Andy Kim campaigned on representing all New Jerseyans, not the interest of the squad
OPINION | COLUMN | THE BROADSIDE REVIEW
Representative Andy Kim campaigned on the platform that he would represent the interests of all the residents in his New Jersey district. Does that sound familiar?
Despite the objections “moderate” Democrats felt the need to express about their progressive colleagues after they sustained significant losses in the 2020 election, they still have ended up following the Nancy Pelosi and the White House’s squad-influenced agenda.
But the malcontents were correct in blaming their defund-the-police colleagues; they are a losing ticket in most of the country. For example, Joe Biden also — when he did campaign — did so as a moderate, which served as a winning juxtaposition to the once surging Bernie Sanders. Nevertheless, once in office, Biden issued several executive orders to set the mood, and soon the hammer and sickle were hoisted high in the Democratic party’s consciousness.
Biden has never governed as a moderate. The public was treated to an example of his malleability when a single member of the squad camped out at the capitol, spurring the president to reissue his illegal eviction moratorium.
But that is more than an anecdote. It has become clear that Biden is not “the Democratic party” like he said he would be in his debate with Donald Trump. The party’s real agenda is coming from Nancy Pelosi — who, in her desire to have a tweet-worthy legacy — is following the far-Left whims of her party’s minority.
Her party should take notice that she is willing to sacrifice them to achieve that goal. And sacrificing them is precisely what she will do with her latest plan to enact $3.5 trillion in “cradle-to-grave” entitlements. The Sept. 27 deadline to blow out the bank only shows that the speaker is unwilling to take no for an answer and doesn’t expect to.
At least one Democrat is not willing to play her game. West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin called for a “strategic pause” in The Wall Street Journal opinion pages. Manchin is Democrat that likes to spend money from Trumpian red state. But even he can see Biden’s job approval ratings are in a free-fall. And he knows the voters of his state will boot him if he signs on to unpopular policies like federalizing elections or attaching a rocket to inflation.
Representative Kim, on the other hand, does not recognize this. Kim’s voting record indicates that he has not met a progressive policy with which he wasn’t on board. He voted yes to federalizing elections and every other tax-and-spend scheme authored by the Democrats.
Kim may feel his seat is secure in New Jersey. That would be ill-informed. The Garden State gets unfairly maligned as a blue haven. But voters, pundits, and Kim need to realize that he replaced Republican Tom MacArthur during the midterm elections of the Trump presidency — a critical fact that will not be the situation next year.
Even before Kim took office as a freshman, New Jersey had a two-term Republican governor prior to the Democratic Phil Murphy taking office. And the district just south of Kim’s is represented by Jeff Van Drew, who infamously switched to the Republican party before being reelected to another term. But Van Drew survived for the same reason Kim may get voted out: New Jersey isn’t that partisan.
Independents made up the largest share of registered voters before being overtaken by Democrats in 2020. However, that gap remains narrow. Republican voters number far less than Democrats, but it’s safe to say that a majority of those independents aren’t lining up to get behind a Green New Deal.
Jersey voters will have the chance to make their voices heard on who controls Trenton this fall. But Kim and the rest of the Democrats will face voters next year. It would be wise to do as they promised and stand up to Pelosi and the Progressives. With a five-seat advantage in the House and an evenly split Senate, it is clear that voters did not want a revolution, but it will be exactly what Republicans give them in 2022.
The Broadside Review is a substack column and content partner of The New Jersey Editorial Report. Please subscribe to them or check out their column here.
