New Contender For Worst DCCC Recruit Of The Cycle: Jeff Van Drew (NJ-02)

Once Frank LoBiondo announced he wouldn't be running for reelection, no one doubted that grotesquely corrupt right-wing Democrat Jeff Van Drew would jump into the race. He's the perfect DCCC candidate-- disgustingly bigoted, Republican-lite, corrupt as you can be without going to prison... when the DCCC chieftains see Van Drew they think they're looking right into a mirror. And, of course, imagine voters will be clamoring to elect him. Van Drew is a sordid piece of crap-- exactly what makes the Democratic Party-- at the very best-- the lesser of two evils.

NJ-02, the southern 5th of the state, stretches down the coast from Little Egg Harbor through Atlantic City to Cape May and west through Millville and into the exurbs south of Philly and east of Wilmington. Obama beat McCain there 53-45% and beat Romney 54-46%. It was the wrong kind of district for Hillary though-- and Trump beat her 50.6% to 46.0%. The 2015 PVI of D+1 slipped to a less friendly, but very winnable, R+1. The DCCC has been screwing up NJ-02 since 1994 when Democrat Bill Hughes retired and Frank LoBiondo won the seat. In 2014 Hughes' son, Bill Jr. ran and lost 62-37%. The DCCC ignored the race and LoBiondo outspent him $2,425,940 to $756,354. Last year the DCCC ignored the district again and let Dave Cole die on the vine. He spent $127,386 to LoBiondo's $1,627,038 and got the same 37% of the vote. But the DCCC-- along with George Norcross, the fount aof all corruption in South Jersey-- has been hoping all along to recruit state Senator Van Drew. He was described accurately by NJ.com as "one of the most conservative Democrats in the state Legislature. He's an NRA fanatic and an anti-gay zealot who was one of the few Democrats in the legislature to vote against marriage equality. That's the stinking pile of crap the DCCC recruits. Would they recruit an anti-Black candidate to win seat? An anti-Semite? We already know they're completely comfortable recruiting anti-Choice candidates.

Van Drew is the Vice Chair of New Jersey's Senate Environment Committee. In 2013 he was one of the only Democrats in the state legislature with a lower environmental ranking from the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters other than the execrable Donald Norcross-- a crooked Machine pol whose first vote after being elevated to the House was to back the Keystone XL Pipeline. Norcross' score was 59% and Van Drew's was 68%. Clean Water Action rated Van Drew a 22%, lowest of any New Jersey state Senator.

And Van Drew has more right-wing tendencies than just being a kiss-up for developers and other anti-environment special interests. He was the only Democrat in the New Jersey state legislature, for example, to get an A from the NRA, outscoring a pack of Republicans. This is the record of this "Democrat," seen by the DCCC as a reason to recruit him for higher office:

• In 2010, Van Drew sponsored a bill to allow residents to carry handguns.


• In 2011, he appeared with Steve Lonegan (who was there in his capacity as State Director of Americans for Prosperity) to rally support for a bill to repeal cap and trade, and expressed his support for nuclear power and fossil fuels. Also in 2011, Van Drew sponsored a bill to abolish the seven-day waiting period before shelter animals could be killed. And of course, he was one of those Christiecrats who voted to cut public workers’ pensions and benefits.

• In 2013, he broke with the Democratic leadership on gun control and marriage equality.

There's also an African-American progressive woman, a union member, running-- Tanzie Youngblood. Naturally, the DCCC is ignoring her. When they look at her they don't see themselves in the mirror.