Former Republican Rep. David Jolly: ‘I’ve Left The Party And I’m Not Going Back’
During an interview with MSNBC broadcast on Saturday, former Republican Congressman David Jolly said that he will never go back to the GOP, Raw Story reported.
Anchor Ali Velshi opened the discussion by asking about the Serve America Movement (SAM), Jolly’s political organization. The former congressman explained that SAM is a group of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents who want to jointly address the most pressing issues in the nation.
Jolly, who represented Florida in the House of Representatives, said that “most of my fellow Never Trump Republicans will go right back to being a Republican when Donald Trump is gone.”
“I’m not. I’ve left the party and I’m not going back, but I also feel liberated by rejecting partisanship, and I’m not ready to pick up the blue jersey, if you will, the ideological blue jersey.”
According to Jolly, even though a large percentage of voters care about political ideology, a lot of them “just want a government that works, that appeals to a cross-partisan coalition.” The former congressman suggested that his organization could fill that vacuum and pointed to the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Jolly argued that it was not only Trump that bungled the response to the pandemic, but also the United States Congress, which is why there is room for a coalition focused on creating a competent government.
“It was a missed opportunity by an unfit administration and the distracted Congress. It wasn’t missed intelligence. We need better. SAM hopes to fill that gap,” he said.
Polling suggests that Republican voters are not interested in projects such as Jolly’s. According to Gallup, President Donald Trump‘s approval rating among Republicans is remarkably high. In April, for instance, 93 percent of Republicans approved of Trump’s job performance. The president is not nearly as popular among Democrats and independent voters.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic Party’s presumptive presidential nominee, is reportedly interested in forming a coalition with Republicans opposed to Trump. Biden is allegedly holding secret talks with prominent “Never Trump” Republicans and his campaign is working on creating a “Republicans for Biden” movement.
Jolly is reportedly being talked about as one of the potential members of the group. Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael, conservative pundit Bill Kristol, and political analyst Charlie Sykes have all reportedly expressed interest in joining the yet-undefined group. However, some anti-Trump Republicans seem to be skeptical about the Biden campaign’s ability to manage such an organization.
The 2020 presidential election appears to be a close race, with Biden and Trump virtually tied in most national polls.
