Time to get down to business

A bitterly fought and overwhelmingly negative senate campaign between Chris Murphy and Linda McMahon is over.

And, as disgruntled television viewers in the tristate area who have been subjected to attack ad after attack ad might say, it”™s about time.

This race has been about taking the easy way out. It is easier to attack an opponent”™s record than it is to present ”“ and defend ”“ specific proposals laying out what you would do differently and how it would positively impact your constituents.

It is also easy, when you”™re standing comfortably in victory lane, to take a parting shot at your opponent.
Neither Senator-elect Murphy nor Connecticut”™s senior U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal passed up the opportunity Tuesday night in Hartford.

“Tonight we proved that what matters most in life is the measure of your ideas, the measure of your determination and the measure of friends, not the measure of your wallet,” Murphy told supporters. “I am proud to be your next U.S. senator.”

Added Blumenthal, who has campaigned on Murphy”™s behalf throughout the fall, “We showed that senate seats are not for sale.”

To be fair, McMahon poured more than $40 million of her personal fortune into her 2012 campaign, not to mention the roughly $50 million she contributed to her failed 2010 senate bid.

Murphy and Blumenthal aren”™t wrong in saying this race demonstrated that money doesn”™t guarantee electoral victory. Then again, that”™s an easy observation to make with the results in hand.

Now comes the hard part, for Murphy and for all of the state”™s new and returning lawmakers: proving that it is possible to change the divisive tone that has overwhelmed the Capitol.

Throughout his career as a football coach, Nick Saban of the University of Alabama has enforced a 24-hour celebration rule: No matter how easy or hard-fought a victory, players have exactly one day to let the outcome sink in before they start preparing for the next matchup.

It seems to have had an effect as Saban”™s teams have won three national championships since 2003.

So now the same for the political celebrations and victory speeches.

It is time to hear about the ideas and determination Murphy spoke of on election night. It is time to cease the petty jabs and get down to business.