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Celerity

(47,822 posts)
28. He claimed the progressive label for himself for many years, and he begged for Sanders' help in 2016:
Wed Dec 11, 2024, 02:14 PM
Dec 11
A Member of “Bernie’s Army” Is Still Waiting for the Candidate’s Help

John Fetterman is running for Senate in Pennsylvania, one of the most expensive races in the country. He wants to know when the political revolution starts.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2016/04/john-fettermans-senate-campaign-needs-bernie-sanders-help.html

April 19, 2016

John Fetterman, the populist mayor and long-shot Democratic Senate candidate, was one of the first elected officials in the country to endorse Bernie Sanders for president. He is, like Sanders, a political outsider. A tattooed giant—6-foot-8, more than 300 pounds—he’s spent the past 11 years presiding over Braddock, Pennsylvania, a largely black town outside Pittsburgh that was wrecked by the collapse of the local steel industry. Income inequality is at the center of his campaign. “I think there’s a great deal of overlap” between Sanders’ platform and his own, he tells me, “whether it’s a $15-an-hour living wage or health care, trade deals, a rigged economy.” Ideologically, the only real difference between the two men is that Fetterman is more in favor of gun control. He has the date of every homicide in Braddock since his election—nine in all—inked on his right arm.

In February, the New Republic described Fetterman as part of “Bernie’s army,” a generation of Democratic candidates creating “a progressive revolution from within.” Like Sanders, Fetterman has raised most of the money for his primary online, from small-dollar donors. He’s in a three-way primary race against Joe Sestak, the defeated Democratic Senate candidate in 2010, and Katie McGinty, who has the backing of much of the national Democratic establishment. Fetterman’s criticism of McGinty echoes Sanders’ case against Hillary Clinton. “When she ran less than two years ago, she was for $9 an hour instead of $15,” he says, referring to the minimum wage. “She brought fracking to Pennsylvania, and she also supported NAFTA.” She has a massive financial advantage in what is currently the most expensive Senate race in the country, with more than $17 million already spent.



Given the money and political power stacked against him, Fetterman says he needs Sanders’ help to have any chance next Tuesday, the same day as the Pennsylvania presidential primary. So far, however, it has not been forthcoming. There’s been no endorsement, no fundraising support, no joint appearances. Fetterman’s campaign finds this confounding. On the ground, he says, there’s enormous overlap between his supporters and the Sanders grassroots. (“The crowd at the Fishtown brewpub is young, liberal, urban. They rave about Sanders—and Fetterman,” says a recent Philadelphia Inquirer story.) In a three-way race, he believes, Sanders’ backing could be decisive; Fetterman estimates that he’ll win if he gets 60 or 70 percent of Sanders’ voters.

Right now, that seems unlikely; a poll from early April had him at 9 percent of the vote, with 66 percent saying they haven’t recently seen, read, or heard anything about him, and 63 percent saying they didn’t know what his ideology was. The only ray of hope: When people had heard about him, what they heard made them like him more. Lacking the resources to get on the airwaves, he’s doing as much retail campaigning as he can, including going to Sanders rallies to talk to voters one on one. (The Sanders campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment.) “To me, Pennsylvania represents the perfectly framed battle within the party war of 2016,” Fetterman tells me. “Untold millions in outside money and establishment endorsements versus the will of Sanders’ grassroots supporters who could, quite literally, pick the next nominee in this state. That nominee, badly outspent, represents a decimated steel town on society’s economic fringe.”

