Speakers Remember Murphy In A Variety Of Ways

(12/21/07) Tom Murphy was remembered in a variety of ways at the Capitol Friday - as a man to whom everybody mattered, as a man with a sharp mind, quick temper and big heart, and as a man who set the bar for the title, “Mr. Speaker.”

And as they spoke eloquently of his character and legacy, some of the speakers Friday opened a little window that offered another glimpse of who he was.

Former Gov. Carl Sanders, the last governor with the clout to name House Speakers and to appoint committee chairmen, recalled appointing Murphy to a committee chairmanship not long after the lawyer from Bremen began serving in the House, only to learn soon after that Murphy had gone to the floor one day to oppose one of his administration’s bills.

He summoned Murphy to the governor’s office, explained the facts to him and sent Murphy back up to the floor, where he soon made the same speech again, Sanders said. “I invited him back down, told him to take a back row seat in the House,” the former governor said. “Tom took it, but it didn’t affect our friendship.”

“What I admired most about Speaker Murphy was that you could have a political squabble with him without forfeiting your friendship,” Sanders said.

There were other stories, as well. Terry Coleman, a Democrat who succeeded Murphy for one term until Republicans took over, recalled Murphy’s passion for defending the independence of the House and one-upping the Senate.

Expecting praise after knocking out a budget compromise with the Senate, Coleman and his conference team reported their success to Murphy, only to find him asking, “Where did you meet.”

They replied they met on the Senate side.

“You can’t give ‘em even one inch,” Murphy scolded. “You have to meet over there every other time.”

You will find the texts from some of Friday's speaker elsewhere on the main page.