Enough with Russia! Democratic senator says party's obsession with Moscow probe cost it in Georgia election loss by crowding out talk about the economy
- Sen. Chris Murphy says Russia probe is a 'distraction' for Democrats in D.C.
- Most voters don't care about the Trump-Moscow probe, a Washington Post reporter discovered
- Murphy says Democrats should focus on an economic message instead
Enough with the Russia stuff, a Democratic senator says. It's the economy, stupid.
Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut told MSNBC viewers Wednesday on 'Morning Joe' that his party should moderate its full-court press on the 'distraction' of Donald Trump's alleged ties to Russia, since voters in Tuesday's special elections didn't seem to be swayed by it.
Republican candidates won House seats in Georgia and South Carolina, throwing cold water on Democrats' hopes that suspicions about links between the president and Moscow would rub off and throw the GOP under a collective ethical cloud.
But Washington Post reporter Robert Costa, on the ground in the Peach State, said Russia is an inside-the-beltway issue that flies over the heads of ordinary Americans.
Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, warned that his party was obsessed with Russia – an election-losing issue that crowded out talk of economics
Democrats' focus on President Donald Trump's alleged but unsubstantiated collusion with Moscow to tilt the 2016 election cost them in Georgia, where Republican Karen Handel won a special election on Tuesday
'The Russia issue, and President Trump's handling of these investigations, the special counsel – when I'm in Washington, that's a consuming issue for Democrats. It alarms even some Republicans,' Costa said.
'On the ground in Georgia, moderate suburban Republicans were not talking aobut Russia. ... I just don't see Russia breaking through yet with Republican voters as an issue that's going to turn them to the left.'
Murphy agreed, saying that flailing Democrats can only gain ground if they focus on drawing economic distinctions between their message and Republicans' – something that has taken a back seat to their constant Trump scandal drumbeat.
'Democrats have to be hyper-focused on an economic message that tells people that the Republican Party is all about economic growth for millionaires and billionaires, and the Democratic Party is about economic growth for everybody,' he said.
Robert Costa of the Washington Post said voters on the ground in Georgia weren't talking about Russia – which is an inside-the-beltway issue with little staying power elsewhere
Republican voters in Georgia seemed unfazed by Trump's political baggage, delivering the GOP a victory in a race that was seen as a referendum on his job performance
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Agreeing with Costa, Murphy added that 'the fact that we have spent so much time talking about Russia has been a distraction from what should be the clear contrast between Democrats and the Trump agenda, which is on economics.'
His constituents in Connecticut, the senator said, 'are never talking about issues like Russia. They are not talking frankly, about what's on cable news at night.'
Tuesday night's crushing defeats put Murphy in the mood for face-saving. He insisted that special election losses don't bode ill for Democrats in 2018 since Republicans 'are going to do tremendous damage to themselves' in the process of repealing and replacing the Obamacare medical insurance system.
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