Chris Murphy and the Fire Drill Future
By Jenny Braddock, Politics Editor (Reluctantly)
May 6, 2025
Here we go.
Welcome to The Democratic Bench — our new series on BatShitCrazy.com that asks two questions we can’t afford to dodge: If democracy survives the next three years, who the hell is going to run it in 2028? And more immediately: who’s running in 2026 — and who among them will be able to hold the damn line?
We’re starting with the big picture: senators, governors, cabinet members, and wild cards who might carry the Democratic banner into the next presidential bloodbath. But as the midterms draw closer, we’ll zero in — on battleground states, tight races, and high-stakes political curveballs like whether Marjorie Taylor Greene actually runs to unseat Senator Jon Ossoff in Georgia. (Yes, she might.)
Let’s be honest: the Democratic Party isn’t exactly known for its bench depth. You’ve got a few brand-name governors with presidential hair, a Secretary of Transportation stuck in an endless loop of Midwestern stoicism, and a lot of people in Congress who treat messaging like a Yelp review — none more reliably than Chuck Schumer, who’s somehow built a decades-long career on strongly worded letters, flaccid warnings, and the rhetorical power of doing absolutely nothing. At this point, the man’s not a Senate Majority Leader — he’s a human press release, occasionally glimpsed making handshake deals half-naked in the Senate gym locker room, wrapped in nothing but a towel and a bad idea.
Some of the names we’ll cover are obvious: Newsom, AOC, Pritzker. Some aren’t: Jason Kander, Chad Troutwine, Wes Moore. Others… well, let’s just say we’ve got a corkboard full of yarn and not enough gin.
And we’re starting with someone who actually seems like he wants to fix the machine, not just inherit the keys to it. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut — still under 55, national profile, actual policies, and one of the few Democrats who’s been steadfast and very visible during the first part of Trump’s second term.
He’s not flashy. He’s not trying to go viral. But he’s been consistent — making speeches, hosting town halls, and giving interviews like a man who still thinks the American experiment might be salvageable, assuming we can keep it from bleeding out in the parking lot. On today’s episode of The Raging Moderates, one of the hosts, Scott “Russian Roulette” Galloway, brought up the ballooning costs of Medicare and the need to rein in medical spending if we’re ever going to balance the budget. Instead of dodging the fiscal trap, Murphy leaned in. His pitch? Make Medicare available — right now — to any individual or business that wants to buy in. No mandate. No single-payer revolution. Just an open-market option that lets people vote with their feet (and premiums). As Murphy put it:
“If you let people choose between private insurance and Medicare, a lot of them are going to pick Medicare. It’s just cheaper and better. And if we get to 60, 70 percent of the market choosing Medicare, then we’ve got a real national system — not because we forced it, but because it earned it.”
And the stakes aren’t abstract. Health care spending in the U.S. hit 17.6% of GDP in 2023, according to CMS.gov, and is projected to reach nearly 20% by 2032. That’s not a system — that’s a metastasizing liability.
Translation: stop talking about health care like it’s an abstract policy fight and start treating it like the broken racket that it is. Let the government compete. If it wins, great. If it doesn’t, fine. But at least it’s in the ring — and it might actually cut our debt without triggering a shutdown, a screaming match, or a Senate Finance Committee fistfight.
That kind of proposal may not light up Twitter, but it cuts through the fog like a flare. And in a moment where the Democratic Party can’t decide if it wants to triangulate or take a nap, Murphy’s offering something rare: a governing idea.
They also touched on 2028. Galloway floated the idea that a Democrat or two should jump into the race early — give the party a sense of direction, set the tone. Murphy, predictably, was cautious. He warned that declaring too soon could turn the next three years into a demolition derby of rhetorical friendly fire.
But then he added something that stuck with me.
“We shouldn’t be campaigning yet. We should be running around with our hair on fire — because democracy is actually in crisis.”
That’s the Chris Murphy pitch in one line. Not panic. Not performative dread. Just a call to act like we’ve read the room — and seen the fire licking the curtains.
He’s been taking that message on the road, too — not just in D.C. or on cable hits, but out in the country, talking to people who don’t get morning briefings or retweet charts. You get the sense that he still believes the work matters. That speeches aren’t useless. That showing up counts for something.
Would he be a good presidential candidate? I don’t know. He doesn’t come off as someone hungry for it, which — ironically — might be what makes him viable. He’s sober without being boring, pragmatic without being craven, and maybe most importantly, he still talks like someone who actually wants the job of governing, not just winning.
And if you still think that sounds overblown, here’s Murphy again — this time on ABC’s This Week back in February:
“I think this is the most serious constitutional crisis the country has faced, certainly since Watergate… The president is attempting to seize control of power, and for corrupt purposes… He wants to be able to decide how and where money is spent so that he can reward his political friends, he can punish his political enemies. That is the evisceration of democracy… This is a red-alert moment when this entire country has to understand that our democracy is at risk — and for what? The billionaire takeover of government.”
That warning came as Trump refused to commit to upholding the Constitution, floated pardons for January 6 rioters, and handed Elon Musk the keys to the so-called Department of Government Efficiency — a wrecking ball aimed at everything from USAID to the civil service itself.
Murphy’s BSC Scorecard
🧠 Messaging Discipline: A-
Hasn’t fumbled a sentence since 2017. Called Trump’s DOJ plans “autocracy in plain sight” without breaking a sweat.
🔧 Governing Cred: A
Pushed real Medicare buy-in legislation instead of tweeting about vibes.
🗳️ National Electability: B
Polls well with suburban voters but hasn’t been tested outside the Acela corridor.
🪓 Debate Skills: B+
Dismantled Cruz on gun reform with facts and zero yelling. Quietly brutal.
🔥 Charisma / Vibes: B-
Haunted social studies teacher energy. Wants you to vote — hard.
💀 Backbone: A
His spine is still visible on MRI — unlike most of his Senate colleagues.
🚫 MAGA Counterpunch: A-
Labeled the GOP as “authoritarian-curious” and didn’t apologize.
📱 Gen Z Appeal: C+
Better on Discord than TikTok. Knows what Reddit is, but probably calls it “the Reddit.”
💼 Billionaire Tolerance: C
Would take the call from Larry Summers, but hang up on Peter Thiel.
🎲 Wildcard: B+
Wrote a book on loneliness. Quietly feral. Probably keeps both Democracy in Chains and Catcher in the Rye in his glovebox.
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