TPM: "Nope. Fetterman Isn't Going Full Manchin. Not Even Close."

[Bucky]

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/nope-fetterman-isnt-going-full-manchin-not-even-close/sharetoken/9EvFY760kA4A

{shared article from subscriber}

Nope. Fetterman Isn’t Going Full Manchin. Not Even Close.
April 23, 2024

....There’s no question that Israel and Gaza are very big issues for a lot of Democrats now. And if that’s people’s reason for being upset with Fetterman, that’s certainly fair. But what we see here is a pretty concerted effort to stretch and paste and papier-mâché his position on Israel into some general apostasy or emerging Manchinism when there’s really no evidence of that. Indeed, the HuffPost article makes clear that on universal health care, income inequality, LGBTQ rights, pot legalization and criminal justice reform, Fetterman remains outspokenly where he always was.

The only other scrap the Manchinism crowd has to work with is that Fetterman has said that tightening the southern border can’t or shouldn’t be a third rail for Democrats. But it’s hard to see how that’s any different from where President Biden is on the issue, or the bill he tried to get through Congress before Donald Trump put the kibosh on it in the House.

Where Fetterman has played into this is arguably at a rhetorical level. He’s pugilistic. Many of his comments on Israel have clearly been intentionally provocative. In response to progressive/Squad-like criticisms he’s said well, I’m not a progressive. That’s you, not me. I’m not woke. But this is really no different from the kind of shoot-from-the-hip regular guy-isms that have always been his brand. It’s just that he’s using it in a fight with a part of the party that’s in his face about his dogged support for Israel.

At the risk of stating the obvious, if you’re going to be a progressive Democrat (in the generic rather than the branded Squad copyrighted sense) it’s always been clear that you’re going to be at least tonally different if your base is outside of one of the big left-leaning metroplexes. The conceit of the beltway has often been that that means you need to be more “centrist,” more business and tax-cut oriented, a bit more traditionalist on topics like abortion and LGBTQ issues. But Fetterman’s shown fairly clearly that that isn’t really the case. Often quite the contrary, especially on fiscal policy and populist economics issues...

[FalloutShelter]

1. Shocker, my terrific Senator- Big Jawn

Is facing a smear campaign.

Note to Democrats: you DO know this is how we lost New York State right?

Just sayin.

[Bucky]

9. Can you contextualize "lost New York State" for me?

Last I checked Democrats were doing okay in NY. Did I miss something?

[FalloutShelter]

12. Here you go Becky

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/09/nyregion/ny-house-races-redistricting.html

[Bucky]

13. Thanks, but who's Becky?

But ugh, I'd forgot about that. Yall need to call in some consultants from the Texas Republicans. Our local Magats could teach a graduate level course on how to draw lines on a map.

[FalloutShelter]

17. Haha sorry, Bucky. I saw... well anyway.

🤪

[Fiendish Thingy]

2. Where does he stand on killing the filibuster?

If the opportunity to kill the filibuster presents itself (such as codifying Roe), does Fetterman support killing it to pass important legislation?

That will be his ultimate not-Manchin litmus test.

Hope he passes.

[JustAnotherGen]

3. He does

He's been quoted saying so many times. The danger will be if Andy Kim wins in NJ. He won't.

[elena92]

4. I mean...

He's making headlines once a week for antagonizing progressives. Doesn't he have something better to do?

[Bucky]

10. I think there are people motivated to drive a wedge between Dem groups.

...or to swirl up some hype over a few tangential issues where different Democratic groups diverge. To such people, the Gaza/Israel conflict is a godsend. Fortunately for us, the Democrats are a lot more tolerant of honest differences of opinion than what you find in the so-called "big tent" Republican Party.

[Elessar Zappa]

5. He's a good Senator.

Yes, he’s poking at progressives but that probably helps him in a purple state. What I care about is how he votes and he passes that test.

[Deep State Witch]

6. His Support of Israel Is Colored By His Experience

He was Lt. Governor when the Tree of Life Synagogue was attacked. Not only that, he lives within a 10-minute drive of that synagogue. I'm sure that the tragedy profoundly affected him.

