Rep. Van Drew invites Manchin into Republican Party amid Dems' criticism: The GOP 'cares about America'

Congressman Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., praised the Republican Party on "America's Newsroom," welcoming his colleague on the opposite side of the political aisle to switch parties and follow in his footsteps. Rep. Van Drew told Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino on Tuesday the Democratic Party isn't what it used to be, and he is happy to have made the switch as reports claim Manchin is mulling the change. 

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JEFF VAN DREW: The party has changed in so many ways. So for me, and again, parallel examples: It was impeachment, but it was many other things. It was the constant berating of the president, the lack of any bipartisanship, not giving us any information on the Republican side, which bothered me a lot because I don't think that's the way government should run. And then the final straw was impeachment, which was not constitutional. It wasn't being done properly. It was the wrong thing to do, and there was no cause for impeachment period, and I said, I wouldn't do it. I was not going to vote for it. Just like Joe Manchin said, he's not going to vote for this bill. And of course, you know, I was pushed and squeezed and pressed because they didn't like the way that it looked. And what I was saying before, to me, I'm happy as all to get out. I belong in the Republican Party. It's a party that... No party is perfect, but does care about America, cares about our future and does not want to make us a socialist, Marxist state. 

…The changes in this Democratic Party now are so remarkable and not in a good way, literally, and Build Back Better as an example of it. It would literally change the very structure of our nation in many ways. It's bad stuff. Federalizing elections… All that this new Democratic Party wants to do has nothing to do with the party that used to have Blue Dogs in it, that used to be the big tent, that used to allow people to individually think. 

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