NY Dem Lawmaker: I'm Siding With GOP Until Schumer Restores 'Sanity and Honesty' to His Party
A longtime Democratic New York state legislator declared on Thursday that he will support the Republican Party until Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer can “restore sanity and honesty” to the “hard left” Democrat Party.
State Assemblyman Dov Hikind of Brooklyn slammed Schumer’s attacks on President Donald Trump’s “hard right agenda,” which were part of a fundraising appeal by the top Senate Democrat.
“Senator Schumer, in your letter you promise to fight for Democratic values and go on at great length to fully villainize the current administration, but you left out certain facts that my fellow Democrats, to say nothing of all Americans, should also be aware of,” Hikind wrote in a Facebook post.
The lawmaker pointed to the booming economy; the low unemployment rate, including all-time record lows for minorities; economic confidence at a 17-year-high; and the energy dominance of the U.S.
Democrat Hikind responds to Schumer’s plea for donations with ‘Hell No!’
Counters slam non ‘hard right agenda’ with uncomfortable truths about ‘hard left’ https://t.co/En61esBjZJ pic.twitter.com/NknWc4VtUA
— Dov Hikind (@HikindDov) July 5, 2018
Hikind added that the Trump tax cuts are benefiting tens of millions of middle-class Americans.
Hikind, who is of Jewish descent, also lauded the Trump administration’s decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and the current “remarkable relationship” between Israel and the United States.
Additionally, he praised the president’s decision to remove the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal.
“You ask for a contribution, but the Democratic Party — which I am a lifelong member of — is currently betraying the ideals that our party once stood for: American values,” wrote Hikind.
He continued, “You yourself proposed that Representative Ellison head the party, but you must surely know that Ellison has stood with our nation’s leading hate monger Louis Farrakhan.”
The assemblyman concluded, “Senator Schumer, as a fellow Democrat, I ask you to work to restore sanity and honesty to our party so I can feel good about supporting it fully. Until then, I’m afraid the Republicans have my support.”
Hikind, who is not seeking re-election, has not been afraid to break with party ranks in the past.
In 1994, he endorsed Republican George Pataki over Democrat Mario Cuomo, who narrowly lost his bid to serve a fourth term as the Empire State’s governor.
Hikind also backed George W. Bush, Sen. John McCain, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney over their Democrat opponents for president.
The lawmaker cited former President Barack Obama’s lack of support for Israel as a reason he could not get behind his candidacy.
Trump carried Hikind’s Brooklyn district with 69 percent of the vote in 2016 to Hillary Clinton’s 28 percent.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
