Fetterman Figures it Out

The New York Times buried the lede. The key point in their Sunday story about Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman’s break with his party’s hard-left is that his approval numbers are up four points and he’s now running seven points ahead of Joe Biden.

But you would have to wade through more than half of a long story to discover that. The Times led with the recounting of a relatively insignificant incident in which Fetterman was ambushed by a climate activist in his Senate office building and, if the Times’ account is to be trusted, reacted rudely. If the Times recounting is accurate, then he acted boorishly and that’s unfortunate. The hard-left can be obnoxious, but it’s not okay for a United States Senator to return the favor.

Fetterman won a close race in 2022 with strong support from his party’s activist base, but also with a long-evident independent streak. For example, he supported fracking, an energy strategy unpopular with environmentalists but very popular with people who make their living from fossil fuels, which in Pennsylvania is a lot. This may have been a rare case of the hard-left accepting a smudge on purity in order to win an election.

But in the last few months, after recovering from a bout of depression, Fetterman has found his footing as an outspoken critic of the hard-left, especially when it comes to Israel. (The Times helpfully pointed out that Fetterman is not deeply schooled on Middle East politics, something they don’t see as necessary to highlight when Democrats support the Palestinians.) Fetterman now prefers not to be called a progressive.

But at the same time a determined Times reader would discover that Fetterman has been a reliable vote for Democrats on almost every issue. You would find that key fact at the very bottom of the story.

So basically, what Fetterman has done is continue to be a good Democrat, continue to support the popular parts of his party’s agenda, while rather loudly rejecting its most unpopular positions and activists. And, the result, not surprisingly, is that his approval numbers are heading north.

What this should demonstrate to all Democratic pols — outside of those representing super-liberal college towns or a few urban House districts — is that they should stop worrying about the hard-left and hew to a center-left course. Bill Clinton’s famous Sister Souljah strategy — making it a point to break conspicuously with the hard-left — is as smart today as ever.

If only Joe Biden had pursued this strategy — and maybe it’s not too late — Donald Trump would not be the odds-on-favorite to recapture the White House.