NPR’s Weekend Edition came to Bucks County last week to profile the 8th district bellwether race between challenger Mike Fitzpatrick and Democrat Patrick Murphy. In the eight minute audio profile, Scott Simon sets the scene: a feisty Patrick Murphy, loathe to accept blame, huddling with union supporters, while Mike Fitzpatrick gets a boost from Gov. Chris Christie and emphasizes a wholly different governing philosophy.
It’s well worth eight minutes to get a sense of this race in only a way that NPR can provide. Some of the notable clips are excerpted below.
Mr. G. TERRY MADONNA (Director, Center of Politics and Public Affairs): It’s a swing district. It has a lot of independent voters. It’s voted Democratic in recent years. But Representative Murphy, I think, is only the third Democrat to represent that district since 1911. …
Ms. CAROL ANSABINO: I feel that we need a big change and I think that whether they are Republicans or Democrats, for the most part those that have been in power for a long time and have forgotten why they are there need to go. I think, frankly, anyone who has signed on to as much as Patrick Murphy has with the present administration, I think has got to go. I’ll be happy to see him go. …
Mr. JEFF SMITH: President Bush is out. It’s time we stop looking backwards and go forwards. You know, it’s been a couple years now. Fine, stuff happened. Let’s go forward and fix what’s broken. I mean, the Tea Party has the right idea (unintelligible) I think there’s going to be a lot of changes in a couple of weeks. …
Mr. CHRIS BOLLENBACHER (Owner, Fred’s Breakfast): We should go to Nebraska and get 70 guys that have a lot of calluses on their hands and have been working their whole lives for everything they have and draft them – put them in the White House and tell them you’re now in charge of the country. I have no confidence in any of them right now. I’m sick of them all.