With the planned departure of Rep. Jeff Van Drew from the Democratic Party, many Democrats are saying good riddance or just completely brushing it off altogether. That’s exactly what House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler did after learning the news himself.

“What he’s reacting to is public polling that shows he can’t get renominated,” Nadler said on ABC’s “This Week.” “His electorate in his district is 24 percent to renominate him and 60 percent to nominate somebody else.”

Here’s the thing. If he’s just switching parties so that he can be portrayed as a Republican so he can sinch the next election, it’s not going to work. He would be assuming, like other Democrats, that the American people are stupid and can’t see through tricks like that. But they can and they will. Also, Americans have learned how to recall candidates and have exercising this ability as well so if Van Drew isn’t what he says he is, people will know it and they’ll call him out on it first, then take him down.

According to Fox News,

Van Drew — who has spent months criticizing fellow Democrats for their push to impeach Trump — met with Trump on Friday to discuss going across party lines. He is one of only two Democrats who voted against opening an impeachment inquiry into Trump and has remained a fervent voice in opposition to impeaching the president.

…

The news of Van Drew’s possible party flip drew harsh criticism from Democrats, who called it a political move aimed at turning around his flagging approval numbers in New Jersey’s 2nd Congressional District.

A recent internal poll conducted for the Democrats found that 58 percent of primary voters in his district wanted to nominate another candidate, while only 28 percent said Van Drew should be renominated.

While other Democrats have sought to blame Van Drew’s looming exit from the party on low approval ratings, critics claim that it has more to do with the upcoming vote on impeaching President Trump. The full House is expected to vote on articles of impeachment this upcoming week and Van Drew has been an adamant detractor of the process from the start.