Mikey's Year-End Whine

And trust me when I tell you that it doesn’t get better with age.

Yes, here I go beating up on the Philadelphia Inquirer again, and I’m doing it because, in this case, they’re granting a forum to Mike Fitzpatrick so he can grouse some more about his loss to Patrick Murphy in the recent PA-08 congressional campaign.

You know, Mikey, I really hope you took time to help Patrick transition into the job like a good sport. I’m a bit concerned because I saw absolutely nothing in the Bucks County Courier Times or elsewhere that gave me any hint that you were doing that. I didn’t see any news reports, and I sure as hell didn’t see any photographs of the two of you together.

This really is quite pitiable, actually. I have to admit that I’ve been around the block a few times when it comes to political campaigns (honestly not trying to brag, just show my age for what it’s worth), and truly, I have NEVER seen a case like this where a losing politician in a campaign and his followers have bawled so relentlessly over it. It’s so bad that other political candidates who lost on November 7th are writing into the Courier Times and telling them to shut up.

Still, though, Mikey is hinting at another run in this article by Christine Schiavo (if he had any shame, he and his supporters would apologize to everyone in the world for their utterly childish conduct).

Mike Fitzpatrick wonders whether voters really knew him.

It is an unsurprising reflection, given that the departing Bucks County representative lost his seat by a minuscule margin to a young Democrat who has never held a public office.

A month after the painful loss, Fitzpatrick, 43, of Levittown, concluded that he hadn't spent enough time and money telling voters about the 10 bills he introduced as a freshman congressman, or the 10 years of achievements he racked up as a Bucks County commissioner.

OK, time out!

I read this somewhere and took note of it and I can’t recall the source (pretty sure it came from the Courier Times), but I pretty much agreed with the sentiments of the writer, so before Mikey reminds us of how he was utterly used and abused (the poor darling…maybe David Ignatius of the Washington Post should write a column about Mikey to help him feel better in the same way he did for Dubya), allow me to repeat this.

Mike Fitzpatrick lost this election primarily because he allowed himself to be tethered to the Bush administration on the Iraq war. It also didn’t help that he was part and parcel of a recently-defeated Republican congress that supported Social Security privatization, made student loans more expensive, failed to implement the recommendations of the 9/11 commission (including those related to rail security), opposed embryonic stem cell research, included an estate tax cut in legislation to raise the minimum wage, and did nothing about health care costs expect finagle the horrific scheme of Medicare Part D and the infamous “donut hole.” Other reasons why Fitzpatrick lost are the failed Swift Boat smear by Young Philadelphia Republican Kevin Kelly which Fitzpatrick allowed at his press conference, along with some truly scurrilous mailings from the National Republican Campaign Committee.

Are those enough reasons for you, Mikey?

Back to the Schiavo article…

"Seven of my bills became law," he said as he prepared to leave office last week. "I don't think voters in this district know that."

Yep, Mikey, I guess we’re all just a bunch of idiots all right. You’re too good for us : -).

Fitzpatrick may get another chance to remind them.

In an interview last week, Fitzpatrick left open the option of a rematch against last month's victor, U.S. Rep.-elect Patrick Murphy. Family, friends and supporters are urging him to run in 2008, he said. But his decision may depend on Murphy's performance.

"He made a lot of promises on the campaign trail," Fitzpatrick said. "I'm going to be watching."

You do that, Mikey. Watch Patrick do his best to represent us the way you were supposed to after you smeared Ginny Schrader and won in 2004 (helped in no small part by riding Dubya’s political coattails back when he had them as J.D. Mullane was gushing about President Stupid Head as part of the “great man” narrative he was polluting us with three days a week in the Courier Times).

And of course, I know your carping will never stop. You’ll be doing absolutely nothing constructive except shooting holes at anything Patrick Murphy does.

So are the voters, said G. Terry Madonna, director of the Center for Politics & Public Affairs at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster.

