congress better than their top aides. That’s why, every election year, we ask key Capitol Hill staffers to tell us who the good, the bad, and the dimwitted are among their bosses. The choices have been prescient (Dick Gephardt as “rising star” in 1986) and revealing (Mary Bono, a certified personal trainer, won in 2000 for “best in a bathing suit”).
This year we again surveyed administrative assistants, press secretaries, legislative directors, and majority and minority committee staff chiefs. In return for their picks, we promised to donate a dollar to a charity they designated—either Share Our Strength or the DC Metropolitan Boys & Girls Clubs.
The voting can be partisan, of course, but staffers often defied party orthodoxy to praise a foe—and prick a friend.
Senate

BEST LEADER

1. Tom Daschle (D-SD)
2. Don Nickles (R-OK)
3. Harry Reid (D-NV)
Reid got as many GOP votes as Republican leader Trent Lott.
WORST FOLLOWER

1. John McCain (R-AZ)
2. Jim Jeffords (I-VT)
3. Zell Miller (D-GA)
Republicans piled on defector Jeffords; Democrats took aim at conservative Miller.
WORKHORSE

1. Ted Kennedy (D-MA)
2. Bill Frist (R-TN)
3. Harry Reid (D-NV)
Straight party-line votes.
SHOWHORSE

1. John McCain (R-AZ)
2. John Edwards (D-NC)
3. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
McCain and Schumer were dissed by members of their own parties. Edwards drew mostly opposition barbs.
BRAINIEST

1. Bill Frist (R-TN)
2. Tie: Robert Byrd (D-WV), Phil Gramm (R-TX)
The Tennessee surgeon and in-house anthrax expert collected more votes than Gramm and Byrd combined.
NO ROCKET SCIENTIST

1. Patty Murray (D-WA)
2. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
3. Rick Santorum (R-PA)
Murray edged out Boxer in a partisan vote.
NO ALTAR BOY

1. Robert Torricelli (D-NJ)
2. Ted Kennedy (D-MA)
3. John Breaux (D-LA)
Torricelli’s campaign-finance troubles earned him critics in both parties; Kennedy was tapped chiefly by Republicans.
BIGGEST WINDBAG

1. Robert Byrd (D-WV)
2. Joe Biden (D-DE)
3. Paul Wellstone (D-MN)
With friends like these . . . . Biden got more Democratic votes than Republican. Top GOP vote getter: McCain.
HOTTEST TEMPER

1. Ted Stevens (R-AK)
2. John McCain (R-AZ)
3. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
The balloting was bipartisan, but McCain and Mikulski both took more hits from their own parties than from the opposition.
FUNNIEST

1. Pat Roberts (R-KS)
2. Ernest Hollings (D-SC)
3. Ted Kennedy (D-MA)
Roberts was the hands-down laugh getter among Republicans; Dems split their side between Hollings and Kennedy.
MEANEST

1. Arlen Specter (R-PA)
2. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
3. Ted Stevens (R-AK)
To know, know, know them . . . . Most of the votes for all three came from their own parties.
WILL BE MISSED THE MOST

1. Strom Thurmond (R-SC)
2. Phil Gramm (R-TX)
3. Fred Thompson (R-TN)
After five decades in the Senate, Thurmond is loved by all—now that he’s leaving, at least. More than half the tears for Thompson came from Democrats.
WILL BE MISSED THE LEAST

1. Jesse Helms (R-NC)
2. Phil Gramm (R-TX)
3. Strom Thurmond (R-SC)
Top vote-getting Democrat: New York’s Hillary Clinton, who has announced no departure plans.
JUST PLAIN NICE

1. Jesse Helms (R-NC)
2. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
Votes were scattered over dozens of members. Helms drew only GOP votes.
LOOKS BEST IN A BATHING SUIT

1. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
2. Evan Bayh (D-IN)
3. Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
The 43-year-old Cantwell breaks into the top three for the first time. Nevada’s John Ensign was the only Republican to get a second look.
STAY OFF THE BEACH!

