It was on this date in 2015, 2016, and 2017, that we published our original “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” profile of Tim Murphy, the seven-term U.S. House Representative for Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District. Murphy, as you might recall, admitted to seeing the “terribly shocking” Planned Parenthood videos TWO WEEKS before they were made public. When asked why he would have kept silent after witnessing such alleged atrocities (that were proven to be false), he gave the mealy-mouthed response of, “Um, I don’t know why. All I know is I saw it and he said he was going to post it eventually, so that’s all I know” before Murphy seemingly then ended the interview by trying to perform a Jedi Mind Trick, telling the reporter, “This interview didn’t happen”. That isn’t even his first botched media confrontation, either. Back in 2006, a reporter from KDKA television, Andy Sheehan, interviewed Rep. Murphy and presented him with documents that showed he had his District Office employees were (illegally) also working on his re-election campaign. Murphy, on camera, snatched the documents away from Sheehan, and refused to give them back, not realizing apparently that a reporter would be smart enough to have COPIES of evidence. Murphy’s bad reactions to this weren’t over, though… he fired his scheduler, Jayne O'Shaughnessy, for blowing the whistle. Luckily for the Congressman, though, the Bush administration Dept. of Justice didn’t bother to follow up with an investigation of any wrongdoing, because they weren’t going to throw a fellow Republican to the wolves. Murphy was also one of many Republicans fear-mongering over the Ebola Virus prior to the 2014 elections, by calling for a travel ban that medical experts said would only exacerbate the problem. His staunch conservative voting record includes stances against same sex marriage, equal pay for women, support for radical pro-life legislation that includes voting to keep Terry Schiavo alive against her wishes, and a need to investigate or decry every faux-scandal the GOP have cooked up. He has been re-elected five times in spite of being rated as one of the most corrupt members of Congress by CREW.
Congressman Murphy made some headlines around this time in 2017 when the self-professed “defender of marriage” got caught running around on his wife, and admitted to having an extramarital affair, after the details were exposed in his mistress’ divorce proceedings. And, shock of shocks, there was a point where Murphy and his mistress had a pregnancy scare, and he was immediately pleading with her to have an abortion, as was revealed in e-mails and text messages between the two. But remember gay people, don’t go ruining the institution of marriage for Rep. Murphy or his conservative friends! After having his arm twisted by what passes for Republican leadership, Tim Murphy quickly resigned, his career likely damned. And we would like to officially rubber stamp a “GOOD RIDDANCE” on the last page of his story to close out this profile.
One Year Ago, September 21st, 2017: Tim Murphy (PA)… 2017 Update
Two Years Ago, September 21st, 2016: Tim Murphy (PA)… 2016 Update
Three Years Ago, September 21st, 2015: Tim Murphy (PA)… Original Profile
Four Years Ago, September 21st, 2014: Jake Knotts (SC)