Murphy rode a Democratic wave to victory in the Republican-dominated Eighth District that covers Bucks County and slivers of Montgomery County and Philadelphia. Analysts projected a tight race, and were proved right when Murphy came out 1,518 votes ahead out of 249,794 ballots cast. Keeping the seat will be a challenge, Madonna said.

"Patrick Murphy is going to have to both perform and be very careful to watch his back," he said. "Of all the 30 seats the Democrats picked up, this is one of a handful that's volatile."

Fitzpatrick knows that if he opts to run in two years, he'll have to start raising money soon. But before he decides, he wants to return to practicing law in Bucks County, attending parent-teacher conferences for his six children, and helping lead his sons' Cub Scouts pack.

"My boys are 9, 8 and 6. They don't remember when I was not in office," Fitzpatrick said. "The office defined their dad."

I swear to God, an election hasn’t even started yet, and we’re being reminded yet again about Fitzpatrick’s six kids as part of Mikey’s own “average Joe next door” mythology.

Any parent has parent-teacher conferences. I do – it’s just part of the business of parenting. Attending them doesn’t make you anything special. The Murphys will have to do that also when their daughter is older, regardless of whether or not Patrick is still in office. Will that receive a special note in the Inquirer one day too, or are “family values” anecdotes like this reserved for Repugs only?

Fitzpatrick said he didn't believe voters rejected him as much as they did President Bush and the Iraq war. Sending a message to the president meant voting against all Republicans, he said.

He wished he had been more effective reminding voters of his independent record during the campaign.

"I wish I would have been more effective in getting the word out about my accomplishments," he said. "I wish I would have spent a more significant portion of the money getting that message out."

At this time, I want to step back for a minute if I could.

It’s kind of pointless to keep repeating that Mikey continues to act like a spoiled brat here. And if I were a Bucks County resident who voted for Patrick Murphy, I would feel highly insulted after reading this regardless of whether or not I was a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent…whatever.

So I want to tell you the reaction of my mother in law when I reminded her about this article – she had read it a day or so ago also. She lives in Philadelphia in that sliver of territory that is included in the 8th district, and though she has often supported Democrats, she has also supported plenty of Republicans. I consider her to be a highly fair and open minded person, and when I asked her if she read this article, she said “yeah” and rolled her eyes and shook her head a bit in manner that showed her disapproval.

So this isn’t just me, folks.

Voters, apparently, were looking for an antiwar, anti-Bush candidate like Murphy, who criticized American policy in Iraq and called for a withdrawal of most troops by the end of 2007.

Though Murphy built a campaign around the war, Fitzpatrick sidestepped it to focus on the environment, Internet predators, Social Security, medical insurance and other issues.

There was a hell of a lot to Patrick Murphy’s campaign than the war, and the way this is written, it makes it sound like a vote for Patrick was a protest vote against Fitzpatrick and nothing more.

If Ms. Schiavo is interested, she can read the post from this link to get some idea of what I’m talking about.

He offered no concrete plan for Iraq and had a hard time persuading voters that by calling for an undefined new strategy he was challenging Bush's policy.

"It wasn't our year," Fitzpatrick concluded.

No, Mikey. The voters didn’t support your “undefined new strategy” because your strategy wasn’t “undefined,” it was nonexistent.

Madonna called the election "unusual" in its anti-Republican fervor. But, he said, 2008 promises to be different.

"If Fitzpatrick is going to run, he probably has a year or even less to be a civilian," Madonna said.

Even as he shrugs off questions about his political future, Fitzpatrick sounds like a politician more in retreat than defeat. Even as he licks his political wounds, he doesn't regret the fight.

"I've spent a good portion of my life in public service. It's a job that I've loved," he said. "As tough as this election was, I'd do it all over again for the honor that comes with representing my community in Congress."

Cue the flag snapping in the brisk wind against the night sky amidst the rockets red glare while Mikey sings to The Star-Spangled Banner, right hand on his chest.

Patriotic imagery notwithstanding, please pardon me while I gag.