PRESS RELEASE: Congressman Van Drew's Statement on Surfaced Videos of Governor Murphy's Vaccine Mandate Stance

Congressman Jeff Van Drew issued a statement this morning regarding the recent recordings that surfaced alleging that Governor Phil Murphy plans on mandating vaccines following the upcoming election. His statement follows:

Today, Congressman Van Drew issued the following statement on recent recordings that surfaced alleging that Governor Phil Murphy plans on mandating vaccines following the upcoming election. 

"If Governor Murphy truly cared about the health of New Jersey residents and believed that vaccine mandates could keep our community safe, he would implement the mandates now, not after the election," said Congressman Van Drew. "This is clearly a political move; he knows Democrats are losing momentum across the country. People are tired - they are tired of government overreach; they are tired of being told what they can and cannot do. Governor Murphy realizes he cannot win an election if he continues inserting himself in individuals' personal health decisions.

"COVID cases are decreasing, states are opening back up, and the decision by Governor Murphy to wait until after the election to impose vaccine mandates is nothing short of a political maneuver. Governor Murphy is fully aware that his policies are unpopular amongst undecided and independent voters, and now he is doing everything he can to maintain power. A Governor has the responsibility of the safety and well-being of his residents, and this revelation proves that Governor Murphy is acting disingenuous. If he was concerned about public safety, he would mandate vaccines now, and not wait until he's guaranteed four more years in office. We must always put our constituents first, and this game Governor Murphy is playing indicates that New Jerseyans are not his number one priority." 

Murphy And Friends Use Damage Caused By Storms For Political Purposes

Phil Murphy

No one can deny that the storms caused by the remnants of Ida coming through Jersey were horrible. It didn’t matter, South Jersey or North Jersey, it was bad. I have a friend in the north who lost everything to flooding. Living in Gloucester County, not far from where the tornado touched down I know others who lost everything.

Fortunately, possessions can be replaced…eventually.

Friends, neighbors, perfect strangers are all pulling together to help those in need. It’s heartwarming to see.

But…

What really angers me is that Governor Phil Murphy and his Democrat friends, in both North and South Jersey, wasted no time in playing politics with the damage caused by the storms.

In South Jersey the Guv went the extra mile to play politics. Most of the storm damage, and where the tornado touched down, was in the Second Congressional District, but Murphy made sure to drag the Democrat First District Congressman, Donald Norcross, along with him. It’s a safe bet team Murphy didn’t bother inviting Congressman Jeff Van Drew, the member of Congress who actually represents the area. That’s what a real leader would have done.

Not only that, Murphy dragged the Third Legislative District trio of Senate President Steve Sweeney, Assemblyman John Burzichelli and Assemblyman Adam Taliaferro along for his South Jersey press conference in Mullica Hill. Problem is Mullica Hill lies in the Fifth Legislative District. I suspect suspect Murphy didn’t put the LD5 legislators front and center because the trio lives in Camden County and couldn’t find Mullica Hill with a GPS.

To add insult to injury everyone, all Democrats, took the opportunity to blame climate change.

In the South, according to Politico, Murphy, Norcross and Sweeney all “talked about climate change,” from the Politico article:

Murphy said he spoke during the storm to state Senate President Steve Sweeney, who joined the governor and Rep. Donald Norcross (D-N.J.) on a tour of damaged homes in Gloucester County.

Sweeney and Norcross, who have spent much of their lives in South Jersey, marveled in horror at the damage from tornadoes, which they said were largely unheard of in the past.

“What we see behind us is change,” Norcross said during Thursday’s press conference.

The three elected officials — all Democrats — talked about climate change and getting more money to the state from the Biden administration’s infrastructure plans.

In North Jersey Congressman Tom Malinowski made sure to blame flooding on climate change.

It’s not my intent to debate climate change in this post, but I will say over in Pennsylvania all the talk has been about the Schuylkill River and flooding. The river, according to 6ABC crested at 16.35 feet, meaning the record of 17 feet still stands.

The Schuylkill River’s all-time record of 17 feet was in 1869, 17 years before Carl Benz invented the car.

Was the flooding in 1869 caused by climate change too? Did the politicians use that flooding for political purposes? Probably not!

Episode 143

This past Saturday the Bob & Steve Show broadcast live on Crusin 92.1 FM on location at Crust N Krumbs Bakery, the winner of our first ever South Jersey Bakery Donut Review. We were honored to present Ann, the owner, with a plaque for winning our review. We were happy for Ann that we were joined by Congressman Jeff Van Drew, state Senator Michael Testa, Assemblyman Antwan McClellan, Cumberland County Commissioner Doug Albrecht and Vineland City Councilman Paul Spinelli who presented her with proclamations, commendations and citations for winning the review and her dedication to the community.

If you missed the 143rd episode of the Bob & Steve Show live on Crusin’ 92.1 FM you can listen to it or download it here. For those who prefer to listen live and live outside our broadcast area you can listen on TuneIn or at wvlt.com Saturday mornings from 8:00-10:00.

As always, you can listen to any of our past shows on the Radio Shows page.