TRENTON, N.J. – Governor Phil Murphy raged against Jeff Van Drew on Twitter (and in an email blast) on Saturday night admist news that the freshman Democrat congressman planned to jump to the GOP over impeachment. The news has left Democrats scrambling as impeachment articles are about to be voted upon by the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Congressman Van Drew has long voted against core Democratic values, like a livable minimum wage and common sense gun safety, while other New Jersey Democrats were fighting for more affordable health care, to keep the SALT deduction, and to protect middle-class taxpayers,” complained Murphy. “Betraying our values by siding with Donald Trump is the final straw and made it impossible for him to continue being supported by our party, as grassroots activists, local party leaders in his district, and I have made this clear in recent weeks.”
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The awkward part? Murphy’s indignation over Van Drew’s anticipated flip and voting history came despite the Governor’s previous decision to headline a fundraiser (click here) for him on December 16th:
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.@CongressmanJVD has chosen his political career over our Constitution. Despite knowing full well that the President has abused the powers of his office, he's now willing to enable Donald Trump just to try to salvage his own election.
— Phil Murphy (@PhilMurphy) December 15, 2019
This party switch is cynical and desperate, and I am confident that a Democrat who shares the values and priorities of our Democratic Party will hold this seat.
— Phil Murphy (@PhilMurphy) December 15, 2019
