What it's like in the Lion's Den

Army veteran and former Congressman Patrick Murphy is a regular on Fox and it's a battle

Fighting for a long time

My friend Patrick Murphy has been in the fight for our democracy a long time. He joined the Army at 19 becoming a commissioned officer and deploying to combat with the 82nd Airborne. Just a few years later he was elected as the first Iraq war veteran so to serve in Congress representing Pennsylvania.

After Congress he launched a show on MSNBC called ‘Taking the Hill’ and was appointed by President Obama as the 32nd Under Secretary of the Army and served as the Acting Secretary of the Army for a period as well. Today he remains engaged in supporting veterans and servicemembers from private sector investment in their businesses to helping them run for office.

But, you may have seen him as one of the lonely progressive voices on Fox News. Patrick was offered the opportunity to host a show on veterans and military service members some time ago and has now become a regular guest on panels and shows offering the perspective of the Democrats.

Often that’s met with disdain and dismissal but he gets back up and fights for the truth.

Because truth matters

I often think that truth is as much a foundation of our democracy as voting. Without a clear telling of the facts we are operating in different worlds and Fox News and their peers in the right wing propaganda sphere have masterfully created a world often devoid of truth, manipulated facts, and outright lies.

One of those that has made me angriest is the idea that the Biden Administration has not done enough for veterans or the vicious accusation that they are flat out hurting them. I am a veteran. Nothing could be further from the truth. Joe Biden is the first ‘Blue Star Father’ to serve as President since Dwight Eisenhower having two sons having served including Beau who deployed to combat as an attorney.

From the First Lady’s remarkable ‘Joining Forces’ program supporting military families and veterans to the monumental passage of the PACT Act that is the largest overhaul of veterans healthcare in decades this Administration is walking the walk. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough has led a drama free department focused on veterans that was desperately needed after the skullduggery and palace intrigue that dominated Trump’s term.

Patrick and I opened up discussing that work and then his time diving into the fire at Fox News. This is a great interview and I got him pretty wound up for a remarkably calm guy!

The Show

Under Secretary Patrick Murphy

Patrick Murphy regularly appears as an analyst and guest on Fox News and has served as a soldier, America’s first Iraq War veteran elected to Congress, and the 32nd Under Secretary of the Army. He is now a Wharton Business School lecturer, Emmy award-winning producer, and a senior managing director at Ankura, one of the top management consulting companies in the world. Murphy is also the founder of an Emmy & CLIO award-winning strategic engagement & film production company, Taking the Hill LLC, specializing in gritty military & veteran projects of his 9/11 Generation. 

You can learn more about Patrick at his website here.

The latest ‘In the Hot Seat’

I really enjoyed the latest ‘In the Hot Seat with FPWellman’ episode with Democratic candidate Adam Frisch in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District. As you may recall he lost to Lauren Boebert by barely 500 votes in 2022 and is mounting such a significant challenge to her this cycle that she fled the district to run on the other side of the state.

He’s running a smart, people focused, campaign that looks to break from the ‘angertainment’ world of modern politics and focus on the needs of the Western Slope and southern Colorado. I had a great discussion with him of the issues and I hope you’ll check it out.