Ugh. Pols following Bieber?

With the election 20 months away, predicting is perilous, but it’s still a pretty good bet that the next senator from Connecticut will be Congressman Chris Murphy. Just weeks after announcing he’s running for what’s nearly a lifetime job in this state — Chris Dodd did 30 years, Joe Lieberman will have put in 24 — Murphy has won the endorsement of just about every Democrat who counts, except the governor, who’s presumably too busy for such frivolity. So far, Murphy’s only opponent is Susan Bysiewicz, a somewhat flawed candidate who’s painting herself as an outsider, of all things, and claiming she’s already raised a lot of money from the little people.Here’s a brief history of the making of a senator, 2012:Jan. 18 — Former Secretary of the State, former gubernatorial candidate and former attorney general candidate Susan Bysiewicz announces she will run for senator. Jan. 19 — Sen. Lieberman announces he won’t run again.Jan. 20 — Congressman Murphy announces he will.Feb. 21 — Congressman Joe Courtney announces he will not, conveniently eliminating a primary contest between party favorites Courtney and Murphy.March 2 — Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, Attorney General George Jepsen and Comptroller Joseph Lembo endorse Murphy. March 15 — The four Connecticut House members not running for the Senate, Courtney, John Larson, Rosa DeLauro and Jim Himes, endorse Murphy. In betting on Murphy, I’m assuming that the Democratic nomination continues to be all that is needed to be elected senator in Connecticut, and why not? The last Republican who was elected to the Senate and remained a Republican was Prescott Bush in 1952. And if other Democrats surface, they will be too unknown or too late. The fix is also probably in on the Republican side with Linda McMahon getting a deserved second chance in recognition of her willingness to spend her own money again. It’s clear why Republicans are pleased to support McMahon, but what did Congressman Murphy do to generate such enthusiasm from the party’s leading lights so quickly?Courtney’s decision not to run, leaving baggage-ridden Bysiewicz as Murphy’s only major opponent, helped. So did Murphy’s winning record, especially when compared with Bysiewicz’s failed runs for governor and attorney general last year. Murphy won his seat in Congress from the powerful, 12-term incumbent Nancy Johnson in 2006 by a comfortable margin while spending half as much as Johnson. Last year, in the grand tradition of incumbents, he again won by a comfortable margin, this time spending twice as much as the challenger. It also helps that Murphy hasn’t done anything Democrats and probably enough independents can really hold against him. His Murphy for Senate website is filled with conventional Democratic stands on the economy, energy, health care and the rest, with the single exception of a labor-friendly “Buy American” position that sounds more like William McKinley than William Clinton.Since announcing his candidacy, Murphy has made a little news, some serious and some embarrassing. He introduced a bill requiring Supreme Court justices to be bound by a code of ethics, as other federal judges are. The bill is aimed at Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia, who have been criticized for having improper ties to right-wing groups. The bill will stir the juices of the base but it has absolutely no chance of passing.On a considerably less impressive note, we have Murphy’s tweets on the wit and wisdom of Justin Bieber, a teenybopper icon of the moment. It seems Murphy read nice things Bieber said about Canada’s health care system in Rolling Stone and tweeted his high regard for the kid’s thoughtful analysis. But then, Murphy discovered Bieber also has other opinions, mainly about abortion, which he’s against. Faced with Bieber’s departure from party orthodoxy, Murphy issued a tweetraction, writing, “Oh, wait … just heard what Biebs said about abortion, Ugh.” Murphy says this is supposed to show he’s human, fun and in touch with pop culture, like constituents who don’t vote. “Ugh.” A Murphy spokeswoman boasted that Murphy does all his own tweeting and doesn’t let his aides filter his thoughts. He should think about getting a ghost tweeterer before he tweets again. Simsbury resident Dick Ahles is a retired journalist. Email him at dahles@hotmail.com.