Flip flopping House Republican Jeff Van Drew is even worse than you think
On December 19, 2019, Democratic Rep. Jeff Van Drew made a stunning announcement while seated next to Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Not only had Van Drew voted against Trump’s first impeachment, but he decided to become a Republican. After having voted with Trump only 10% of the time, Van Drew went so far as to pledge his “undying support” for the inept narcissist.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who also flanked Van Drew at the meeting, pointed out that Van Drew’s move is a “very big deal” because he’s going from the majority to the minority. This prompted Trump to offer his two-cent prediction: “Yeah, but he’s very smart because he knows it’s not going to be the minority for long. I have a feeling we’re going to do very well in 2020.”
While Van Drew held onto his seat, the Republicans did not exactly do very well in 2020. Not only did the GOP fail to win back the majority in the House, but they managed to lose the majority in the Senate. Van Drew’s new idol didn’t do well either, losing reelection after getting impeached for a historic second time with one foot out the door.
It’s one thing to switch parties, but it’s quite another to not know what you believe in. The week before his grand announcement, Van Drew curiously indicated, “I’m reevaluating my life and my thoughts.” Since then, Van Drew has floundered and flip-flopped his way to disappointing and confounding Democrats and Republicans alike.
Most notably, when the House passed the Equality Act in 2019, not only did Van Drew vote in favor of it, but he seemed fed up with the way Americans have been treated differently based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Insisting that “[f]airness and equality are core American values,” Van Drew proclaimed that “it is time we finally fully end discrimination against LGBTQ Americans.”
Less than two years later, the House again passed the Equality Act, which is now headed to the Senate. Despite Van Drew’s fervent progressive stance, he seemed to have no qualms with come out against LGBTQ equality this time around.
Groucho Marx is believed to have said, “These are my principles. If you don’t like them, I have others.” This quote couldn’t fit Van Drew any more perfectly, and it’s why he needs to be unseated in 2022 by a Democrat who is capable of adopting credible and principled stands. Already, one such individual, Tim Alexander, officially announced his candidacy this week.
Alexander has experience both as a civil rights attorney and in law enforcement. He has spent many “sleepless nights with my wife” trying to figure out how to get through tough economic times, and he has “experienced firsthand being harassed, shot at, assaulted, and falsely accused by police.”
Learn more about Tim Alexander by visiting TimAlexanderforCongress.com. Also, stay on top of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee’s efforts to target Van Drew for defeat next year by visiting its new website, TraitorJeffVanDrew.com.
Ron Leshnower is a lawyer and the author of several books, including President Trump’s Month