chris murphy

Senator-elect Chris Murphy (D-CT)

There are now multiple press reports that President Obama will agree to a fiscal deal that enacts a so-called “Chained CPI” to calculate Social Security and veterans’ benefits. Under this plan, beneficiaries would get cuts in their cost of living adjustments.

The plan is drawing the ire of Democrats in Congress. Senator-elect Chris Murphy (CT) said the plan is a "terrible idea," joining several others in denouncing it, including Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) who quipped, "It doesn't warm my heart":

“I don’t like it at all,” said Rep. James McGovern (D-Mass.).

“A terrible idea,” said Rep. and Sen.-elect Chris Murphy (D-Conn.).

“We don’t like the chained CPI,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.).

“We don’t like it,” said Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.). “Why are you hurting the vulnerable seniors?”

Any fiscal-cliff deal brokered between Boehner and Obama will need a significant amount of Democratic support to pass the House, because Tea Party lawmakers are expected to reject such an agreement.

Several Senate Democrats also hammered Obama’s chained CPI proposal Tuesday, with Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) saying the provision would be “a problem for Democrats”; Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) warning that he’ll “fight hard” to keep Social Security out of the fiscal-cliff package; and Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) saying the White House move “doesn’t warm my heart.”

“I don’t care if they spread it over a whole bunch of years. The whole understanding has been that we wouldn’t do Social Security,” Rockefeller said. “That was for later.”

We set up an ActBlue page to highlight and reward bold progressive members of Congress who are speaking out publicly today. Check them out and donate $3 to them here.

Click here to pledge to hold any Democrat who agrees to a deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits accountable.

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The national news media has called the Connecticut Senate race for Chris Murphy.

Remember that Murphy faced off with right-wing wrestling tycoon Linda McMahon, who outspent him 5-to-1. She actually spent $28 million of her own money on the race, which means that she personally spent three times more than Murphy's campaign spent altogether.

But recall Progressive Change Campaign Committee members sprung into action to support Murphy. We made 41,466 calls to Connecticut voters on his behalf, and helped beat back the negative television advertising being funded by McMahon's millions.

PCCC co-founder Stephanie Taylor has the following statement on Murphy's win:

Chris Murphy's victory is a tremendous example of grassroots power over big corporate money. Linda McMahon spent $100 million dollars over the last 2 elections, trying to buy a Senate seat. We are proud that our grassroots army of volunteers made over 41,000 phone calls on his behalf, because we know he'll be a great progressive voice in the Senate.

We'll be updating our members all night with breaking news via text message. Click here to sign up for these news alerts.

LIVE RESULTS UPDATE: TWELVE PCCC CANDIDATES WINNING AND COUNTING…

Peter Shumlin (VT-GOV) re-elected. (26,000 PCCC calls)

Chris Murphy (CT-SEN) elected. (41,000 PCCC calls)

Bernie Sanders (VT-SEN) re-elected. ($53,000 raised)

Sheldon Whitehouse (RI-SEN) re-elected. (10,000 PCCC calls, over 1,000 grassroots donations)

Alan Grayson (FL-HOUSE) elected. (216,577 PCCC calls, $56,684 raised)

Lois Frankel (FL-HOUSE) elected. (230,522 PCCC calls, nearly 3,000 contributions)

Elizabeth Warren (MA-SEN) elected. (570,000 PCCC calls, $1.1 million raised)

Tammy Baldwin (WI-SEN) elected. (92,000 PCCC calls, $55,000 raised)

Sherrod Brown (OH-SEN) elected. (79,000 PCCC calls, $36,000 raised)

Mark Pocan (WI-HOUSE) elected. (34,090 PCCC calls)

Keith Ellison (MN-HOUSE) elected. (17,504 PCCC calls)

David Cicilline (RI-HOUSE) elected. (10,764 PCCC calls)

Linda McMahon

Republican Senate candidate Linda McMahon -- the wife of World Wrestling Entertainment's Vince McMahon -- has tried over and over to simply buy Connecticut's Senate seat.

In 2010, she reportedly spent $50 million of her own money trying to win the state's open Senate seat. In the primary this year, she defeated Chris Shays -- one of the national Republican Party's last supporters of campaign finance reform -- by outspending him twelve-to-one.

Now, recently released campaign finance records show that she is outspending her bold progressive opponent, Chris Murphy, five-to-one. She's reportedly spending $28 million of her own money for the campaign, which means she's spending around three times all the money that Murphy has accumulated for his campaign altogether.

McMahon is trying once again to do what she failed to do previously -- buy a seat in the U.S. Senate.

We don't have tens of millions of dollars of personal wealth to spend on the race, but we do have all of you. Help us stop McMahon by clicking here to sign up to make calls for bold progressive Chris Murphy.