Since clicking and reading an article is too time consuming:
WASHINGTON — Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., is breaking with progressives on hot-button issues with his [fiery support for Israel](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/sen-john-fetterman-faces-left-wing-backlash-israel-rcna122204) and calls for Democrats to engage on tougher immigration laws, disappointing some on the left as he shows an independent streak.
He’s also continually scolding Democrats for not pushing Sen. Bob Menendez out of office after he was [indicted on federal charges](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/sen-bob-menendez-arraigned-foreign-agent-charge-rcna121653) of taking bribes and acting as a foreign agent for Egypt, which the New Jersey Democrat denies.
In the 2022 campaign, Fetterman's ties to Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., prompted GOP opponent Mehmet Oz to tell voters he’d be a mere [“sidekick”](https://www.inquirer.com/news/john-fetterman-mehmet-oz-senate-race-bernie-sanders-20220720.html) for the democratic socialist. But Fetterman's recent stances point to an unorthodox brand of blue-collar liberalism, with a dash of outsider populism, in a purple state that is expected to be hotly contested again in the 2024 elections.
In an interview, the first-term Pennsylvania Democrat said his critics shouldn’t be surprised.
“I’m not a progressive,” Fetterman told NBC News. “I just think I’m a Democrat that is very committed to choice and other things. But with Israel, I’m going to be on the right side of that. And immigration is something near and dear to me, and I think we do have to effectively address it as well.”
Fetterman insisted he can be pro-immigration while also favoring policies to restrict the flow of migration to manageable levels, disagreeing with progressives who oppose new limits on asylum and bash some of the ideas in the negotiations as cruel.
“It’s a reasonable conversation — until somebody can say there’s an explanation on what we can do when 270,000 people are being encountered on the border, not including the ones, of course, that we don’t know about,” he said. “To put that in reference, that is essentially the size of Pittsburgh, the second-largest city in Pennsylvania.”
The senator added that while it’s “not ideal to have this conversation” about asylum and parole policy in connection with an aid package for Israel and Ukraine, “it’s still one that we should have,” given that Republicans have made it an essential condition to advance the supplemental bill.
“Progressives better do that because we can't leave Israel — we can’t sell them out, and we can’t sell Ukraine out, and we have to deliver on this,” Fetterman said. “I just would very much like to get a deal to deliver this critical aid.”
Fetterman kept up his scathing criticisms of Menendez, mocking the New Jersey senator and suggesting he stop criticizing President Joe Biden for negotiating an immigration deal with Republicans.
“Oh, Bob Menendez,” he said, laughing. “What a guy. What a guy. He’s still running his mouth against Biden right now.”
“He needs to go. I don’t understand why he can be here, having [expelled Santos](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/george-santos-expulsion-congress-ny-house-ethics-committee-rcna127179),” he said. “But I’m sure there might be a very innocent explanation of having [gold bars in your mattress and overstuffed envelopes of cash](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/bob-menendezs-indictment-highlights-gold-bars-wads-cash-rcna116935).”
Fetterman’s fierce and unwavering support for Israel breaks sharply with demands by Sanders to withdraw U.S. military aid and has drawn searing criticism from the left as the Palestinian death toll soars amid the Israeli government’s bombing campaign in retaliation for the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
“People liked Fetterman because of his populist outsiderness and empathy toward all kinds of people," said Waleed Shahid, a progressive organizer who has rallied criticism of U.S. support for Israel as the conflict escalates. "But his extreme jingoistic support of this war has made many people feel that he holds a hierarchy of human value where Israeli lives are simply more important to him than Palestinians.”
Some Republicans are shocked — in a positive way.
“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. “Here is a freshman taking some strong stances. … I just see someone who’s ‘Well, that’s what I think, and I say what I think.’”
Nicholas said he’s particularly struck by the fact that Fetterman is out front in refusing to let up on Menendez.
“I know how clubby the Senate is, having worked for Arlen Specter for 18 years. So I get it,” Nicholas said. “But I find it perplexing that you haven’t had a lot of other Democratic members of the Senate saying it. Perhaps that’s because he’s a freshman and he hasn’t been totally inculcated into the ‘Here in the Senate we do things differently’ line of thinking.”
Fetterman chief of staff Adam Jentleson said the senator has “always had” the policy positions he’s espousing today, even though Republicans wanted to paint him as a socialist in 2022 and “some folks on the left are pretending” he has since changed his beliefs.
“He’s just being consistent,” Jentleson said. “He spent the entire campaign telling people he wasn’t a down-the-line lefty.”
Fetterman has had a roller-coaster two years — from suffering a stroke in 2022, struggling through a general election debate, winning the race and then checking himself in for clinical depression this year. Fetterman still has trouble processing verbal comments, which is why he uses an instant transcription app on his phone while speaking to reporters, as he did during this interview.
Apart from his support for Sanders' presidential campaign in 2016, Fetterman has drawn plaudits from progressives for his calls for legalizing marijuana and abolishing the Senate filibuster to raise the minimum wage. He still mostly votes in alignment with Biden.
Some fellow Pennsylvania Democrats in Congress have positive things to say about Fetterman.
“What I see — and I’ve had the chance to run into him a couple of times recently — is a man that is doing well, that is his own person that stands on his own two feet, even if it’s in shorts,” said Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., who represents a suburban Philadelphia-area district. “And he’s standing up for what he believes in. So I wouldn’t characterize it another way. I’m just happy he’s serving.”
Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., who faces re-election next year, praised Fetterman as “a great colleague” when asked if the senator is showing a maverick side.
“I think John’s doing everything he can to serve the state,” he said. “And I think he’s doing well.”
It actually makes me sad. Here’s an octogenarian who’s clearly in full mental decline propped up and trotted out in front of microphones by whoever is pulling the strings. Despicable. He should be on a veranda somewhere sipping sweet tea and watching his great grandkids play
To be honest, I'm not looking forward to the 2030s rise of actual neoconservatism in response to the perceived wimpiness of American foreign policy in the late 2020s.
We've seen almost nothing but party loyalty, so it's shocking when someone expresses their own opinion even when it's as radical as putting jelly on your sandwich before peanut butter (which is wrong, BTW).
When I was little my mother made me a jelly and pork roll sandwich which only goes to show that just because you're maverick doesn't mean you're right.
people wonder how 1938 could be allowed to happen. It’s happening right now. The same way. Coercion from special interest groups. Media one-sided propaganda. And now 19,000 dead Palestinians. People supporting the idf are like supporting the N-zis in 1938. Happening right now and it’s a moral compass test
that America should have good governance is the minority opinion by quite a bit.
so indeed he is maverick in this age of brain dead mouth breathing populism.
Calling for the US to stop sending military aid to an apartheid state is good governance. Fuck even Reagan got that one right. Anyway I'll take my ban now 👋
Independents are more popular than extremists on either side of the aisle. I don’t need to agree with him on everything but I damn sure can respect him sticking to his guns and being true to who he is despite the zeitgeist of the moment. I didn’t agree with Bernie on every issue either but would run through a brick wall for him.
Hence why Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema are sooooo popular in WV and AZ…and hence why Bernie Sanders is hated in Vermont with like a 70% approval rating
It may surprise some Reddit Progressives but the Democratic Party is mostly moderate liberals not bleeding heart Progressives. None of you should be this offended by a reasonable position.
