Rep. Max Rose (D-NY) said people “hate the Democrats” for beating around the bush when it comes to the policies and positions they support.
Rose himself recently flip-flopped on opposing the House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry after coming out against the investigation.
The New York Democrat lawmaker spoke about his party in an interview published Tuesday by Vanity Fair magazine.
Vanity Fair described the congressman, a former U.S. military veteran who served in Afghanistan, as a straight shooter who “lacks all pretense.”
“Rose is sick of politicians who jump on bandwagons such as the Green New Deal or Medicare for All, only to prevaricate when push comes to shove,” Vanity Fair reported.
“You can’t sign on to that [Green New Deal and Medicare for All] and then say that you are against parts of it,” Rose told the magazine. “Try to present that to folks that are here or anyone that we met today. You know? They will see right through you. That is why people hate the Democrats.”
Rose indicated to the magazine that both parties have failed to keep their promises to their constituents. However, the self-described “populist” added that voters “don’t trust Democrats as far as they can throw them.”
“Instead of trying to understand their constituents, Rose argues, too many Democrats end up patronizing them. They pander during elections, then abandon voters when they get to Washington,” Vanity Fair pointed out.
Last year, Rose became the second Democrat in decades to win the seat in New York’s pro-Trump 11th district. The New York Democrat now represents a district that President Trump won by ten percentage points in 2016. He won the election by painting him as an outsider.
“I have zero allegiance to the Democratic Party, zero,” the freshman lawmaker told Vanity Fair.
On Monday, protesters flooded the New York Democrat’s office over his newfound support of the impeachment inquiry, dismissed by the White House as a “partisan and unconstitutional” investigation.
“It shouldn’t be something that anyone wants to do,” Rose told Vanity Fair, referring to his support of the investigation.
Democrat leaders in the House are carrying out an impeachment inquiry devoid of the recognized standards governing similar efforts in the past, namely those involving Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has refused to hold a full House vote on authorizing an impeachment inquiry. During the Nixon and Clinton administrations, lawmakers did hold a vote.
Trump’s supporters in Congress argue that such a vote is necessary to legitimize the investigation per the recognized standards of previous impeachment efforts.
Not all of the 235 members of the House Democratic Caucus support the impeachment inquiry. Democrat lawmakers who represent Republican-leaning or Trump-friendly districts have come out against the investigation.
According to a tally by the New York Times, ten Democrat House lawmakers oppose the impeachment inquiry.
Internal polling suggests a storm is brewing for vulnerable Democrats in key congressional districts.
Polling by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) shows most voters do not consider Trump’s phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart an impeachable offense.
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