1. Ted Kennedy (D-MA)
2. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
3. Strom Thurmond (R-SC)
Some things are obvious.
BEST DRESSED

1. Gordon Smith (R-OR)
2. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
3. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)
Daschle, Clinton, Torricelli, Edwards, and Biden split the Democratic vote.
FASHION VICTIM

1. Paul Wellstone (D-MN)
2. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
3. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO) More than two-thirds of Campbell’s votes came from his GOP colleagues.
STRONGEST BACKBONE

1. Jim Jeffords (I-VT)
2. John McCain (R-AZ)
3. Phil Gramm (R-TX)
No surprise I: Party-switcher Jeffords got all his votes from Democrats.
WEAKEST SPINE

1. Jim Jeffords (I-VT)
2. Trent Lott (R-MS)
3. Max Baucus (D-MT)
No surprise II: All Jeffords’s votes in this category came from Republicans.
MEMBER I’D LIKE TO SEE AS PRESIDENT IN 2008

1. Bill Frist (R-TN)
2. John Edwards (D-NC)
3. Tom Daschle (D-SD)
Republican Fred Thompson and Democrat Hillary Clinton were close behind Daschle, followed by Massachusetts’s John Kerry and Virginia’s George Allen.
House

BEST LEADER

1. Tom DeLay (R-TX)
2. Dennis Hastert (R-IL)
3. Dick Gephardt (D-MO)
DeLay drew some votes from across the aisle.
WORST FOLLOWER

1. Jim Traficant (D-OH)
2. Ron Paul (R-TX)
3. Chris Shays (R-CT)
Big bipartisan support for Traficant, who voted for Hastert as speaker in 2001.
WORKHORSE

1. Tie: Tom DeLay (R-TX), Rob Portman (R-OH)
2. Tie: David Obey (D-WI), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
More than three dozen members got nods in mainly party-line voting.
SHOWHORSE

1. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX)
2. J.C. Watts (R-OK)
3. Dick Gephardt (D-MO)
Jackson-Lee, the heavy favorite with the GOP, drew Democratic votes, too.
BRAINIEST

1. Barney Frank (D-MA)
2. Chris Cox (R-CA)
3. Bill Thomas (R-CA)
Frank wins in the smart-guy category hands-down every time.
NO ROCKET SCIENTIST

1. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA)
2. Carrie Meeks (D-FL)
3. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI)
A party-line vote, with Democrats spreading their votes around. Top GOP vote getters: New Jersey’s Marge Roukema and Kansas’s Jim Ryun.
JUST PLAIN NICE

1. Lois Capps (D-CA)
2. Walter Jones (R-NC)
Capps, a former school nurse, squeaked by the courtly, old-school Jones.
NO ALTAR BOY/GIRL

1. Gary Condit (D-CA)
2. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA)
3. Tie: Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), Max Sandlin (D-TX)
Condit was the runaway choice. Top Republican vote getters: New York’s Jack Quinn and Ohio’s John Boehner.
BIGGEST WINDBAG

1. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX)
2. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ)
3. Bill Thomas (R-CA)
The vociferous Jackson-Lee got
more votes than Hayworth and Thomas combined.
HOTTEST TEMPER

1. Bill Thomas (R-CA)
2. Tom DeLay (R-TX)
3. David Obey (D-WI)
More Republicans than Democrats tapped Thomas. Virginia’s Jim Moran, 2000’s winner, finished back in the pack.
FUNNIEST

1. Barney Frank (D-MA)
2. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ)
3. Jim Traficant (D-OH)
Frank, a five-time winner in this category, lapped the field.
MEANEST

1. Bill Thomas (R-CA)
2. Tom DeLay (R-TX)
3. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX)
All drew big numbers—and got votes from both parties.
WILL BE MISSED THE MOST

1. Jim Traficant (D-OH)
2. David Bonior (D-MI)
3. Dick Armey (R-TX)
Traficant’s exit disappoints mostly Republicans.
WILL BE MISSED THE LEAST

1. Dick Armey (R-TX)
2. Jim Traficant (D-OH)
3. Gary Condit (D-CA)
Democrats regard the GOP’s Armey as a nemesis, their own Traficant as a nuisance.
LOOKS BEST IN A BATHING SUIT

1. Mary Bono (R-CA)
2. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
3. Gene Taylor (D-MS)
Bono got six times as many votes as Pelosi.
STAY OFF THE BEACH!

1. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)
2. Henry Hyde (R-IL)
3. Dennis Hastert (R-IL)
The rotund Nadler collected more than half the votes cast.
BEST DRESSED

1. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
2. David Dreier (R-CA)
3. Mark Foley (R-FL)
California cool breezes to victory.
FASHION VICTIM

1. Jim Traficant (D-OH)
2. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
3. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA)
Traficant has won this category since 1986.
STRONGEST BACKBONE

1. Tom DeLay (R-TX)
2. Chris Shays (R-CT)
3. Tie: John Dingell (D-MI), David Obey (D-WI), John Shadegg (R-AZ)
Most of Shays’s votes came from across the aisle.
WEAKEST SPINE

1. Robin Hayes (R-NC)
2. Charlie Norwood (R-GA)
Hayes got the bird from both parties after vowing opposition to fast-track trade legislation, then tearfully voting for it. A bipartisan group thought Norwood caved on his ownpatients’ bill of rights.
MEMBER I’D LIKE TO SEE AS PRESIDENT IN 2008

1. Dick Gephardt (D-MO)
2. J.C. Watts (R-OK)
3. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
A tight—and mostly partisan—race, though Pelosi collected a lone Republican vote. Go figure.

From the September 2002 issue.
Copyright ©2002 by Washington Magazine Inc.

I actually like Patty Murray. You heard it here first. I like Patty Murray. She takes the spotlight off the STUPIDITY of the NJ voter. She also gives us some ammo for 2004.

Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)</

NO ROCKET SCIENTIST

1. Patty Murray (D-WA)
2. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
3. Rick Santorum (R-PA)
Murray edged out Boxer in a partisan vote.

ping

Perhaps we can come up with a "Dump Patsy Patty" action plan at the party Saturday.
WA FReeper Ping

Is there anyone in Washington who can beat her in 2004? I'd love to see it happen.

I've heard talk of Rep. George (Mr. "No, I Won't Keep My Promise On Term Limits") Nethercutt running against her. A likely victory for Murray if Nethercutt runs.

If you come up with some good bumper stickers, I'd proudly put one or two on our cars! How about "Patty Murray- Osama's Mama"? "Mom in Tennis Shoes = Shoe Bomber Mama"? We could have fun with this, and maybe create more reaction than the ones all over town that say "No Iraq War" or "Free Tibet"

Senator Patty Murray, Boob...click here

http://www.atrentino.com/ConningDEC.html

Maybe it's time to take a closer look at the staffers.

Nethercutt is my rep and I like him.

Term limits is the most idiotic concept ever dreamed about when used unevenly. In other words-not bad if everybody does it but why the hell would I want my rep to be a freshman or sophmore against someone with twenty years experience. No power or influence for my area!!
All or nothing and right now it is nothing so.....

Nethercutt would be a huge improvement.

BTTT Good ideas, let's go over them at the party. I hate to have Patty get away with all this. I know WA freepers aren't used to being in the spotlight, but lately with Murray and McDermRAT, we need to carry the ball.

Yeah, rocks just stay in thier box and don't bother anybody. Why's everyone so down on rocks all the time lately?

Sorry, being dumb is not a defense. She wants Uncle Sam to be more like Osama............

Boxer at #2?

Patty made it to #1 on the Osama comment. I would bet Barbara is upset and working on some new angles!

Jennifer Dunn could beat her...IF she decides to stay in politics. There was an article about a week ago saying she was condiering taking a private job paying over $800,000 a year. Nethercutt would be a lot harder to get elected. He's unknown on the west side of the mountains, and not a dynamic personality. Even with her faults, the Rats love Patty. And we all know how they circle the wagons when one of their own is under attack. It's going to be a rough and dirty race. See you all Saturday.

Action in the State of Washington:

White seeks to recall (Patty-bin-Laden)Murray