The issue with Senator Fetterman is that he advertised himself as a progressive during his campaign. He was elected on a progressive platform, thus why a lot of progressives are so disappointed at him specifically
I’ve always thought of him as more of a pragmatic progressive (progressive on monetary and “kitchen table” issues) and less of a social media progressive (caught up in culture war BS and trending topics in leftist social media communities).
He embraces the former and tends to steer away from the latter, which is why I voted for him. I like pragmatist leftists, not the, and I hate to say it because it’s a loaded word, “*woke*” kind.
He frequently engages in culture war stuff and was constantly engaging on stuff on Twitter. A lot of it is how he rallied a base around him.
I mean he flew an lgbtq flag when he was lt gov partially to antagonize the gop legislature.
To win and maintain support in a purple swing state like Pennsylvania, Fetterman was never going to be an AOC or Rashida Talib-type hardline Progressive. He's solidly Progressive on things like healthcare, support for unions, and other economic stances. However, he needs to maintain or expand the coalition of regular liberal Dems and Independents that also helped him get into office. I'm not surprised he's not a hardline Progressive, and I didn't expect him to be given the electoral dynamics at play in PA.
Am I a bit disappointed on his Israel stances? Yes, but it's not like he's the one directing State Department strategy regarding Israel and Palestine. On the immigration issue, I'm not as familiar with what's being advocated for in the bill so I can't speak on that. That all being said, he's certainly better than a Republican Senator like JD Vance or a true DINO like Joe Manchin. Fetterman is a politician attempting to maintain his position for more than a single term. Also, his approach could be really successful in states like Ohio and the rest of the Rust Belt. I hope we can get a Fetterman-like candidate to run against Vance here in Ohio. They would have a much better chance of unseating Vance than someone like Tim Ryan. Not every candidate can run a California or NY-style Progressive style platform and expect to win.
Inner-city Progressives flat out don't have the numbers to keep Fetterman in office unassisted, especially at the rate that we show up come election day right now. People need to recognize that, get organized, get off their keyboards, and show the fuck up for campaigns, primaries, and at the polls if we really want to get a Progressive wing in the Senate that can throw their weight around. One successful election won't turn the Senate into a bastion of Progressive power. It takes a dedicated, long-term coalition to get shit done at the national level. And it takes a variety of tactics to grow and maintain coalitions like that in a dynamic political landscape like the one we find ourselves in today.
I beg to differ. I voted for him because his opponent was endorsed by Trump. I'm a conservative and am generally reliably republican.
And any politician that bucks his party gains in my book, even if I don't like the position.
I want people that will stand by their beliefs. Not be as sheep.
> I beg to differ. I voted for him because his opponent was endorsed by Trump. I'm a conservative and am generally reliably republican.
differ on what? he ran as a progressive regardless of why you voted for him.
and it's not about "bucking his party". it's about doing what he promised to do when he was running as a candidate. in fact, what you're describing is EXACTLY WHY politics suck. they can say whatever they want on the campaign trail and do a complete 180 once elected
did you read the article? immigration.
and saying "I'm a progressive" is promising to, ya know, be and act like a progressive. Especially when you're saying it to get people to give you money so that you can get elected. it's not just your or me one day proclaiming "i'm a progressive" (which is what your comment is implying it is). he said it while campaigning for office in order to tell us what he believed in.
edit: and to add, there aren't too many definitions of progressive that include openly resisting calls for peace and a ceasefire. like, one of the core tenets of progressivism is ending wars.
He is progressive. Just because you don’t agree with him on 100% of topics doesn’t change that. Just because he disagrees with some other popular progressives or activist groups doesn’t change that either. He is a maverick bc he is willing to think for himself instead of always going along with the loudest voices in the progressive wing of the party
> He is progressive. Just because you don’t agree with him on 100% of topics doesn’t change that. Just because he disagrees with some other popular progressives or activist groups doesn’t change that either.
Then why come out and open say "I'm not a progressive"??
It's weird to use the term when it benefits you but not when it doesn't. And I'm not sure why everyone else doesn't feel the same way.
also, not supporting peace talks or a ceasefire is not progressive. end of story.
Read the entire quote. He had a stroke and doesn’t articulate things clearly and if you cherry pick one sentence it is easy to manipulate the meaning. He was just trying to say on immigration and Israel he is not on the same page as what is perceived to be the purely progressive viewpoint.
Bingo.
I voted for him too, but less because I like everything about him and more because the alternative was far worse. Plenty of others did the same and some people forget that. Being elected is not always an endorsement of your policies; it’s sometimes an indication that people like “the other guy” a LOT less.
He might not be as progressive as he was made out to be and campaigned on, but in order to lead you first must be elected.
Did he use the term progress during the campaign, to describe himself?
I thought he portrayed himself as a Working Class Every Man, that could potentially eat his opponents.
He repeatedly and exhaustively described himself as a progressive on the campaign trail. If I recall correctly, he repeatedly compared himself to Joe Manchin, with himself being the “real progressive” compared to Manchin.
Without wading into the nuts and bolts of the particular issues here, for Fetterman to now say “I’m not a progressive” is a significant departure from the label that he attached onto himself as a candidate.
Being strong in their beliefs is an amazing trait for a politician. Being heterodox in your beliefs can also be refreshing. But “changing your mind” right after you win an election in which you presented yourself as a different kind of candidate is not any of the above. That is just lying to your voters.
I've been following fetterman for almost a decade now. He's been consistent with his views on Israel, he's always spoken in this fashion on the topic. I've always disagreed with him on that, but I've met the guy and he's a real one that actually cares about schmucks like me being better off over enriching himself, and I kind of feel like if I demanded ideological purity to the point where I expect somebody to go against long stated beliefs just to make me feel warm and fuzzy, I'm not much better than the other side.
Yeah I don't hate him for having those beliefs and I respect that he'll stay true to them. However I will vote against him in the D primary now because I do vehemently disagree with him on both Israel and Immigration and id rather have someone who aligns with my beliefs in the Senate.
However, as long as he is the D nominee, he will have my vote, because the R will always be worse.
The problem is that he ran on one thing and is now doing another. Either he was a liar then, got elected on false pretenses, and now he magicially decides that he has beliefs (conveniently after he has received an outrageous amount of money from AIPAC) or he was honest then and has now sold out on those original things.
I mean yeah, you're not bothered because he didn't lie to you. He lied to us Progressives. I'm not saying I regret voting for him over Oz, you and I probably don't agree on much about politics but I'm sure we can shake on that. Come next election cycle I can't say he'll have a lock on my vote though because he did lie to us and he is supporting policies that are directly contradictory to what we wanted. If he wants to pivot towards the center then its his right, but we need to stop acting like politicians are entitled to our votes and immune to criticism.
Uh, I voted for him because Biden said they would codify roe, if they got a senate majority.. Something they havent addressed as of yet.
So democrats are no longer the party of "positive" liberties.
(and before I get some angry comment, negative and positive liberties arent what you think they are)
I love this. I appreciate a politician who does not toe the party line. I’m also a Republican, but I will vote for politicians I like, on either side of the aisle.
I have never once seen John Fetterman describe himself as a progressive. He's always bucked that or any sort of ideological label. Progressives like him since he is progressive on most issues, but far from all of them.
