Sen. John Fetterman campaigned as a progressive. In his U.S. Senate run, he first dethroned incumbent Conor Lamb in the Democratic primary and then overcame a stroke to defeat the GOP's Mehmet Oz. "Help us take this progressive momentum to the ballot box," he once wrote. While pitching a profile in The Atlantic, he posted that "progressive rhetoric is great but progressive results are 💯". In one tweet he described himself as a "progressive champion." "My dude, I'm a progressive democrat," he admonished Jeb Bush. "Progressive. Simple. Sacred," he said. "Progressive values have been the heart of my campaign." He promised to be "a solid progressive backstop for PA" and talked of his "progressive vision" for the state. In another: "we have started a progressive movement here in Pennsylvania. It's not going away."
Alas, it is going away. Today Fetterman declared "I'm not a progressive" in an interview with NBC News, explaining why he is turning right on immigration, Israel, and other matters in the news.
"For a lot of Republicans, it's been a pleasant surprise," said Christopher Nicholas, a longtime GOP strategist based in Pennsylvania, referring to Fetterman's stances on Israel, border policy and Menendez.
Fetterman's wife was an undocumented immigrant, and became well-known—and a frequent target for abuse from the right—after keeping his campaign running while he was unwell.
If he doesn't curtsy quite so elegantly as Kyrsten, they do share a taste for fast fashion in the U.S. Senate. I'm sure everyone is looking forward to the big fella's future interests in the contents of school libraries, what bathrooms go with which genitals, and the perfectly moderate number of weeks for an abortion ban.
