John Fetterman continues to be the Democratic Party's most entertaining loose cannon, which is really saying something for a guy who shows up to work in gym shorts. The Pennsylvania senator has now laid out exactly what it would take for him to pack his bags and leave the party entirely, and as reported by Trending Views, it all comes down to Israel.
Fetterman has been a reliable Democratic vote on plenty of issues, but he has also broken ranks on keeping the government funded and supporting presidential authority on foreign policy matters involving Iran. He is not exactly the guy party leadership calls when they need a guaranteed yes. Now he has gone ahead and drawn his line in the sand with a Sharpie.
"The second that becomes a formal part of our platform, that's the one thing that would push me out of this party because I'm deeply alarmed the way the Democratic Party is going after Israel and allowing rank antisemitism to just flourish on the left, on the campuses as well," Fetterman said, referring to the possibility that Democrats could adopt an explicitly anti-Israel position in their official platform.
He also took aim at fellow Democrats for what he sees as a total failure to push back against extreme positions creeping into the party. "I don't know why we have other Democrats, even people that are calling for their jobs in leadership saying 'you're next, you're next,'" he said. "Why can't you just push back and say these are abhorrent beliefs, you know, communism, socialism."
Most politicians hedge their bets with vague statements about being "concerned" or "monitoring the situation." Fetterman essentially handed his party a written list of terms and conditions. It is refreshing in the same way that watching someone order off menu at a fancy restaurant is refreshing. You are not supposed to do that, but here we are.
He also offered a blunt assessment of what it must feel like for Jewish voters watching all of this unfold. "I'm not a member of the Jewish community, but if I was one, it would be bleak as a Jewish voter in the Democratic Party," he said. That is quite the endorsement of your own team's vibes.
Fetterman has turned down invitations to switch parties before, but he has never exactly slammed the door shut and thrown away the key either. He keeps it propped open with one of those little rubber wedges.
Whether he ever actually walks is anyone's guess. But the man has now publicly posted his breakup conditions for a party that is already struggling to keep its coalition from flying apart like a cheap umbrella in a windstorm. For Democratic leadership, this probably qualifies as one of those warnings you pretend you did not hear right up until it becomes a very loud problem.
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