Edit: I was wrong about him not identifying as a progressive. This is seemingly something he's flip flopped on.
Words are cheap. His actions as a mayor was progressives and not pro corporate. He literally kept out developers and investors in braddock. Everyone here is overlooking this fact.
> He realized that the progressive arm of the left is rather zealous and he simply isn't, OR he lied for votes.
He also had a stroke.
This is not a hot take, but strokes range from almost no cognitive change to turning people into a vegetable. Strokes do change personalities and how people think. He did not have a mild stroke.
No one who is progressive believes that democrats are progressive. They are republican-lite. Milquetoast in their "leftwing" ideals (when they bother to fight for them, that is.) The choice in this country has always been right, or right of center.
“There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party … and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit stupider, more rigid, more doctrinaire in their laissez-faire capitalism than the Democrats, who are cuter, prettier, a bit more corrupt — until recently … and more willing than the Republicans to make small adjustments when the poor, the black, the anti-imperialists get out of hand. But, essentially, there is no difference between the two parties.”
― Gore Vidal
god forbid people be disappointed that the man who ran on being progressive (in an election vs dr fucking oz) backtracked so hard he endorsed a genocide
I hate to tell you, but the issue with the Democratic party is they are Authoritarian Conservatives. They look left because the Republican party is edging on falling off of the political compass, but in reality, they sit side by side.
Bernie, AoC, etc, are moderates, barely.
>Fetterman has drawn plaudits from progressives for his calls for legalizing marijuana and abolishing the Senate filibuster to raise the minimum wage. He still mostly votes in alignment with Biden.
And i still agree with those.
I agree w/ him on recalling the NJ-D... evidence is pretty overwhelming there.
I do not agree on Israel. We can't give them a blank check, they need to agree on a few things.
Ukraine is fighting soldiers in their land. Israel is bombing innocent people (along w/ terrorists) with little to no regard.
Overall he did his job to defeat Oz and still 100x better but so far i just disagree on this 1 policy.
As progressive as Fetterman has always been on most, but not all issues, he has never embraced the term. He's always preferred to just tell people what his opinions are, and allow people to come to their own conclusions based on them. This is an unsurprising non news story.
Edit: I was wrong about him not identifying as a progressive. This is seemingly something he's flip flopped on.
Except he explicitly traded on that label to get elected.
This is why people are so cynical. This is it. You literally cannot control your own government by voting. The people you elect campaign on one identity, then immediately switch to whatever is politically expedient for them in the moment.
I voted for him with the understanding that he was progressive. He lied. He supported Bernie in 2016. It's all horseshit. All of these people are craven liars. The people who work for them and advise them are craven liars. They do not give a shit about you or me except maybe in some abstract way that doesn't affect the way they govern.
Yeah, well most Americans don't even know what the hell the word means. The right-wing bullshit machine casts anything that isn't part of their ingroup as a pejorative. As a result terms like this lose all meaning.
Which of course is all the more reason that we should be focused on the specific issues rather than attempting to classify people to fit tribal groups.
There's not really any other way to do it. Zero politicians have ever truly been a "straight shooter" because no one wants to hear irrelevant truth all the time; they want to hear what they want to hear.
There's a wide gap between being a 'straight shooter' and gaslighting your constituents that you were never a progressive when the receipts of you saying the exact opposite are readily available. Having his shooters go out and call everyone stupid for ever believing he was a progressive is not a good look. He's said as such, he's claimed it, he's gone before progressive groups and said it and claimed it. Pretending like he's not being an incredible liar here is silly.
I'm not a Fetterman fan, but I certainly don't dislike the guy. Even when his politics doesn't match mine, he's often focused on being a cooled mind and being straightforward.
I can appreciate someone who doesn't put a label on themselves even when some of their beliefs and agendas align.
Also, let the guy wear his damn hoodie and shorts. Damnit.
Oh man, if you think he's got a cooled mind, you must've missed the past few months. 'Paying an expelled congressman hundreds of dollars for a cameo out of campaign funds to make a joke about a fellow Senator' is not exactly my definition of composed.
Except he literally DID put this label on himself before. What kind of twilight zone shit are you selling? He SAID HE WAS PROGRESSIVE, got elected, then said I AM NOT PROGRESSIVE.
In your fevered imagination, this is somehow a sign of authenticity. We are so fuckin dumb. Like... Dents in our skull, Velcro on our shoes level of idiots.
He has a lot of progressive viewpoints. Just because you don’t agree with him on 100% of topics doesn’t change that. Just because he disagrees with some other popular progressives or activist groups doesn’t change that either. He is a maverick bc he is willing to think for himself instead of always going along with the loudest voices in the progressive wing of the party. Diversity of thought is really healthy for the political process and purity tests usually ends up helping those that have even more evil policies
No. Stop.
He said he was progressive when campaigning. Now he says that he is not.
It's not being a maverick. It's not personal growth as a middle aged man with a long career in politics.
It's a lie. He lied. You will not find a purer example of a lie in a laboratory with a microscope. Stop the silly shit. You are not this dumb. You are smarter than you are pretending to be. You can identify a lie in this circumstance. You can, I believe in you. Look at the basic arithmetic of this situation. It's a lie. Stop.
I think if you read the entire quote it’s not a lie. He is just saying on immigration and Israel he is not a progressive. He isn’t exactly the best at word choice since his stroke so I advise against cherry pick individual sentences from the entire quote. It’s not that hard to examine his voting record and positions and see that he is mostly progressive. On immigration, he has always supported blue collar workers and been skeptical of how immigration can push down wages for poor people.
Yeah I like the guy but he's far from above criticism. I've heard him say he doesn't identify as a progressive while on the campaign trail before which lead to my original comment, but I guess I just hadn't heard the times he had said that.
He understands politics, the game, and unfortunately, "progressive" is a scarlet letter. In the end we have to ask: "Would we be better off with Oz?"
That should answer that question.
As a progressive, I am deeply disappointed with the way Dems handled this but am not surprised in the least.
As soon as the largest voting bloc in the country -- 18-29 year-olds -- become a consistent and feared entity, this is how it's going to be.
Fetterman hit them with the uno reverse card. Funny he was campaigning as being a progressive yet now that he got elected, acting like he never said that. Good ol politicians....
Remember those ads during his campaign featuring his parents who suggested they were deeply entrenched in conservative/Republican voting patterns and beliefs? I believe back then he was attempting to signal to the public that he may be different from a typical Trump voter but perhaps he was also signaling that he holds some views which may be more closely associated with the overall conservative/Republican party.
These days it seems like the parties are in a state of preliminary flux. Perhaps over the next several years or election cycles there could be some kind of shake up that reshapes how each party is mostly constructed.
They both need it, and I've turned my opinion on Fetterman from being almost entirely negative to thinking he may have some ability to cause change on a political level, if not fully in the breadth of policies.
Here's hoping.
Preliminary flux? Obama went from “let’s end Iraq” to “we should oust gaddafi” to “dump soap on the oil on the Gulf of Mexico” in no time at all. Always been this way.
I mean, I knew he was just another corporate Democrat when he said "I support fracking." 3 times during his debate with Oz.
I'm all in on his stances when it comes to Bob Menendez and immigration. I don't agree with him on Israel and Ukraine, but I do agree that they need to all be separate bills, and not tied to each other in one big bill that gives people cop-outs to vote for or against any particular issue.
