2020 Daily Trail Markers: Democrats look to oust New Jersey defector Jeff Van Drew
Democrats are unsurprisingly livid with New Jersey Representative Jeff Van Drew, who is reportedly planning to defect to the Republican Party. At least six of his aides resigned by Monday morning, and some said in a letter that Van Drew's plan "to join the ranks of the Republican Party led by Donald Trump does not align with the values we brought to this job when we joined his office."
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairwoman Cheri Bustos tweeted out an invitation for these staffers to work with the Democratic House campaign arm. "It's right before the holidays and these staffers just quit their jobs to stand up for their Democratic values. We'll bring them and others who leave on with the @dccc until they land new jobs that align with their values."
Van Drew, a freshman congressman from a Republican-leaning southern New Jersey district, could have faced a tough primary had he remained a Democrat. His internal polling from earlier this month showed that 60 percent of likely Democratic primary voters wanted someone new to replace him, and that 71 percent would be less likely to support him if he voted against impeaching President Trump. Van Drew was one of only two Democrats to vote against holding an impeachment inquiry.
Although no Democrat had announced a challenge to Van Drew his party switch was reported in the press, college professor Brigid Callahan Harrison did so Monday. "Jeff Van Drew has betrayed our trust. His actions show that he is not working for South Jersey. I'm running against him to represent #NJ02 because I am ready to work for South Jersey," she tweeted.
Van Drew, as a Democrat, won New Jersey's 2nd Congressional district by about 8 points in 2018. Mr. Trump won this district by 5 points in 2016, and it's one of 31 districts he won that Democratic House members are currently representing.
Many of these swing-state Democrats announced they'd be voting in favor of the impeachment articles this week. But CBS News political unit broadcast associate Aaron Navarro said at least 10 of the 31 Democrats in Trump districts have not yet taken a firm stand on impeachment.
FROM THE CANDIDATES
JOE BIDEN
Democrats have spent months defending Joe Biden from allegations that his son, Hunter Biden, improperly benefited from his father's time as vice president when he accepted a lucrative position on the board of a Ukrainian energy company. At recent events, the only mention of this saga would sometimes be from Biden himself, who proactively addressed the issue and said the president's "lies" about his family were evidence that he was the Democratic candidate whom the White House most feared.
But CBS News campaign reporter Bo Erickson says this topic has re-emerged as a flash point at Biden's recent campaign events, providing moments of chaos and distraction. At his first campaign rally in Texas on Friday, Biden was heckled mid-speech by a man shouting about "Ukraine." The San Antonio crowd quickly chanted "We want Joe!" and Biden shouted back, "This man represents Donald Trump very well."
While Biden tried to get the crowd's attention back to his immigration-focused speech, the heckler continued until a security officer arrived. "Let the man go!" Biden commanded, "This isn't a Trump rally," apparently referring to the sometimes-aggressive tactics used against hecklers at Mr. Trump's past events.
On the rope line after his speech awaited another small contingent of additional protestors—several wearing "Latinos for Trump" gear—who held signs about Ukraine and screamed while Biden took selfies with attendees. The scene was loud, chaotic and distracting for Biden as he looked to greet supporters while dodging hecklers.
The scene came two weeks after an Iowa man confronted Biden about Ukraine and alleged that he had installed Hunter Biden at the energy company. An agitated Biden, wanting to shut down the back-and-forth, dismissed the questioner as a "damn liar."
PETE BUTTIGIEG
South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg released a plan Monday morning that his campaign said is aimed at empowering the Latino community by reversing President Trump's administration policies and dismantling the "institutional barriers that have kept Latinos from feeling like they fully belong in their country."
In a statement, Buttigieg said, "The Latino community is an integral force in pushing our nation toward achieving inclusive, progressive ideals. In so many ways, members of the Latino community uphold and embody the values that make us American…Despite these contributions, Latinos have been subjected to relentless and bigoted attacks by this President and his administration."
He added, "Whether it is the disenfranchisement of the people of Puerto Rico or Latino neighborhoods denied access to clean air and water, Latinos in the United States have been burdened for too long by a legacy of systemic discrimination. As President, I will put an end to this administration's discriminatory policies and work to dismantle the institutional barriers that have denied Latinos the opportunity to belong in their country."
CBS News campaign reporter Jack Turman reports that Buttigieg says hi administration would invest $10 billion to create a fund for underrepresented entrepreneurs. In the health care sector, Buttigieg's plan calls for fully funding Puerto Rico's Medicaid program, which would end the disparity in funding between Puerto Rico and other states. In addition, Buttigieg would end the five year waiting for Green Card holders to gain access to public health programs.
