What Fetterman Can Teach Dems
The Pennsylvania senator is broadening his appeal while outraging many in his own party.

1. What Fetterman Can Teach Democrats
As Democrats grapple with the dagger in the heart that was Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential election victory, should they be looking toward the example of Sen. John Fetterman, the moderate Pennsylvania Democrat whose maverick stances have angered many in the party? (Puck)
The numbers: A new Morning Consult poll found that Fetterman’s approval ratings have dipped slightly among Pennsylvania Dems, but he’s more than made up the difference with GOP and independent voters.
In fact, Fetterman’s approval rating among Republicans has nearly doubled since he took office in early 2023.
The positions: Fetterman has broken with the mainstream Democratic Party on a whole host of issues over the past year.
Pro-Israel rhetoric: Fetterman's strong pro-Israel stance has alienated some on the left.
Immigration restrictionism: He co-sponsored the Laken Riley Act, which required the detainment of immigrants accused of theft and violent crimes.
Supporting Trump: He referred to hush-money case against Trump as "bullshit.”
Countersignaling Kamala: Fetterman publicly disagreed with Vice President Kamala Harris's characterization of Trump as a fascist.
His anti-elite vibe: Fetterman’s overall demeanor and appearances on platforms like The Joe Rogan Experience cut against the Dems’ elite and effete image.
On "wokeness": Fetterman has actively spoken out against fringe progressive messaging.
Puck senior political correspondent Tara Palmieri:
Fetterman’s contrarianism is more of the zero-fucks variety that new media craves. He can show up in places where other Democrats won’t, like The Joe Rogan Experience. And he offers Democrats a version of masculinity that serves as a counterpoint to Trump and can appeal to a segment of Gen Z that more sanctimonious Democrats can’t.
What one former D.N.C. operative told Palmieri about Fetterman’s appeal: “Fetterman’s not talking about stupid Bernie woke-left shit that cost us the fucking election.”
The trend: It’s not just Fetterman who’s tapping into the shift toward the center.
Eric Adams, New York City’s Democratic mayor, has reached across the aisle to Trump and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, alarming his fellow Dems.
New York Rep. Ritchie Torres, a Democrat, has tacked to the center on a number of issues, including immigration, Israel and crime.
Torres told the Wall Street Journal in a recent interview that his party “swung the pendulum so far to the left that we fell out of touch with working-class voters, including working-class voters of color, who historically have voted for the Democratic Party. . . . Trump managed to build the kind of multiracial, multiethnic, multilingual working-class coalition that Democrats like me dream of building.”
Bubba’s Two Cents
With the political winds shifting in the GOP’s favor post-Trump win, Fetterman could be viewed as a model for how Democrats should reinvent themselves.
The idea that “Democrats need their own Joe Rogan” to appeal to audiences outside of the elite bubble has already become a political cliche.
But even in acknowledging that the party’s image is out of touch with a broad swathe of voters, Dems misunderstand the underlying conditions that have made Rogan so influential. Whether immigration, crime or gender ideology, it was a groundswell of public opposition to Democratic policies — not style — that got Trump elected.
For instance, many young men believe the Democratic party is fundamentally hostile or at least indifferent to them and their concerns (and they’re not completely wrong about that). If the party focuses only on cosmetic changes without substantively addressing policy, any rebranding effort will inevitably fall flat. We saw how enlisting a politician to wear a “dude” suit worked for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Kamala’s running mate.
Did you like an item in today’s edition?
Forward it to a friend
Screenshot an item and text it to them
Direct your friend to https://www.bubba.news/