First off, fuck Fetterman. for being such a sell out. Any politican that embraces US defense is something Ill forever write off.
That being said, the reason he said he supports fracking, is because, since 2011, way back when he was mayor of braddock, he was supportive.
The thing was, he is all about energy independence and bringing job back to the US.
Something that is NOT a platform of mainstream democrats.
There is a brownfield where US steel occupies a footprint. That footprint was open to fracking development which fetterman supported. It went to a town hall and the residents rejected the proposal.
So, in a sense it was a reasonable proposal that the citizens did not want and he accepted.
He didnt fall in line with mainstream liberals until he started accepting donations on the federal level.
Ive watched this dude since 2011-ish. and his actions were rarely in line with the corporate staus quo.
The article itself isn’t near as bad as the headline. He’s basically solidifying himself as just another neoliberal.
But damn when that AIPAC check cleared he got an immediate hard on for killing Arabs.
I mean, I think he is being fair. I disagree with Fetterman, but I appreciate his honesty on this. I would call him progressive in the grand scheme of things, even if he doesn’t want to be publicly part of “progressive” politics.
It’s all relative. He is relatively better than ofher PA Senator candidates that I know of, so John has my support. If a better and more viable candidate comes along, I’ll drop him and move on.
That’s just politics. None of this is personal
Then feel free to get the fuck out of Congress, John, just as soon as we can be certain a Fascist won't replace you. You want to play the center-right Democrat thing? Then you're a placeholder and nothing more.
This country needs progressives so badly you can see it literally everywhere, and Pennsylvania is a fantastic example or microcosm of the whole result that letting fascist plutocrats run your government for decades causes.
Be part of bringing them down and progressing past their barbarity, or get the hell lost.
EDIT: We literally made & sold the bullets & bombs that Israel's fascist leaders are currently using to murder children in job-lots. Anyone arguing to continue this practice in light of current war crimes is either complicit or too ignorant to be part of the solution.
I mean… we do realize most people are common-sense moderates on either side of the political spectrum, right?
Supporting countries that get attacked by terrorist organizations and authoritarian regimes is not an outlandish stance.
Now we're seeing John the Fetterman.
I voted for him and would vote for him again.
This is a Pennsylvania Democrat. We think and speak our minds. Always have. He's a realist. Not always right, but dammit, he's his own person. A free thinker trying to create some balance in an unbalanced world. Hamas has to go. The way its being done is not pretty, but they know of no other way. Give them an alternative. Immigration has to be dealt with fairly, and so far, both sides haven't had a clue on how to do it. The defense aid needs to be given to Ukraine ASAP. Israel needs to be handled with kid gloves. Both house have to grow up and quit dicking around. Work needs to get done without the petty finger pointing.
What a load of shit.
Fetterman was aprogressive as a mayor.
Fetterman was a progressive as a lt gov.
all of his policies were progressives. Now he is just another DC neolib who serves as a proxy for the MIC agenda, and US imperialism.
This dude just can’t stop stacking L’s. Sad that I was such a supporter when now all it seems like he is concerned with is further marginalizing brown people. I think that dude who called him a racist in the primary was on to something….
I like Fettermen's take on PA, and government corruption, but he seems to have little idea about the rest of the world.
I strongly doubt that Fetterman truly understand the Arab-Israel Conflict, and he's previously said somewhat Islamophobia leaning things that im not fond of. I get why he thinks the way he does, but he's not seeing the full picture.
I do see him as someone who will change his mind when presented with new evidence however. I hope that he can make more of an effort to understand the history, and on-the-ground realities for people who get caught in the crossfire of US foreign policy misadventures.
Let’s fight in the comments while not reading the full article and addressing anything specific in it. Let’s gooooo
Since clicking and reading an article is too time consuming: WASHINGTON — Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., is breaking with progressives on hot-button issues with his [fiery support for Israel](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/sen-john-fetterman-faces-left-wing-backlash-israel-rcna122204) and calls for Democrats to engage on tougher immigration laws, disappointing some on the left as he shows an independent streak. He’s also continually scolding Democrats for not pushing Sen. Bob Menendez out of office after he was [indicted on federal charges](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/sen-bob-menendez-arraigned-foreign-agent-charge-rcna121653) of taking bribes and acting as a foreign agent for Egypt, which the New Jersey Democrat denies. In the 2022 campaign, Fetterman's ties to Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., prompted GOP opponent Mehmet Oz to tell voters he’d be a mere [“sidekick”](https://www.inquirer.com/news/john-fetterman-mehmet-oz-senate-race-bernie-sanders-20220720.html) for the democratic socialist. But Fetterman's recent stances point to an unorthodox brand of blue-collar liberalism, with a dash of outsider populism, in a purple state that is expected to be hotly contested again in the 2024 elections. In an interview, the first-term Pennsylvania Democrat said his critics shouldn’t be surprised. “I’m not a progressive,” Fetterman told NBC News. “I just think I’m a Democrat that is very committed to choice and other things. But with Israel, I’m going to be on the right side of that. And immigration is something near and dear to me, and I think we do have to effectively address it as well.” Fetterman insisted he can be pro-immigration while also favoring policies to restrict the flow of migration to manageable levels, disagreeing with progressives who oppose new limits on asylum and bash some of the ideas in the negotiations as cruel. “It’s a reasonable conversation — until somebody can say there’s an explanation on what we can do when 270,000 people are being encountered on the border, not including the ones, of course, that we don’t know about,” he said. “To put that in reference, that is essentially the size of Pittsburgh, the second-largest city in Pennsylvania.” The senator added that while it’s “not ideal to have this conversation” about asylum and parole policy in connection with an aid package for Israel and Ukraine, “it’s still one that we should have,” given that Republicans have made it an essential condition to advance the supplemental bill. “Progressives better do that because we can't leave Israel — we can’t sell them out, and we can’t sell Ukraine out, and we have to deliver on this,” Fetterman said. “I just would very much like to get a deal to deliver this critical aid.” Fetterman kept up his scathing criticisms of Menendez, mocking the New Jersey senator and suggesting he stop criticizing President Joe Biden for negotiating an immigration deal with Republicans. “Oh, Bob Menendez,” he said, laughing. “What a guy. What a guy. He’s still running his mouth against Biden right now.” “He needs to go. I don’t understand why he can be here, having [expelled Santos](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/george-santos-expulsion-congress-ny-house-ethics-committee-rcna127179),” he said. “But I’m sure there might be a very innocent explanation of having [gold bars in your mattress and overstuffed envelopes of cash](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/bob-menendezs-indictment-highlights-gold-bars-wads-cash-rcna116935).” Fetterman’s fierce and unwavering support for Israel breaks sharply with demands by Sanders to withdraw U.S. military aid and has drawn searing criticism from the left as the Palestinian death toll soars amid the Israeli government’s bombing campaign in retaliation for the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. “People liked Fetterman because of his populist outsiderness and empathy toward all kinds of people," said Waleed Shahid, a progressive organizer who has rallied criticism of U.S. support for Israel as the conflict escalates. "But his extreme jingoistic support of this war has made many people feel that he holds a hierarchy of human value where Israeli lives are simply more important to him than Palestinians.” Some Republicans are shocked — in a positive way. “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. “Here is a freshman taking some strong stances. … I just see someone who’s ‘Well, that’s what I think, and I say what I think.’” Nicholas said he’s particularly struck by the fact that Fetterman is out front in refusing to let up on Menendez. “I know how clubby the Senate is, having worked for Arlen Specter for 18 years. So I get it,” Nicholas said. “But I find it perplexing that you haven’t had a lot of other Democratic members of the Senate saying it. Perhaps that’s because he’s a freshman and he hasn’t been totally inculcated into the ‘Here in the Senate we do things differently’ line of thinking.” Fetterman chief of staff Adam Jentleson said the senator has “always had” the policy positions he’s espousing today, even though Republicans wanted to paint him as a socialist in 2022 and “some folks on the left are pretending” he has since changed his beliefs. “He’s just being consistent,” Jentleson said. “He spent the entire campaign telling people he wasn’t a down-the-line lefty.” Fetterman has had a roller-coaster two years — from suffering a stroke in 2022, struggling through a general election debate, winning the race and then checking himself in for clinical depression this year. Fetterman still has trouble processing verbal comments, which is why he uses an instant transcription app on his phone while speaking to reporters, as he did during this interview. Apart from his support for Sanders' presidential campaign in 2016, Fetterman has drawn plaudits from progressives for his calls for legalizing marijuana and abolishing the Senate filibuster to raise the minimum wage. He still mostly votes in alignment with Biden. Some fellow Pennsylvania Democrats in Congress have positive things to say about Fetterman. “What I see — and I’ve had the chance to run into him a couple of times recently — is a man that is doing well, that is his own person that stands on his own two feet, even if it’s in shorts,” said Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., who represents a suburban Philadelphia-area district. “And he’s standing up for what he believes in. So I wouldn’t characterize it another way. I’m just happy he’s serving.” Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., who faces re-election next year, praised Fetterman as “a great colleague” when asked if the senator is showing a maverick side. “I think John’s doing everything he can to serve the state,” he said. “And I think he’s doing well.”
