An Open Letter To Congressman Van Drew
By Ted Kingston and Helen Duda | January 11, 2021
Congressman Jeff Van Drew:
Your involvement in fanning the flames of the insurgency is unacceptable. The Progressive Democrats of NJ Congressional District 2 are calling on you to resign. You have stoked the flames of insurgency repeatedly by not accepting the results of the election, except for your own election results, and voting against the acceptance of the election results, after more than 60 failed court cases, after certification in all the states, and even after the destructive and deadly takeover of the Capitol of the United States of America. How can you call yourself, or be seen, as patriotic to the United States of America?
Your words have been acts of sedition. Once the insurrection turned violent and deadly, you attempted to find cover by asking the president to “reach out and ask the protestors to leave.” That was laughable. You share responsibility for what happened. Like the architect of the bank break-in, or the driver of the getaway car, you are in this up to your eyeballs and people are dead.
It is unclear whether you believe the falsehoods you espouse, or if you are just using these election fraud conspiracy theories for pandering and self-promotion. Either way, your words are disqualifying. The proper path for you would have been to end this charade after all of the court cases failed. At that point, you could have taken the high road for your constituents, as Mitt Romney stated, by “telling them the truth.”
The FBI should be banging on your door to investigate your role in fueling this insurrection. There are people in the paper, from our district, that were in the building and took part in the takeover. Honest words by you may well have brought some sanity to these constituents, but no, you fanned the flames with baseless conspiracy theories. You should pay the price. If Senators Hawley and Cruz are under fire to resign, you should be as well. As true Americans that believe in the rule of law and believe in the Constitution, CD-2 constituents are calling on you to leave.
What is in store for our democracy between now and inauguration day is uncertain, but it looks like the insurgency will try yet again, and you are already on record as supporting an overturn of the election even after the deadly violence and destruction. You have shown who you are, and that is a Congressman who will continue to actively fan the flames with conspiracy theories. Your words show that you will continue to champion the overturn of the election. It is time for you to go.
What is certain is that we need a Congressman that is fighting for the USA, not one that is fanning the flames of insurgency and pledging undying loyalty to a fascist. It is time for you to step aside and let someone true to the facts and true to American democracy to hold this seat, an actual, real patriot.
Your undying support and your undying loyalty were out of line from the beginning. Pledges of undying support for any person are always wrong. Making pledges to someone trying to undermine our American Democracy is not patriotic, but rather an act of sedition. Words and actions have consequences. The consequence of undying loyalty and undermining democracy should be, at a minimum, the loss of your seat in the House. Then the FBI should look into your role in fanning the flames that resulted in violence and death in the Capitol of the United States of America.
