Fetterman Unbound

It increasingly seems as if the Democrats are ignoring at their peril the counsel of Senator John Fetterman. The senior senator of Pennsylvania, who has mused about quitting the Democrats, is of late settling into the role of happy warrior against the far left faction fomenting a hostile takeover of his party. Yet the de facto godfather of the socialist wing won’t hear of it. “John — not going to take your advice,” sniffs Senator Bernie Sanders.On verra, we say. The contention between the two solons was sparked by Mr. Fetterman’s suggestion that the Vermont socialist hold off on intervening in Democratic primaries ahead of the midterms. Feature, say, Michigan, where Mr. Sanders, joined by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is backing the senate bid by the leftist firebrand Dr. Abdul El-Sayed. “Maybe sit a few out, Bernie,” is how Mr. Fetterman put it. “You’re not helping.”In the latest polling, Dr. El-Sayed appears to be well ahead of his more moderate rival for the Democratic nod, Congresswoman Haley Stevens. Yet a new survey by the Glengariff group finds Dr. El-Sayed running 10 points behind the GOP choice, Representative Mike Rogers. Hence Mr. Fetterman’s concerns about choosing the far left favorite, Dr. El-Sayed, whom the senator derides as the “Pontiac Platner,” over a relative centrist like Ms. Stevens.Dr. El-Sayed, perhaps detecting a degree of momentum for his candidacy as an ascendant left wing asserts itself in the Democratic party, had raised hackles for abrasive remarks urging more primary contests against incumbents like, say, Mr. Fetterman. “Ideally you put one ogre on a pike, and then everyone else gets the message, and all of a sudden” the debate “starts to sound a lot different,” is how Dr. El-Sayed characterized his ambitions for the party.Congresswoman Hillary Scholten of Michigan was among those troubled by the tenor of Dr. El-Sayed’s comments. “Violent, vulgar threats have no place in a democratic electoral contest,” she said. Mr. Sanders, though, seemed to take in stride Dr. El-Sayed’s prescription for the party. Far from dropping his support, the Vermonter averred that “we’re going to work as hard as we can not only to elect El-Sayed,” but other like-minded candidates, too.Mr. Sanders sang the praises of “strong congressional candidates across the country who have the guts to start taking on big money and representing workers.” This class warfare rhetoric, to be sure, might be resonating with younger voters. Democratic voters under 50, Emerson College polling reports, are backing by a margin of some 42 points Dr. El-Sayed. Voters 60 and older, by contrast, support Ms. Stevens by a margin of some 14 percent.Numbers like these speak to the widening gap between the younger, more liberal, activist element in the Democratic party and its elected officials and leadership. This divide is perhaps most sharply reflected in the party’s deteriorating support for Israel. On Capitol Hill yesterday, Mr. Fetterman made hay of this gulf in an impromptu interview with a reporter from an online press outfit called Drop Site News.Mr. Fetterman lamented that Drop Site News was catering to “pro-Hamas” viewers. The senator added that “I want your viewers to see how much I love to watch Israel eliminating the Hamas leadership. I know that upsets a lot of your viewers and a lot of your founders, but I think it’s a great thing.” Outspoken talk like that from Mr. Fetterman is a reminder, as these columns have noted, that if he fails to reform his party, he might find a home in the GOP.

Fetterman Unbound

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