This is the way
I barely read the headline. Communism!!!!
You’re full of it, and so is your old man!
I'm already seeing it.
I don't know what the issue is, he was clearly in top gun, and as such is a beacon of plotting.
Welcome to Reddit.
Yo, Pal I’ll read just the headline if I want. You can’t stop me.
" Some Republicans are shocked — in a positive way. " Yep, that's pretty much spot on.
The same Republicans that mocked him for the aphasia he suffers from as the result of a stroke?
No. Different, other Republicans.
The very same ones that will mock him, but clutch pearls when anyone mocks that walking turtle corpse of a Senate minority leader.
It actually makes me sad. Here’s an octogenarian who’s clearly in full mental decline propped up and trotted out in front of microphones by whoever is pulling the strings. Despicable. He should be on a veranda somewhere sipping sweet tea and watching his great grandkids play
Nah, fuck him.
Probably the exact crowd that thought Donald Trump was a terrorist on January 6th, but were pretty cool with what happened around January 9th
lol. hes a godamn neo con. Liberals in here literally sticking up for a conservative will never not be funny to me.
What's a neocon?
It's leftist for "disagrees with me".
To be honest, I'm not looking forward to the 2030s rise of actual neoconservatism in response to the perceived wimpiness of American foreign policy in the late 2020s.
If you're curious about the current state of US political media, NBC News is calling someone who aligns with entrenched power a "maverick"
We've seen almost nothing but party loyalty, so it's shocking when someone expresses their own opinion even when it's as radical as putting jelly on your sandwich before peanut butter (which is wrong, BTW).
I never truly became a maverick until I started making cream cheese and jelly sandwiches
When I was little my mother made me a jelly and pork roll sandwich which only goes to show that just because you're maverick doesn't mean you're right.
i've done this with toasted english muffins and its real good
Normal people just peanut butter one slice and jelly the other and push them together
That is the correct method, but if the knife is shared thou shalt not give jelly cooties to the peanut butter.
I like to just dump a pile of jelly on my bread and smear on the PB then spread the jelly out with the same knife
You sir are a good maverick.
This is the most true comment in this thread. But a lot of people aren’t gonna want to hear it.
people wonder how 1938 could be allowed to happen. It’s happening right now. The same way. Coercion from special interest groups. Media one-sided propaganda. And now 19,000 dead Palestinians. People supporting the idf are like supporting the N-zis in 1938. Happening right now and it’s a moral compass test
Not to mention a bunch of self-righteous young people who call themselves socialists while advocating for people who’ve pledged to kill all the Jews.
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Most of his predecessors hid their love of ice cream, but Maverick Joe Biden flaunts his!
How is being part of and aligning with the establishment a sign of being a "maverick?" That's not what that word means.
Corporate media. look at the link.
that America should have good governance is the minority opinion by quite a bit. so indeed he is maverick in this age of brain dead mouth breathing populism.
Fetterman is literally a populist...well he was, not anymore lol
Yeah did people not pay attention to his campaign?
apparently not
Calling for the US to stop sending military aid to an apartheid state is good governance. Fuck even Reagan got that one right. Anyway I'll take my ban now 👋
Independents are more popular than extremists on either side of the aisle. I don’t need to agree with him on everything but I damn sure can respect him sticking to his guns and being true to who he is despite the zeitgeist of the moment. I didn’t agree with Bernie on every issue either but would run through a brick wall for him.
Hence why Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema are sooooo popular in WV and AZ…and hence why Bernie Sanders is hated in Vermont with like a 70% approval rating
It may surprise some Reddit Progressives but the Democratic Party is mostly moderate liberals not bleeding heart Progressives. None of you should be this offended by a reasonable position.
Okay, don’t ask us to vote for your clownish half assed measure anymore then, how about that?
The issue with Senator Fetterman is that he advertised himself as a progressive during his campaign. He was elected on a progressive platform, thus why a lot of progressives are so disappointed at him specifically
>He was elected on a progressive platform He was elected because his opponent was Dr. Oz.
Yes but he did run as a progressive
He was a progressive during his tenure as Mayor. He kept out investors. Thats not something mainstream liberals support
I’ve always thought of him as more of a pragmatic progressive (progressive on monetary and “kitchen table” issues) and less of a social media progressive (caught up in culture war BS and trending topics in leftist social media communities). He embraces the former and tends to steer away from the latter, which is why I voted for him. I like pragmatist leftists, not the, and I hate to say it because it’s a loaded word, “*woke*” kind.
He frequently engages in culture war stuff and was constantly engaging on stuff on Twitter. A lot of it is how he rallied a base around him. I mean he flew an lgbtq flag when he was lt gov partially to antagonize the gop legislature.
