House Democrat Preemptively Says He’s Voting Against Impeachment

With the end of public impeachment hearing allegedly on the horizon, there are cracks appearing within the big, blue wall of the Democrats.

Earlier in the week, a strange suggestion began circulating on The Beltway that perhaps the left side of the aisle would settle for a censure of Donald Trump, given the predetermination that impeachment is certain to fail in the Republican-controlled Senate.  This idea was swiftly and sternly smacked down by Democratic leadership, who themselves were goaded into impeachment by the far left corners of party.

On Friday, another bit of dissent emerged as well.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, one of two Democrats to vote against formalizing the impeachment inquiry, said he plans to vote against all the articles of impeachment “unless there’s something that I haven’t seen, haven’t heard before.”

He warned Democrats to “be careful what you wish for” and he added that impeachment “is tearing the nation apart. … And I want to bring people together.”

Van Drew, whose district voted for Trump in 2016, said he would have preferred a censure vote on Trump so they could “move on.” Van Drew was first elected in 2018, winning a seat that was previously GOP controlled.

Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson, the other Democrat who also opposed the inquiry, was also asked if he’d vote to impeach.

“I don’t have an idea what they’re doing,” Peterson said.

Democratic voters have been underwhelmed by the latest round of impeachment hearings, with very little movement occurring within national polls despite the circus on Capitol Hill.