Can a politician still be a “progressive” in today’s Democratic Party if he supports Israel and wants restrictions at the southern border? Adam Gabbatt of The Guardian tackles this question in a piece on Fetterman.
Here is a taste:
There was a time when John Fetterman, the rough-and-ready Pennsylvania senator, was a budding star of the left.
Endorsed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in his 2022 Democratic race, Fetterman had supported the democratic socialist Bernie Sanders for president in 2016. On the campaign trail, Fetterman said he would fight for an increased minimum wage, while he had previously suggested he wanted to see the implementation of universal healthcare.
But in recent months, Fetterman has come under attack from the left for his enthusiastic support for Israel and continued US funding to its war in Gaza. The criticism has come alongside praise from Republicans for Fetterman’s chiding of some Democrats over what he has called a “crisis at our border”.
The growing distance between Fetterman and the left of his party came to a head in December.
“I’m not a progressive, I’m just a regular Democrat,” Fetterman wrote on X that same month.
Read the rest here.