On this date in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, as well as 2019, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” published profiles of the current U.S. House Representative from New Jersey’s 4th Congressional District, Christopher Smith, who is currently serving in his 19th term in office, and who we gave praise for his work in stopping international child sex trafficking. That however, does not change the fact that Smith is one of the worst anti-abortion zealots in our entire government, and has been linked to “7 Mountains” Dominionist groups of Fundamentalists who believe Christians are destined to take over all of American life. He has compared abortion to the Holocaust, and referred to it as “child slaughter” and prior to the 2012 election as well as in 2015 said that Barack Obama is “the abortion president” who had promoted “radically pro-abortion” people to the government who are promoting “evil” with an “anti-child, anti-woman mentality.”
Not surprisingly, whenever a controversial pro-life bill hits the floor of the House, Rep. Smith is usually a sponsor or co-sponsor, including Personhood legislation, and attempts to redefine the definition of “rape” by doing things like classifying if it’s “forcible” rape or not. When the Center for Medical Progress released their fraudulent video to frame Planned Parenthood (which Smith refers to PP as “Child Abuse, Inc”) in 2015, Smith still didn’t hesitate to fire off one of the most unhinged press releases when the story first hit, graphically describing “crushing babies” and accusing Planned Parenthood supposedly selling “baby body parts”. (Which were the exact things the mass shooter at the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood was rambling about… so nice use of stochastic terror triggers there, Rep. Smith!
As extreme as he is on the issue of abortion, he’s also rather appalling on the issue of LGBTQ rights, not just being opposed to gay marriage, but trying to argue that homosexual rights are not human rights, and going with Rep. Trent Franks to the United Nations to demand they not give recognition to the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, siding with nations against them like Egypt, Angola, Burundi, China, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia and Sudan. (In all those countries but China, LGBTQ people can be jailed, fined, or whipped.) Nothing like allying yourself with the world’s classiest countries to deny rights to gays, right?
Christopher Smith was still re-elected in 2018 with 55% of the vote, His voting record since shows he’s still feverishly aligned with Donald Trump:
- February 28th, 2019: Christopher Smith votes against HR 1112, a bill which would have required universal background checks on all firearm purchases, and close the gun show loophole.
- March 7th, 2019: Smith votes against HR 183, a resolution to condemn anti-Semitism as a hateful extension of intolerance.
- March 14th, 2019: Rep. Smith votes against HJR 46, which sane members of Congress voted for to reject Donald Trump’s “national emergency” regarding the U.S. border and his attempts to reallocate funds for a border wall without Congressional approval.
- June 4th, 2019: Smith votes against the Dreamers Act, because he’s too xenophobic and partisan to care about immigration reform.
- July 16th, 2019: Christopher Smith votes against a resolution to condemn Donald Trump for his racist statements that four people of color in Congress should “go back where they came from”.
- October 23rd, 2019: Smith is one of 41 Republicans who, while staring down the possibility of Donald Trump being impeached, stage a ridiculous publicity stunt in response by crashing a classified impeachment inquiry hearing for a “protest”.
- December 18th, 2019: Rep. Smith ignores his Congressional duty to hold a president who has been proven to commit high crimes and misdemeanors accountable and votes against the impeachment of Donald Trump.
Again, we want to be clear. Congressman Chris Smith has done a great deal of good with the office he has held for 38 years. His work in preventing human trafficking is commendable. He has, in the past few years, argued for a permanent renewal of the Zadroga Act. But when it comes to women’s rights and LGBTQ rights… well, those are a whole other story. He’s still been yelling his head off about Planned Parenthood and calling them “Child Abuse, INC” when he speaks in front of religious right groups.
However, outside of “safe places” where he panders to his own element, Smith has spent the better part of three years hiding from his constituents in New Jersey’s 4th District like a coward rather than face them regarding a lot of his votes, and they were forced to host a town hall without him in February 2017. Of course, Rep. Smith hasn’t hosted a town hall in over a quarter century, so there’s that. This might be a sign that they should be in the market for a new Congressman. And apparently, people are less than thrilled, as protests took place at one of Smith’s fundraisers in March of 2017. So it’s okay to meet with your campaign donors, but not the actual people you represent. Got it.
New Jersey’s 4th District still has a +8 Republican lean, and Christopher Smith is now the last Republican standing in the New Jersey congressional delegation. The bad news for him in 2020? His opponent knows him probably better than anyone who’s ever faced him, because it’s Stephanie Schmid, a human rights activist who interned for Smith as a high schooler 23 years ago. Here’s hoping this is one of those “the student has become the master” moments, and Schmid comes out on top to finish flipping all of New Jersey’s Congressional districts blue.