Gottheimer Concerned about Sanders Burning ‘the House Down’
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U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-5) expressed his worry this week about the frontrunning presidential candidacy of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, who steamrolled his competition On Feb. 22nd to land Nevada.
The very financially well-connected Gottheimer occupies a battleground district he snatched from a movement conservative in 2016, and retained in 2018 with a 56.2 % to 42.5% defeat of Republican attorney John McCann.
“I hope I’m wrong, but Bernie seems to have declared war on the Democratic Party,” Gottheimer told Politico. “To win in November, we need someone who will bring us together under a big tent and protect the Democratic majority in the House — not burn the house down.”
Gottheimer last week formally backed the presidential candidacy of former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, a day after the mayor delivered a widely panned debate performance.
Gottheimer’s Democratic Primary opponent promptly pounced, denouncing the congressman’s decision to back a candidate whose past is “plagued with sexism, racism and a commitment to corporate donors over the American people.” Arati Kreibich added that Gottheimer’s endorsement shows a “lack of commitment to the people of NJ-5.”
The congressman did back the impeachment of President Donald J. Trump, unlike another battleground, Republican-leaning occupant, U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-2), who switched parties last year from D to R sooner than vote to impeach Trump.
Multiple Republicans have lined up to take on Gottheimer, including Frank Pallota, but the incumbent Democrat has over $7.1 million in the bank.
Josh Gottheimer is confused about what “Democratic Party” means.
A human fundraising machine who caters to Wall Street and like to get cozy with a dictatorial Trump can be excused for such blindness.
In reality, Democrats support fair elections, universal health care, free public education, and a federal guarantee of full employment. Those platform planks may have been missing in recent years but the truth that Bernie Sanders has exposed is that we, the voters, still desire that kind of government action. We in the majority want to #ReverseReaganomics while Gottheimer and other sell outs have gotten comfortable with corruption and betrayal of those who put them in power.
Maybe Bernie Sanders will burn down Gottheimer’s house, but Trump collaborators deserve to feel some heat.