OPINION:
On Thursday, Sen. John Fetterman adjourned the Senate. Sitting on top of the podium, with all eyes on him, the Pennsylvania Democrat said: “Under previous order, the Senate stands adjourned until 3 p.m. on Monday. Bang gavel.”
He then broke out in laughter and put his hand on his head. He obviously wasn’t supposed to read the cue “bang gavel” — he then banged the gavel, sat back in his seat, and continued to laugh — at himself.
More than a year out of Walter Reed after being treated for severe depression, Mr. Fetterman has become one of the rare Democrats on Capitol Hill that I would like to have a beer with.
Yes, a few years ago, when he was running for office, I wrote a scathing column blasting him for his progressive bona fides. But now, as Mr. Fetterman has found his voice, I believe he will be senator for life, if he wants to be.
Mr. Fetterman has bucked his party in many ways.
For starters, his love for Israel is steadfast.
Last year, he trolled pro-Palestinian demonstrators outside the Capitol by waving tiny Israeli flags in their faces as they were getting arrested for disorderly conduct. This year, when anti-Israel demonstrators showed up at his home, he responded by waving a large Israeli flag at them from his roof.
Mr. Fetterman was one of only two Democrats who didn’t sign on to a measure supporting a two-state solution this year because the amendment didn’t include language saying the destruction of Hamas would be a precondition. The Wall Street Journal reported in a profile in May that Mr. Fetterman wears “a wristband given to him by the family of a victim at a music festival in Israel that was attacked by Hamas.”
On border security too, Mr. Fetterman has riled progressive Democrats, agreeing with some measures House Republicans passed to combat the issue.
“There is a crisis,” Mr. Fetterman told the New York Post last year, referencing the December influx of migrants. “We have a crisis at our border, and it can’t be controversial that we should have a secure border.”
On energy policy, Mr. Fetterman has also broken with the Biden administration, condemning its pause on liquefied natural gas exports.
“While the immediate impacts on Pennsylvania remain to be seen, we have concerns about the long-term impacts that this pause will have on the thousands of jobs in Pennsylvania’s natural gas industry,” Mr. Fetterman said in a joint statement with Sen. Bob Casey, also a Pennsylvania Democrat. “If this decision puts Pennsylvania energy jobs at risk, we will push the Biden Administration to reverse this decision.”
When it comes to lab-grown meat? “Pains me deeply to agree with Crash-and-Burn Ron [DeSantis], but I co-sign this,” Mr. Fetterman tweeted, attaching an article from The Hill titled, “DeSantis signs bill banning lab-grown meat.”
To solidify himself as senator for life, Mr. Fetterman has been outspoken in his disgust with indicted, gold-bar-stuffing Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, who is one of his own party. Mr. Fetterman recently took a trip to the Turks and Caicos Islands, where he was successful in releasing one of his constituents, who was being held improperly.
On cue, The New York Times did a profile of Mr. Fetterman, saying he “alienates some supporters” with his independent stances and noting that some high-level progressive staffers quit.
The piece also depicted his “fight” with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York Democrat and one of two progressive firebrands who were involved in a spat with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Republican, in a committee hearing last month.
Mr. Fetterman likened the exchange to trash-TV segments on “The Jerry Springer Show” and then apologized — to the show.
When asked about his shift in persona, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, who endorsed Mr. Fetterman in 2022 along with her fellow socialist Bernie Sanders, told The Times: “I have no comment on that. It’s up to Pennsylvanians.”
In an era where Blue Dog Democrats have seemingly disappeared and rapport among congressional colleagues applies only to those in one’s party, Mr. Fetterman is a breath of fresh air.
Pennsylvania has some urban centers like Philadelphia that faithfully vote Democratic, but Donald Trump won the state in 2016 by appealing to its middle-class, rural voters — the ones that might be likely to split their ticket this year.
Although Mr. Fetterman isn’t on the ballot, his colleague Mr. Casey is. Because of Mr. Fetterman’s common-man appeal, it wouldn’t surprise me if reasonable Democrats and independents alike will argue that “progressive liberals are too far off-course, but we as Pennsylvanians elect sane Democrats,” no matter what Mr. Casey’s record is.
It’s an issue Republican challenger David McCormick will have to deal with — and it will be tough for the millionaire to overcome.
As for Mr. Fetterman?
In an interview with Bill Maher earlier this month, he explained his metamorphosis from a self-identified progressive to just a “normal Democrat,” as he defines it.
“I didn’t leave the label, it left me,” Mr. Fetterman said. He told Mr. Maher that the stroke he suffered in 2022, which left him near death, had given him a “freedom.”
“There’s a line from the first ’Batman,’ Joker’s like, ‘I’ve been dead once already. It’s very liberating,’” Mr. Fetterman said.
“It’s freeing in a way. And I just think after beating all of that, I just really [want to] be able to say the things that I have to really believe in, and not be afraid of if there’s any kind of blowback,” he said.
Senator for life.
• Kelly Sadler is the commentary editor at The Washington Times.
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