Defector lambastes Dems

In a stirring speech, New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew, who made waves last year when he defected from the Democratic Party midterm to join the GOP, said he quit the Dems after radical progressives took over the party he once loved.

“Imagine how I felt seeing members of ‘The Squad’ quickly take control of the Democratic Party just weeks after being elected,” said Van Drew, 67, referring to the four far-left young lawmakers, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

“Democratic leaders told me that I had to vote for impeachment or my life would be made difficult. I’m from South Jersey, and you better be coming to me with more than just loud words and empty threats. I voted no on impeachment and it was an easy call,” he said.

Van Drew, whose district includes Atlantic City, was elected in 2018. In October 2019, he was one of two House Democrats to vote against starting the impeachment inquiry.

Two months later, he jumped to the Republican Party, calling it the “honorable thing,” and was welcomed with open arms by Trump.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell warned on Thursday that if Democrats win, police will be defunded, Second Amendment rights will be trampled — and Americans’ hamburger intake will be limited.

“They want to tell you when you could go to work, when your kids go to school. They want to tax your job out of existence, and then send you a government check for unemployment,” the Kentucky Republican said in a taped speech aired at the convention.

“They want to tell you what kind of car you can drive, what sources of information are credible and even how many hamburgers you can eat,” he added as he offered a litany of warnings about Democratic policies.

The reference to burgers may be a swipe at the Democratic Green New Deal’s proposal to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions caused by cow flatulence.