[Oopsie Daisy]

7. Yawn.

[Bucky]

11. I appreciate the irony...

of getting a yawn on keeping Pennsylvania blue from someone with a Hillary Clinton avatar.

I only wish Secretary Clinton had been a little less bored with Pennsylvania in 2016.

[Oopsie Daisy]

14. Don't start with me.

[W_HAMILTON]

15. The damn Democratic National Convention was held there, one of the biggest rallies of the entire cycle was held there...

...(on Election Day Eve no less), not to mention other visits and rallies.

I wish Pennsylvanians had been a little less bored by the steady hand of the Obama administration and not taken Hillary for granted, but at least they got shaken out of their complacency by the terribleness of Trump and his Republicans and they have since regularly voted for Democrats up and down the ballot.

[betsuni]

16. "In Pennsylvania, where public and private polls showed a competitive race similar to 2012, we

had 500 staff on the ground, 120 more than the Obama campaign deployed four years before. We spent 211 percent more on television ads in the state. And I held more that twenty-five campaign events there during the general election. We also blanketed Pennsylvania with high-profile surrogates like President Obama and Vice President Biden.

"We loaded onto our big blue bus with 'Stronger Together' emblazoned on the sides and set out on a 635-mile journey. At every stop, Tim and I talked about plans to create jobs, raise wages, and support working families. In Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in rural Cambria County, we shared our ideas with steelworkers in a factory manufacturing wire for heavy industry. ... But you probably don't remember hearing anything about this bus tour. In fact, you many well have heard that I didn't campaign like this at all, that I ignored the Rust Belt, didn't have an economic message and couldn't connect with working-class voters.

"When I launched my campaign for President in June 2015, I specifically mentioned Coal Country and the need to help distressed communities make the transition to a more sustainable economic future. It was a call I'd repeat in every speech I gave, all over the country. I also got to work developing the detailed plan to invest $30 billion in revitalizing coal communities that I mentioned earlier. Consulting with national experts and local leaders, my team came up with great ideas for new incentives to attract jobs and industries to Appalachia, improving infrastructure and broadband internet, training programs that would lead to real jobs instead of worthless certificates, and more support for schools and students. We also worked with the United Mine Workers of America union on steps to hold the coal companies accountable and guarantee health care and a secure retirement for miners and their families."

Hillary Clinton

She actually did things and had working plans instead of just yelling populist speeches, did not "ignore" the working class. Better to look at facts and not anti-Democratic BS.

The Dangerous Myth That Hillary Clinton Ignored the Working Class:

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/12/hillary-clinton-working-class/509477/

[Bucky]

18. Sorry, but "blame the voters" isn't a form of leadership.

Leadership is when you take responsibility for your shortfalls and try to improve.

If your argument is that Clinton was 1000 times better for working class (and middle class) Americans than Trump, you have no argument with me. That myth is only "dangerous" because she failed to make her own case to enough voters in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

I'm not looking at "anti-Democratic BS". I'm looking at a map. She lost in places where other Democrats won.

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. And yet, he's calling on the Columbia U. president to resign because calling in the cops wasn't harsh enough

for him:

Several Republican and Democratic lawmakers joined Stefanik on Monday, including all of the New York House Republicans.

Reps. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Mark Alford (R-Mo.) and Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.) are also demanding her resignation. When Shafik announced on Monday that all Columbia classes would be remote, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) responded on X that Shafik’s move to virtual learning was proof that she is “unable to stop the antisemitic activity on her campus & keep her students safe.”

In the Senate, Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and John Fetterman (D-Pa.) have called on Shafik to step down. Fetterman likened the situation on campus for Jewish students to the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.

“Add some tiki torches and it’s Charlottesville for these Jewish students,” Fetterman wrote on X. “To @Columbia President Minouche Shafik: do your job or resign so Columbia can find someone who will.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/22/house-senate-members-call-on-columbia-university-president-to-resign-00153656

He's the only Democrat they name. He should take a look at the company he's keeping.