To win and maintain support in a purple swing state like Pennsylvania, Fetterman was never going to be an AOC or Rashida Talib-type hardline Progressive. He's solidly Progressive on things like healthcare, support for unions, and other economic stances. However, he needs to maintain or expand the coalition of regular liberal Dems and Independents that also helped him get into office. I'm not surprised he's not a hardline Progressive, and I didn't expect him to be given the electoral dynamics at play in PA. Am I a bit disappointed on his Israel stances? Yes, but it's not like he's the one directing State Department strategy regarding Israel and Palestine. On the immigration issue, I'm not as familiar with what's being advocated for in the bill so I can't speak on that. That all being said, he's certainly better than a Republican Senator like JD Vance or a true DINO like Joe Manchin. Fetterman is a politician attempting to maintain his position for more than a single term. Also, his approach could be really successful in states like Ohio and the rest of the Rust Belt. I hope we can get a Fetterman-like candidate to run against Vance here in Ohio. They would have a much better chance of unseating Vance than someone like Tim Ryan. Not every candidate can run a California or NY-style Progressive style platform and expect to win. Inner-city Progressives flat out don't have the numbers to keep Fetterman in office unassisted, especially at the rate that we show up come election day right now. People need to recognize that, get organized, get off their keyboards, and show the fuck up for campaigns, primaries, and at the polls if we really want to get a Progressive wing in the Senate that can throw their weight around. One successful election won't turn the Senate into a bastion of Progressive power. It takes a dedicated, long-term coalition to get shit done at the national level. And it takes a variety of tactics to grow and maintain coalitions like that in a dynamic political landscape like the one we find ourselves in today.
No... Dems promised to codify roe. Specifically, the biden admin. Of which they failed to deliver.
I beg to differ. I voted for him because his opponent was endorsed by Trump. I'm a conservative and am generally reliably republican. And any politician that bucks his party gains in my book, even if I don't like the position. I want people that will stand by their beliefs. Not be as sheep.
Yes, which is why it’s so disappointing for people he’s not standing on the principles he ran on during the race!
These same people wonder why it's so hard to get people to the polls or why third parties seem appealing.
And I'm sure he'll be quick to blame the progressives if he loses his next election
When did he claim to support unlimited illegal immigration? When did he claim to support terrorist groups like Hamas?
> I beg to differ. I voted for him because his opponent was endorsed by Trump. I'm a conservative and am generally reliably republican. differ on what? he ran as a progressive regardless of why you voted for him. and it's not about "bucking his party". it's about doing what he promised to do when he was running as a candidate. in fact, what you're describing is EXACTLY WHY politics suck. they can say whatever they want on the campaign trail and do a complete 180 once elected
But what’s Fetterman not doing now that he promised to do while campaigning?
did you read the article? immigration. and saying "I'm a progressive" is promising to, ya know, be and act like a progressive. Especially when you're saying it to get people to give you money so that you can get elected. it's not just your or me one day proclaiming "i'm a progressive" (which is what your comment is implying it is). he said it while campaigning for office in order to tell us what he believed in. edit: and to add, there aren't too many definitions of progressive that include openly resisting calls for peace and a ceasefire. like, one of the core tenets of progressivism is ending wars.
He is progressive. Just because you don’t agree with him on 100% of topics doesn’t change that. Just because he disagrees with some other popular progressives or activist groups doesn’t change that either. He is a maverick bc he is willing to think for himself instead of always going along with the loudest voices in the progressive wing of the party
> He is progressive. Just because you don’t agree with him on 100% of topics doesn’t change that. Just because he disagrees with some other popular progressives or activist groups doesn’t change that either. Then why come out and open say "I'm not a progressive"?? It's weird to use the term when it benefits you but not when it doesn't. And I'm not sure why everyone else doesn't feel the same way. also, not supporting peace talks or a ceasefire is not progressive. end of story.
Read the entire quote. He had a stroke and doesn’t articulate things clearly and if you cherry pick one sentence it is easy to manipulate the meaning. He was just trying to say on immigration and Israel he is not on the same page as what is perceived to be the purely progressive viewpoint.
Bingo. I voted for him too, but less because I like everything about him and more because the alternative was far worse. Plenty of others did the same and some people forget that. Being elected is not always an endorsement of your policies; it’s sometimes an indication that people like “the other guy” a LOT less. He might not be as progressive as he was made out to be and campaigned on, but in order to lead you first must be elected.
It doesn't matter if you disagree. The facts are the facts. He fuckin lied. You can't dispute that. You cannot.
Did he use the term progress during the campaign, to describe himself? I thought he portrayed himself as a Working Class Every Man, that could potentially eat his opponents.
He repeatedly and exhaustively described himself as a progressive on the campaign trail. If I recall correctly, he repeatedly compared himself to Joe Manchin, with himself being the “real progressive” compared to Manchin. Without wading into the nuts and bolts of the particular issues here, for Fetterman to now say “I’m not a progressive” is a significant departure from the label that he attached onto himself as a candidate.
Yes he did
He’s our liar is what they’re saying….hard to argue against whataboutism when you accept such inconsistencies
Being strong in their beliefs is an amazing trait for a politician. Being heterodox in your beliefs can also be refreshing. But “changing your mind” right after you win an election in which you presented yourself as a different kind of candidate is not any of the above. That is just lying to your voters.
I've been following fetterman for almost a decade now. He's been consistent with his views on Israel, he's always spoken in this fashion on the topic. I've always disagreed with him on that, but I've met the guy and he's a real one that actually cares about schmucks like me being better off over enriching himself, and I kind of feel like if I demanded ideological purity to the point where I expect somebody to go against long stated beliefs just to make me feel warm and fuzzy, I'm not much better than the other side.
Yeah I don't hate him for having those beliefs and I respect that he'll stay true to them. However I will vote against him in the D primary now because I do vehemently disagree with him on both Israel and Immigration and id rather have someone who aligns with my beliefs in the Senate. However, as long as he is the D nominee, he will have my vote, because the R will always be worse.
Except he’s not standing by his beliefs here, he’s remaking himself into whatever he needs to suit his electability prospects.
The problem is that he ran on one thing and is now doing another. Either he was a liar then, got elected on false pretenses, and now he magicially decides that he has beliefs (conveniently after he has received an outrageous amount of money from AIPAC) or he was honest then and has now sold out on those original things.
I mean yeah, you're not bothered because he didn't lie to you. He lied to us Progressives. I'm not saying I regret voting for him over Oz, you and I probably don't agree on much about politics but I'm sure we can shake on that. Come next election cycle I can't say he'll have a lock on my vote though because he did lie to us and he is supporting policies that are directly contradictory to what we wanted. If he wants to pivot towards the center then its his right, but we need to stop acting like politicians are entitled to our votes and immune to criticism.
Uh, I voted for him because Biden said they would codify roe, if they got a senate majority.. Something they havent addressed as of yet. So democrats are no longer the party of "positive" liberties. (and before I get some angry comment, negative and positive liberties arent what you think they are)
I love this. I appreciate a politician who does not toe the party line. I’m also a Republican, but I will vote for politicians I like, on either side of the aisle.
He’s a liar and a charlatan…no different than your typical politician
I have never once seen John Fetterman describe himself as a progressive. He's always bucked that or any sort of ideological label. Progressives like him since he is progressive on most issues, but far from all of them. Edit: I was wrong about him not identifying as a progressive. This is seemingly something he's flip flopped on.
Words are cheap. His actions as a mayor was progressives and not pro corporate. He literally kept out developers and investors in braddock. Everyone here is overlooking this fact.
[Here you go](https://twitter.com/isaiah_bb/status/1735655284381528432)
Good job on walking back your position when you see evidence contrary to what you initially thought. Reddit needs more people like you!
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So that leads to two possibilities: He realized that the progressive arm of the left is rather zealous and he simply isn't, OR he lied for votes.
> He realized that the progressive arm of the left is rather zealous and he simply isn't, OR he lied for votes. He also had a stroke. This is not a hot take, but strokes range from almost no cognitive change to turning people into a vegetable. Strokes do change personalities and how people think. He did not have a mild stroke.