snip



















John Fetterman Endorses Bernie Sanders

Recommendations

6 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

He's dropped the mask of being a progressive. Time to vote him out next election. brush Dec 11 #1
Wait, when did he ever have that mask? AkFemDem Dec 11 #8
Yeah, right. Calling for trump charges to be dropped is not what a moderate Dem does. It's what a maga does. brush Dec 11 #9
I'm replying to the comment that Fetterman is dropping his progressive mask AkFemDem Dec 11 #11
They didn't invent him. His clever social media staffers posts did. They did a bait and switch. brush Dec 11 #14
Here's the deal- AkFemDem Dec 11 #20
Sorry but I feel choie Dec 11 #40
I don't want another Joe Manchin. Prof. Toru Tanaka Dec 11 #54
Pro life you say? Let's see how many of those other stances he maintaines... brush Dec 11 #69
Good catch, 100% brain fart on my part! AkFemDem Dec 12 #73
Don't mention it. I knew you'd want to edit that. brush Dec 12 #74
He claimed the progressive label for himself for many years, and he begged for Sanders' help in 2016: Celerity Dec 11 #28
Thanks for all the details Celerity. Brenda Dec 11 #55
His 'district' now is the State (or Commonwealth to be precise) of Pennsylvania. No longer the mayor kelly1mm Dec 11 #10
Then why did he call himself one? SunImp Dec 11 #21
I BeerBarrelPolka Dec 11 #22
kompromat is my first suspician on many of these guys rampartd Dec 11 #57
Could be BeerBarrelPolka Dec 11 #59
"District"? Did you mean "the state of Pennsylvania"? 0rganism Dec 11 #30
Will they support him changing parties Bettie Dec 11 #35
He sure is hell is berksdem Dec 11 #23
Fetterman is a populist. His positions remain consistent. yardwork Dec 11 #41
He wants to be reelected. underpants Dec 11 #2
By whom? Everyone that voted against him the first time around? tenderfoot Dec 11 #6
your 'Hoodie Sinema' from a few days back was more accurate, especially as they are both US Senators Celerity Dec 11 #29
so we should support democrats who become fascists? Voltaire2 Dec 11 #7
lol twas ever thus WhiskeyGrinder Dec 11 #3
This one hurts. Dennis Donovan Dec 11 #4
Many of us did, but he hasn't been the same since the stroke. As for those who say he never claimed to be a progressive Celerity Dec 11 #32
Goes to show that Bettie Dec 11 #36
In other words BeerBarrelPolka Dec 11 #38
Was the Fedrul hush money case against Cohen BS? maxsolomon Dec 11 #5
Good response. W_HAMILTON Dec 11 #16
Fettermen, a true DINO. republianmushroom Dec 11 #12
huh? How so? His voting record is fine. thebigidea Dec 11 #18
His wanting a pardon for trump, for the crimes trump republianmushroom Dec 11 #19
BOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! Initech Dec 11 #13
There will be a lot more of this Prairie Gates Dec 11 #15
Unbelievable awesomerwb1 Dec 11 #17
There were good established guys who ran against him in the primary Trenzalore Dec 11 #24
Maybe if there'd been two federal trials he'd feel differently. Kid Berwyn Dec 11 #25
Is it really any different than Clyburn or other Democrats calling for the same absurdity? JohnSJ Dec 11 #26
No. People on DU just dislike Fetterman. yardwork Dec 11 #43
without a doubt. This is almost as predictable as Pavlov's dogs. JohnSJ Dec 11 #46
I Voted For Him, RobinA Dec 11 #27
Beware of these kinds of Dem politicians Dem4life1234 Dec 11 #31
I often wondered which Senators would be likely moniss Dec 11 #33
Probably not full MAGA but maybe full Manchin. Bleacher Creature Dec 11 #34
Surviving politically in a swing state? Zambero Dec 11 #37
I haven't seen anyone attacking James Clyburn for going MAGA or being a DINO onenote Dec 11 #39
I BeerBarrelPolka Dec 11 #53
A worst case scenario is that Fetterman becomes the next Sinema Mike 03 Dec 11 #42
Power MattBaggins Dec 11 #44
Let's hope he loses BeerBarrelPolka Dec 11 #56
He ain't goin'. He's just showin'. Iggo Dec 11 #45
His actual words: Festivito Dec 11 #47
That sounds exactly like several other Democrats' words. yardwork Dec 11 #48
No, let's walk away from Fetterman. Just as soon as possible. Paladin Dec 11 #50
What are you talking about? yardwork Dec 11 #64
Yeah, I'll be sure to take that advice to heart. Paladin Dec 11 #65
On 'truth social'. And there is simply no equivalency between the Biden case the the Trump case. Voltaire2 Dec 11 #49
When the leader of the party- President Biden AkFemDem Dec 11 #66
yup Afrocat Dec 11 #51
How embarrassing for Dems who praised him only months ago. Brenda Dec 11 #52
Imma blaming brain worms. nt yaesu Dec 11 #58
Someone please tell this guy that... Think. Again. Dec 11 #60
When stuff like this just doesn't make any sense, no_hypocrisy Dec 11 #61
It's a state case.... Lovie777 Dec 11 #62
So he was either a DINO, or the brain injury really screwed him up. sakabatou Dec 11 #63
The money started flowing in Thrill Dec 11 #67
He's disgusting Rebl2 Dec 11 #68
As they say: "If you can't beat them, join them" msfiddlestix Dec 11 #70
I wish Fetterman was the worst person we had to worry about. RoeVWade Dec 11 #71
the day he showed up in a hoodie Henry203 Dec 12 #72
Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Fettermen appears to be g...»Reply #28