Amateur Hour
Congressional candidate Mike Murphy feels the strong arm of the GOP
BY JOHN GONZALEZ
About a year ago, Mike Murphy and his pal J.J. Miller were at his pad in Frisco shooting pool over a few cold beers and lamenting the state of politics. Murphy, who is now 30, and Miller, 33, couldn't find a candidate whose ideas and values meshed with theirs, and the two young Republicans thought their party needed better guidance.
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So it seemed a bit strange when Murphy received a phone call on January 13 from New York Congressman Tom Reynolds, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. Reynolds advised the novice to get out of the race.
The suggestion itself was not too unusual, though hearing it from someone as high in the party as Reynolds seemed odd. Incumbent Ralph Hall had represented the district as a Democrat for more than 20 years until January, when he switched parties and joined the GOP. "I think I can get re-elected much easier if I run as a Republican," Hall told The Associated Press at the time. The GOP, naturally concerned that their newest member could be attacked in a primary for his defection and his comments to the AP, wanted to make the race easier for Hall. According to Murphy, before getting the call from Reynolds, he was twice contacted by the Republican Party of Texas, which also advised him to drop out. He didn't, which is when the NRCC took over the "get-Murphy-out" push.
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A few days later, Murphy received another phone call, this time from Larry Telford, whom the NRCC calls its "incumbent retention director." Murphy said Telford told him that running would make Murphy an enemy of the White House and ruin his political career.
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http://www.dallasobserver.com/issues/2004-03-04/news.html/1/index.html
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