Ahead of a scheduled environmental justice roundtable in California later this week, Buttigieg proposes to triple the EPA's budget to clean contaminated water and Superfund sites. Buttigieg also indicates his support for legislation that would create a pathway to citizenship and would extend temporary DACA and Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The mayor is also advocating to extend Pell Grant eligibility for Dreamers to access higher education opportunities.
BERNIE SANDERS
At campaign rallies, the Vermont senator has a habit of listing the various people and groups he's tangled with over the years, such as health insurance companies and President Trump. But for many of the crowds that turn out to see him, the entity that garners the most hisses and boos is the Democratic establishment.
In a race that's seen quite a lot of volatility in the polls, Sanders' support has remained relatively consistent. An independent who identifies as a democratic socialist, he's widely adored by the left wing of the party, which still resents the Democratic power brokers they blame for Sanders' loss to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 primary.
Yet Sanders remains something of an ideological outlier among Democrats despite the fact that some of his signature ideas, such as his "Medicare for All" plan to replace private health insurance, have become much more mainstream than they were just a few years ago. And he continues to swear off the big-money donors who are helping propel some other candidates for the Democratic nomination, such as South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and former Vice President Joe Biden.
In an interview with CBS News campaign reporter Cara Korte, Sanders said the financing of some of his Democratic rivals' campaigns exemplifies the "rotten" nature of American politics.
Sanders, a fierce critic of 2010 Supreme Court "Citizens United v. FEC" decision that allowed for individuals and corporations to give more freely to political campaigns, believes candidates who rely on big-dollar fundraisers are beholden to the interests of wealthy backers. "Why would many, many billionaires be contributing to candidates if they didn't think they were getting something out of it? They're not doing it through the goodness of their hearts," he said.
A recent Forbes list found that Sanders was the only candidate among the field's top tier, which also includes Biden, Buttigieg, and Senator Elizabeth Warren, to not have a single billionaire donor. According to Sanders and his campaign, this means that the senator is the true champion of the working class, relying almost exclusively on small donors while his opponents show open hands to the open wallets of the ultra-wealthy. Biden and Buttigieg have defended themselves from these allegations and say that big donations do not make them beholden to any donors' interests. When asked if that defense showed either naiveté or a lack of honesty, Sanders was hesitant to say his opponents were lying but still expressed skepticism. "[Accepting money from billionaires] doesn't pass, in a sense, the lab test," said Sanders.
Back on the trail, Sanders mocks his opponents, saying that he does not spend time "in billionaires' living rooms and walk away with hundreds of thousands of dollars." Buttigieg recently came under scrutiny for holding fundraisers that were closed to the press. For the sake of transparency, the campaign reversed that policy last week. CBS News asked Sanders if Buttigieg having media present ensured that no nefarious deals between candidate and donor were taking place.
"No, not really," said Sanders, who still acknowledged allowing press into the fundraisers was a step in the right direction." He added, "I think what history tells us is that the big donors, the people who make large contributions, do get access. They get tax breaks, they get deregulated. That's the way the unfortunate system is working."
TOM STEYER
Businessman Tom Steyer took direct aim at some of the leading 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, saying they lack what makes him the Democrats' best hope for defeating President Donald Trump in 2020: His business track record. "If Democrats don't nominate someone who can go head-to-head with him on the economy, Donald Trump will win in 2020," Steyer said. "I have a lot of respect for the four leading Democratic candidates in this race. But here's the truth: none of them, not Vice President Biden, not Senator Warren, not Senator Sanders, not Mayor Pete, have built or run a successful, international business. None of them have a private sector track record of creating jobs. None of them have first-hand experience growing wealth and prosperity."
Steyer said there are massive systemic issues with the economy that need to be addressed, but, without naming his opponents, said "the answer is not socialism." Instead he said, "The real answer to historic inequality is not a government takeover of huge parts of our economy, but rather, direct investment in the American people." And there's a key difference, Steyer insisted, between him and the other billionaire businessman in the Democratic field, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "To attack inequality, America needs a wealth tax," Steyer said. "This is where Mike Bloomberg and I disagree."
CBS News campaign reporter Adam Brewster says Steyer also repeated his calls to tax income and investments the same amount. He also called for "building up the innovation and competition" of the private sector to "create millions of good-paying, union jobs."
