NJ-2: Van Drew considering switching parties over impeachment

[Landslide Lyndon]

The most damning fact about Van Drew isn't his refusal to impeach Trump. It's the fact that he is attacking his caucus and undermining its unity.
He could oppose impeachment but also acknowledge Republicans' ridiculous, unpatriotic behavior. Yet he only criticizes his fellow Democrats, parroting Fox News talking points. If his goal is to become Trump's Joe Lieberman then he shouldn't complain if he finds himself without a job this time next year.

[Landslide Lyndon]

I’d support a primary challenge to Van Drew. The idea that being Republican lite is a huge electoral bonus to Democrats has far more evidence against it than for it (I know that the usual suspects will come after me for having the audacity to question this obvious proven truth, but whatever, come at me.) This is going to be a hard district to defend either way, and Van Drew hasn’t exactly proven himself to be a remarkable candidate.

Van Drew isn't a "Republican-lite," he's an extremely radical democrat who is simply having a rare moment of sanity.

Aren't you tired of constantly trolling in the most transparent way possible?

[Landslide Lyndon]

LOL, what a fool.
Republicans in safe seats retire because being in the minority sucks but he is eager to join them.

[Landslide Lyndon]

He's about to join a minority party without a shot at majority control for a while. This is in contrast to Specter who upgraded his position in Washington. His jobs going to get a lot less fun.

If I was him and didn't want to stay with the democrats, I would become an Indie and consider retirement in 2020. If he keeps caucusing with the Dems then he'll keep the committee assignments. His present plan seems fated towards an eventual retirement or a primary loss anyway.

Don't think he cares about the long run in the House.  He's probably eyeing 2021 NJ-GOV or 2022/24 NJ-SEN as a Republican if this works out for him in 2020.

He has about as much of a chance to win a Republican primary as Parker Griffith, Gene Taylor, and Artur Davis.

[Landslide Lyndon]

He's about to join a minority party without a shot at majority control for a while. This is in contrast to Specter who upgraded his position in Washington. His jobs going to get a lot less fun.

If I was him and didn't want to stay with the democrats, I would become an Indie and consider retirement in 2020. If he keeps caucusing with the Dems then he'll keep the committee assignments. His present plan seems fated towards an eventual retirement or a primary loss anyway.

Don't think he cares about the long run in the House.  He's probably eyeing 2021 NJ-GOV or 2022/24 NJ-SEN as a Republican if this works out for him in 2020.

He has about as much of a chance to win a Republican primary as Parker Griffith and Artur Davis.

Trump could endorse an inanimate object in a 2X Obama->Trump CD and it would win the Republican primary easily.

Senator Luther Strange and congresswoman Renee Elmers agree with you.

[Landslide Lyndon]

It is interesting to me how few R->D party switches there have been in states/districts moving strongly D vs. D->R switches in states/districts moving strongly R.  Republicans got the Governor of WV to flip, but not a single NOVA legislative R switched parties this decade even when it was a one seat majority statewide.  That really surprises me.  I think the only place R->D has happened in recent times is in the Kansas legislature? 

Pretty sure there have been a couple in California.

And in Kansas. Bollier is one of them.

[Landslide Lyndon]

Can we merge this thread with the other one about Van Drew?

[Landslide Lyndon]

Isn't this something? The Democratic Party isn't going to even allow Van Drew to cast a token "No" vote on an impeachment effort which is ultimately doomed to failure in the Senate, and because of that, he's switching parties? A confused and disheartening situation on all sides. It is true that this district is rapidly trending Republican, Van Drew won by a much smaller margin than had initially been expected, and he succeeded a long-time Republican incumbent who held the seat for more than two decades. On the other hand, party-switchers do not have an unparalleled history of success, and often do so out of personal selfishness.

I'm not sure what to think about this, but what I do know is that this makes it likely Collin Peterson will be the only Democrat in the entire House of Representatives to vote no on the articles of impeachment. Even in 1998, something on the order of six Republicans voted against Bill Clinton's impeachment. Never have we seen an impeachment as partisan and polarized as this one.

Nobody is forcing Van Drew to stupidly switch parties. Thats his decision. Whatever happens to him from this point onward is his fault and his alone.

The polls from that district indicate that Van Drew has lost considerable support among the Democratic base and the Democratic party machine, precisely because of his opposition to impeachment. Now, I will agree that he may be facing the end of the road either way. If he were to remain a Democrat, and voted no on impeachment, he would be booted in the primary. And if he becomes a Republican, then he has no guarantee of winning that party's primary. However, this party switch is apparently being done, in part, on Trump's urging, and Trump is apparently set to appear with Van Drew this coming week. A Trump endorsement is gold in the eyes of his base, and could very well help Van Drew gain the support of the Republican machine in his district and to win that primary.

Because that worked so well with Luther Strange.

That's a legitimate point. But in the vast majority of cases, a Trump endorsement has proven to be a valuable asset for Republican candidates in the primaries.

Most of the candidates weren't opportunistic party switchers.

[Landslide Lyndon]

lmao @ Calthrina blaming the Democratic Party. That's so incredibly on the nose..

That's his shtick. A Democrat could save a baby from a burning building and Calthrina would still find a way to criticize him.

[Landslide Lyndon]

didn't he barely win this seat against someone who was flamboyantly racist in 2018?  maybe the district was more republican than he thought and this is an excuse to keep his seat as he didn't do amazing against a terrible candidate in a democratic year.  That or he's just really dumb.  Isn't this district basically a mix of farms and the Atlantic City area?  seems like a very polarized district.

Not barely but certainly by an underwhelming margin considering that his opponent was so awful the NRSC repudiated him.

[Landslide Lyndon]

Yeah, I'm sure Van Drew will be a shoo-in for the Republican primary.

https://twitter.com/CongressmanJVD/status/1199054882948485122?ref_src=twsrc%5Etf...

[Landslide Lyndon]

People are claiming that Van Drew is a progressive now? Ridiculous.

Not anymore ridiculous than you people calling Elizabeth Warren a "centrist".