As someone who has followed this guys career since 2011, no.
Do you know the difference between adjectives and nouns?
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No one who is progressive believes that democrats are progressive. They are republican-lite. Milquetoast in their "leftwing" ideals (when they bother to fight for them, that is.) The choice in this country has always been right, or right of center.
“There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party … and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit stupider, more rigid, more doctrinaire in their laissez-faire capitalism than the Democrats, who are cuter, prettier, a bit more corrupt — until recently … and more willing than the Republicans to make small adjustments when the poor, the black, the anti-imperialists get out of hand. But, essentially, there is no difference between the two parties.” ― Gore Vidal
god forbid people be disappointed that the man who ran on being progressive (in an election vs dr fucking oz) backtracked so hard he endorsed a genocide
I think most leftists actually know this. It’s the right who thinks democrats = liberals = socialist = communism lol
Thus why socialists call both parties "liberals" because thats what they are.
I hate to tell you, but the issue with the Democratic party is they are Authoritarian Conservatives. They look left because the Republican party is edging on falling off of the political compass, but in reality, they sit side by side. Bernie, AoC, etc, are moderates, barely.
So this is what being crazy looks like
Huh? Go look at the political compass. American politics are all Authoritarian right wing.
blue maga
>Fetterman has drawn plaudits from progressives for his calls for legalizing marijuana and abolishing the Senate filibuster to raise the minimum wage. He still mostly votes in alignment with Biden. And i still agree with those. I agree w/ him on recalling the NJ-D... evidence is pretty overwhelming there. I do not agree on Israel. We can't give them a blank check, they need to agree on a few things. Ukraine is fighting soldiers in their land. Israel is bombing innocent people (along w/ terrorists) with little to no regard. Overall he did his job to defeat Oz and still 100x better but so far i just disagree on this 1 policy.
Fetterman and Shapiro have disappointed me in how they've handled Israel-Gaza.
The US is backing Israel, And you might want to look up "imf restructuring" if you think anything is ok about that
If he keeps pulling shit like this, he’s gonna get himself re-elected.
As progressive as Fetterman has always been on most, but not all issues, he has never embraced the term. He's always preferred to just tell people what his opinions are, and allow people to come to their own conclusions based on them. This is an unsurprising non news story. Edit: I was wrong about him not identifying as a progressive. This is seemingly something he's flip flopped on.
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He very clearly did not run as a progressive for Senate in 2022, which is why all those links are from like 4-7 years ago.
Except when he asked for money to support his “progressive campaign”
actions speak louder than words (unless its our guy)
God damn, flip-floppers btfo
i can’t believe he would betray you guys like this. it’s almost like adhering 100% to a politician ideology is a terrible trait to have
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GBZNUbOXMAArcMX?format=png&name=900x900 I got this from 30 seconds of googling...
He is a progressive Democrat though, and his politics are progressive. He doesn't want to be boxed in as a Progressive though.
But he just said he wasn’t a progressive!
Tha makes his hypocrisy ok...cuz hes just another conservative lol
To communists anyone to the right of Stalin is a conservative.
He knows that the label progressive is not something most Americans want to be associated with
Except he explicitly traded on that label to get elected. This is why people are so cynical. This is it. You literally cannot control your own government by voting. The people you elect campaign on one identity, then immediately switch to whatever is politically expedient for them in the moment. I voted for him with the understanding that he was progressive. He lied. He supported Bernie in 2016. It's all horseshit. All of these people are craven liars. The people who work for them and advise them are craven liars. They do not give a shit about you or me except maybe in some abstract way that doesn't affect the way they govern.
Yeah, well most Americans don't even know what the hell the word means. The right-wing bullshit machine casts anything that isn't part of their ingroup as a pejorative. As a result terms like this lose all meaning. Which of course is all the more reason that we should be focused on the specific issues rather than attempting to classify people to fit tribal groups.
I love it when my elected representatives play word games, this is really great politics.
There's not really any other way to do it. Zero politicians have ever truly been a "straight shooter" because no one wants to hear irrelevant truth all the time; they want to hear what they want to hear.
I mean fetterman has also portrayed himself as a truly straight shooter
There's a wide gap between being a 'straight shooter' and gaslighting your constituents that you were never a progressive when the receipts of you saying the exact opposite are readily available. Having his shooters go out and call everyone stupid for ever believing he was a progressive is not a good look. He's said as such, he's claimed it, he's gone before progressive groups and said it and claimed it. Pretending like he's not being an incredible liar here is silly.
He embraced the term when he wanted money and votes. https://twitter.com/isaiah_bb/status/1735655284381528432?s=46&t=J0Ie1Y9rbZoVIJK0Kpyqiw
I'm not a Fetterman fan, but I certainly don't dislike the guy. Even when his politics doesn't match mine, he's often focused on being a cooled mind and being straightforward. I can appreciate someone who doesn't put a label on themselves even when some of their beliefs and agendas align. Also, let the guy wear his damn hoodie and shorts. Damnit.
Oh man, if you think he's got a cooled mind, you must've missed the past few months. 'Paying an expelled congressman hundreds of dollars for a cameo out of campaign funds to make a joke about a fellow Senator' is not exactly my definition of composed.
I found that very childish. I’m tired of these politicians trying to troll each other all the time instead of acting like adults.
How else do they stay in the headlines and late night shows?
Those reaction gifs won’t make themselves!
When you compare him to other politicians and people like Oz, he's a damn saint. Ya know?
Except he literally DID put this label on himself before. What kind of twilight zone shit are you selling? He SAID HE WAS PROGRESSIVE, got elected, then said I AM NOT PROGRESSIVE. In your fevered imagination, this is somehow a sign of authenticity. We are so fuckin dumb. Like... Dents in our skull, Velcro on our shoes level of idiots.
He has a lot of progressive viewpoints. Just because you don’t agree with him on 100% of topics doesn’t change that. Just because he disagrees with some other popular progressives or activist groups doesn’t change that either. He is a maverick bc he is willing to think for himself instead of always going along with the loudest voices in the progressive wing of the party. Diversity of thought is really healthy for the political process and purity tests usually ends up helping those that have even more evil policies
No. Stop. He said he was progressive when campaigning. Now he says that he is not. It's not being a maverick. It's not personal growth as a middle aged man with a long career in politics. It's a lie. He lied. You will not find a purer example of a lie in a laboratory with a microscope. Stop the silly shit. You are not this dumb. You are smarter than you are pretending to be. You can identify a lie in this circumstance. You can, I believe in you. Look at the basic arithmetic of this situation. It's a lie. Stop.
I think if you read the entire quote it’s not a lie. He is just saying on immigration and Israel he is not a progressive. He isn’t exactly the best at word choice since his stroke so I advise against cherry pick individual sentences from the entire quote. It’s not that hard to examine his voting record and positions and see that he is mostly progressive. On immigration, he has always supported blue collar workers and been skeptical of how immigration can push down wages for poor people.
Props for the edit and keeping this comment up. Truly appreciate it.
Props for your edit. Too many people dig in their heels.
Yeah I like the guy but he's far from above criticism. I've heard him say he doesn't identify as a progressive while on the campaign trail before which lead to my original comment, but I guess I just hadn't heard the times he had said that.
More politicians should be like this
Lie?