Steyer said that while he expects Trump to tout his economic record, he believes much of the success is "fake," citing things like low wages despite low unemployment. He argued that the election is also a chance to reverse an "assault on working families" that has been led by cuts to taxes for wealthier Americans and weakening labor unions. "(Trump's) biggest and only play is to point to his so-called economic success — his fake economic success," Steyer said. "And we, as a party, cannot, and must not, give him that chance."
ELIZABETH WARREN
CBS News campaigner reporter Alex Tin says California's Latino Legislative Caucus chair, Lorena Gonzalez, crossed the border into Nevada on Sunday to help the Elizabeth Warren campaign inaugurate its 10th office in the state. Gonzalez, who endorsed the Massachusetts Democrat back in October, acknowledged the challenges Warren faces among Latino voters. Just 11 percent of Latino likely voters picked Warren in a recent California poll, behind Joe Biden at 19 percent and Bernie Sanders at 32 percent.
"The Latino vote hasn't had the chance to learn everything we know about Elizabeth Warren," said Gonzalez, praising Warren as a "chingona" and a "guerrera." "Our communities elect fighters and they need to hear her plan to fight for our communities," she added later.
STATE-BY-STATE
CALIFORNIA
The Democratic National Committee says that its chairman, former Obama Labor Secretary Tom Perez, spent the weekend working the phones looking to avert a looming Unite Here union local's protest at this week's candidates debate. Tin says all nine candidates have pledged not to cross the union's picket line if they are unable to resolve their dispute with Sodexo, a food service contractor on the campus of debate host Loyola Marymount University.
"We look forward to continuing negotiations with Sodexo this Tuesday or sooner in hopes of reaching an agreement before Thursday's debate," Susan Minato, the union local's co-president, said in the statement on Sunday.
SOUTH CAROLINA
South Carolina Democratic Congressman Joe Cunningham announced today that he would be voting in favor of impeaching President Trump during the full House vote on the matter this Wednesday. "I did not come to Congress to impeach the President but after careful consideration of the evidence and testimony delivered to Congress by dedicated public servants—many of whom the President himself appointed—it is clear to me he committed an impeachable abuse of power," said Cunningham in a statement.
The first-term lawmaker went on to cite abuse of power and obstruction of justice as the reasons that he supports the articles of impeachment.
CBS News campaign reporter LaCrai Mitchell says that the state's Republican Party has called for Cunningham to make a decision for weeks. A person with close knowledge of the RNC's strategy to take back the first congressional seat told Mitchell that in some ways, the committee needed this vote in order to make a clear-cut case to South Carolina Republicans who voted for Cunningham that he's not a moderate.
RNC spokesman Joe Jackson said in a statement Monday that Cunningham's move shows that he is "choosing Nancy Pelosi and the House Democrats' unhinged caucus" over the wishes of his constituents. "Voters won't forget his cowardice come November 2020," said Jackson in a statement. "Joe Cunningham's political career is over."
However, a person close to Cunningham insisted that the Democrat has a unique relationship with first congressional district voters that "folks in DC and the Republican Party" don't understand. "They trust him, they believe him, and they know he operates in good faith. They didn't elect a rubberstamp for Donald Trump, they elected someone who would work on a bipartisan basis to get things done and that is exactly what Joe has done," said the person. "Joe has broken with his party a lot. It's funny to me sometimes when Republicans say 'oh you said you were going to put Lowcountry over party as if that meant [he] was going to vote with Republicans 100% of the time."
Another House member that is still making a decision about how she will vote days before the full vote is congresswoman and presidential contender Tulsi Gabbard, who told CBS News in a gaggle Sunday that she won't be thinking about political implications when she casts her vote.
"It's really important that every member of Congress cast their vote based on what's in the best interest of the country rather than based on political implications," said Gabbard. "I have always done my best to make decisions and cast votes based on what I believe is the right thing to do even when that decision causes political damage to my quote unquote career reelection chances. That is not a factor for me in my decision making process whatsoever."
CONGRESSIONAL COVERAGE
IN THE SENATE
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has endorsed veteran MJ Hegar in the Democratic primary to unseat Republican Senator John Cornyn, reports CBS News political unit associate producer Eleanor Watson. Hegar competed for the 31st U.S. House district in Texas in 2018 but lost to incumbent Republican John Carter. She rose to national attention in part because one of her campaigns ads called "Doors" went viral. This cycle, she is competing against 12 other candidates who have filed for the Senate primary in Texas.
