My U.S. House Rep, Jeff Van Drew, is a Democrat in Name Only (DINO).
His strategy in New Jersey elections, when he was a state Senator, was to run as a “team” block in whatever issue they were voting on, and combine their advertising budget in order to get the name recognition. Before it was the “Van Drew/Andrzejczak/Land Team.” Now that VanDrew is in the U.S. House of Representatives, it is still the “Van Drew Team” as in, the “Van Drew Team: Andrzejczak/Land/Milam.”
Back when Van Drew was still my state senator, I had decided he was a DINO. He and his “team” had the worst League of Conservation Voters “by party” scorecard—meaning that of all the Democrats in the New Jersey legislative body, they were the worst environmentally. I expressed this concern to my local rep, Assemblyman Robert Bruce Land, and was told about Van Drew’s personal support for the environment by having solar and wind energy on his own property, but his votes for the rest of us apparently weren’t there.
Now Van Drew represents me in the U.S. House. He also represents Cape May and other NJ shore areas, which have a strong conservative base, but nevertheless elected a Democrat to the House.
Before Pelosi even announced that a new impeachment vote was in the works, I called Van Drew’s office to express my support for the impeachment inquiry. But like his anti-environmental votes, Van Drew was one of the two “Dems” who sided with the Republicans. Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!!!!
I received my sample ballot for Tuesday’s election. My choices are “the Van Drew Team” or the Republicans, who seem even worse. Unfortunately there are no Independents running. Independents don’t seem to win, anyway, because they don’t have the name recognition.
Back when Van Drew first announced his candidacy for the U.S. House, I toyed with the idea of running for a NJ seat, but family obligations and financial constraints (one has to have money to advertise and get the name recognition) prevented it. I had hoped one of the progressive “Independent” candidates who ran against Van Drew for the U.S. House would run again for the NJ Senate or Assembly, but that didn’t happen. It’s either the “Van Drew Team” or the Republicans, who seem even worse. Again, Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!!!!