John Fetterman has been a Democrat his entire adult life, but apparently even lifetime memberships have an expiration date. The Pennsylvania senator told CNN in a hallway interview this week that his party has exactly one red line left to cross before he walks out the door: becoming officially anti-Israel. As Conservative Brief reported, Fetterman has been telegraphing this for a while now, and the volume keeps going up.
"I've always expressed my dismay at the way the Democratic Party continues to turn its back on Israel," Fetterman said. "So I've said that publicly, like that's my red line. If the Democratic Party becomes officially anti-Israel, then that's when I would force myself out."
Naturally, a CNN panel took this about as well as you would expect. Luke Thomas, host of the "Morning Kombat" podcast, went full scorched earth. "I'll help him pack his bags. Good riddance. This is a this is this is the biggest non-threat I think I've ever seen," Thomas said, which is a bold stance to take about a sitting U.S. senator whose approval rating among his own party's voters is currently sitting at a crispy 19 percent. Thomas then helpfully shared the results of a Quinnipiac University poll showing Fetterman enjoys a 77 percent approval rating among Republicans in Pennsylvania. "That is what a Latin American president at the end of his term is getting," Thomas added. So basically Fetterman is more popular with the opposing team than his own. That is a special kind of political limbo.
But wait, it gets spicier. Earlier this week, Fetterman turned heads by launching a joint fundraising effort with Republican Sen. Dave McCormick. The committee, called Common Ground PA, has been registered with the Federal Election Commission. FEC records show it includes four joint fundraising PACs tied to both senators. "This is a donor-driven effort," McCormick campaign spokesman Mike DeVanney told The Center Square. "This group of donors value the collaboration exhibited by Senators McCormick and Fetterman for Pennsylvania and want to support both of them."
A Democrat and a Republican sharing a fundraising piggy bank. In Pennsylvania. In 2026. If you had that on your political bingo card, congratulations.
The reaction from the left was predictable. Fox News analyst and liberal commentator Jessica Tarlov called it "So so bad" on X. Rick Wilson, the former Republican turned Democrat enthusiast, speculated that Fetterman is "gonna flip." Meanwhile, Fetterman has been busy calling the progressive wing of his party the "dirtbag left," which is not exactly the language of a man trying to mend fences.
Speaking at the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize event, Fetterman said the recent success of candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America reflects a political movement fundamentally different from the mainstream Democratic Party. "It was a really it was a really big night for the dirtbag left. You know, last week, without a doubt," he said.
So to recap: Fetterman has a 19 percent approval with Democrats, a 77 percent approval with Republicans, is fundraising with the GOP senator from his own state, and keeps calling progressives dirtbags. At this point, leaving the Democratic Party would not be a dramatic exit so much as a formality.
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