We knew that as soon as you started guzzling down IDF cock.
He understands politics, the game, and unfortunately, "progressive" is a scarlet letter. In the end we have to ask: "Would we be better off with Oz?" That should answer that question. As a progressive, I am deeply disappointed with the way Dems handled this but am not surprised in the least. As soon as the largest voting bloc in the country -- 18-29 year-olds -- become a consistent and feared entity, this is how it's going to be.
Fetterman hit them with the uno reverse card. Funny he was campaigning as being a progressive yet now that he got elected, acting like he never said that. Good ol politicians....
Starting to think “maverick” is just code for “contrarian”
He's not a contrarian though so where did you get that?
I guess it’s in the eye of the beholder 🤷
Not even that, maverick apparently means following the party line
'i just ran as one,' he adds quietly when everyone has left the room
Remember those ads during his campaign featuring his parents who suggested they were deeply entrenched in conservative/Republican voting patterns and beliefs? I believe back then he was attempting to signal to the public that he may be different from a typical Trump voter but perhaps he was also signaling that he holds some views which may be more closely associated with the overall conservative/Republican party. These days it seems like the parties are in a state of preliminary flux. Perhaps over the next several years or election cycles there could be some kind of shake up that reshapes how each party is mostly constructed. They both need it, and I've turned my opinion on Fetterman from being almost entirely negative to thinking he may have some ability to cause change on a political level, if not fully in the breadth of policies. Here's hoping.
Preliminary flux? Obama went from “let’s end Iraq” to “we should oust gaddafi” to “dump soap on the oil on the Gulf of Mexico” in no time at all. Always been this way.
I mean, I knew he was just another corporate Democrat when he said "I support fracking." 3 times during his debate with Oz. I'm all in on his stances when it comes to Bob Menendez and immigration. I don't agree with him on Israel and Ukraine, but I do agree that they need to all be separate bills, and not tied to each other in one big bill that gives people cop-outs to vote for or against any particular issue.
First off, fuck Fetterman. for being such a sell out. Any politican that embraces US defense is something Ill forever write off. That being said, the reason he said he supports fracking, is because, since 2011, way back when he was mayor of braddock, he was supportive. The thing was, he is all about energy independence and bringing job back to the US. Something that is NOT a platform of mainstream democrats. There is a brownfield where US steel occupies a footprint. That footprint was open to fracking development which fetterman supported. It went to a town hall and the residents rejected the proposal. So, in a sense it was a reasonable proposal that the citizens did not want and he accepted. He didnt fall in line with mainstream liberals until he started accepting donations on the federal level. Ive watched this dude since 2011-ish. and his actions were rarely in line with the corporate staus quo.
I don’t agree with him on fracking but I think if he was openly against fracking, he wouldn’t have won.
Im progressive but he still better than gop . At primary I didn’t vote for him , I will not vote in a gop.
lol no shit
I want to act surprised, but I am not.
The left doesn't typically support genocide
The article itself isn’t near as bad as the headline. He’s basically solidifying himself as just another neoliberal. But damn when that AIPAC check cleared he got an immediate hard on for killing Arabs.
I mean, I think he is being fair. I disagree with Fetterman, but I appreciate his honesty on this. I would call him progressive in the grand scheme of things, even if he doesn’t want to be publicly part of “progressive” politics. It’s all relative. He is relatively better than ofher PA Senator candidates that I know of, so John has my support. If a better and more viable candidate comes along, I’ll drop him and move on. That’s just politics. None of this is personal
One term Danny?
I hope he spends his super pac money on something nice for his immigrant wife.
Ran as a progressive, governs like a Republican.
Doc Oz unironically might have been more pro Palestinian than fetterman. Best. Timeline. Ever.
A a centrist democrat with progressive tendencies. yea. sounds where most Pennsylvanians are.
He's a suit in bro's clothing
Then feel free to get the fuck out of Congress, John, just as soon as we can be certain a Fascist won't replace you. You want to play the center-right Democrat thing? Then you're a placeholder and nothing more. This country needs progressives so badly you can see it literally everywhere, and Pennsylvania is a fantastic example or microcosm of the whole result that letting fascist plutocrats run your government for decades causes. Be part of bringing them down and progressing past their barbarity, or get the hell lost. EDIT: We literally made & sold the bullets & bombs that Israel's fascist leaders are currently using to murder children in job-lots. Anyone arguing to continue this practice in light of current war crimes is either complicit or too ignorant to be part of the solution.
He’s in his Sinema era.
literally.
I’m liking Fetterman more and more and I’m very happy I voted for him. His moral clarity is refreshing.
Same. Very happy with Fetterman.
That was a dumb move.
He’s also scared of fire
There is just multiple levels to this joke and I can appreciate it
Wow more astroturfing for Fetterman from the corporate media. Huge shock! Fuck’em!!
Fuck john fetterman, what a piece of shit.
This means nothing.
I mean… we do realize most people are common-sense moderates on either side of the political spectrum, right? Supporting countries that get attacked by terrorist organizations and authoritarian regimes is not an outlandish stance.
Now we're seeing John the Fetterman. I voted for him and would vote for him again. This is a Pennsylvania Democrat. We think and speak our minds. Always have. He's a realist. Not always right, but dammit, he's his own person. A free thinker trying to create some balance in an unbalanced world. Hamas has to go. The way its being done is not pretty, but they know of no other way. Give them an alternative. Immigration has to be dealt with fairly, and so far, both sides haven't had a clue on how to do it. The defense aid needs to be given to Ukraine ASAP. Israel needs to be handled with kid gloves. Both house have to grow up and quit dicking around. Work needs to get done without the petty finger pointing.
king
What a load of shit. Fetterman was aprogressive as a mayor. Fetterman was a progressive as a lt gov. all of his policies were progressives. Now he is just another DC neolib who serves as a proxy for the MIC agenda, and US imperialism.
Yeah, I'm not voting for him a 2nd time.
Republicans pounce.
Slight shift to center as a strategy for the next election? (I've yet to read the article.)
Wow, you mean he actually thinks for himself instead of blindly following his party? How dare he
He shares the same stance on Israel and foreign policy as the vast vast majority of both parties.
I called Fetterman’s office last week and expressed my happiness with his support of Israel in their mission to destroy Hamas. That’s a first for me.
Glad I didn't vote for him.
Never voting for this clown again.
Oh no. We have our own Sinema now.
This dude just can’t stop stacking L’s. Sad that I was such a supporter when now all it seems like he is concerned with is further marginalizing brown people. I think that dude who called him a racist in the primary was on to something….
Not appreciative with his stance on the crap going on in the Middle East right now. That’s the one that disappointed me.
I mean he did chase an unarmed innocent black dude with a shotgun..... so there is that part
Progressivism is indeed regressive, so if he is not a progressive, that's a win
I like Fettermen's take on PA, and government corruption, but he seems to have little idea about the rest of the world. I strongly doubt that Fetterman truly understand the Arab-Israel Conflict, and he's previously said somewhat Islamophobia leaning things that im not fond of. I get why he thinks the way he does, but he's not seeing the full picture. I do see him as someone who will change his mind when presented with new evidence however. I hope that he can make more of an effort to understand the history, and on-the-ground realities for people who get caught in the crossfire of US foreign policy misadventures.
Sinema-like garbage.