John Fetterman: Who are you?
The John Fetterman we elected fought for workers, unions, and healthcare. Where did he go?
An Open Letter to Senator John Fetterman
Senator Fetterman,
I voted for you. I even gathered up what I could and contributed to your campaign. I believed in you. I supported you because you ran on a platform that spoke directly to working-class Pennsylvanians, the people who both major parties have left behind. You promised to fight for higher wages, better healthcare, stronger unions, and real economic justice. You weren’t just another politician in a suit—you were one of us, shorts, hoodie, and all. And that’s why so many of us believed in you. You weren’t just another politician.
But now, it feels like you’ve abandoned the people who put you in office.
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Instead of fighting to raise the minimum wage, you’re backing tough-on-immigration policies that won’t put more money in struggling families’ pockets.
Instead of leading the charge for affordable healthcare, you’re defending Israel’s military actions more passionately than you’re advocating for saving Pennsylvania’s rural hospitals.
Instead of being the working-class warrior you campaigned as, you’ve become more focused on bipartisan photo-ops — distancing yourself from the very movement that got you elected.
You’ve had health issues. I respect that. Many of us have too. You’ve had mental health struggles. Buddy, I feel that in my bones. I appreciate you being transparent because it matters.
And I understand that politics is messy. I know that governing requires compromise. But what I don’t understand is why you are so willing to pick fights with your base while bending over backward to appeal to people who didn’t vote for you. You don’t need to pander to Republicans to win Pennsylvania. You don’t need to shift right on immigration or foreign policy. You just need to fight for the issues that actually matter to Pennsylvanians—the issues that got you elected in the first place.
But your record doesn’t show that. Your behavior— always blunt and brash— has escalated. But instead of using that energy to fight for the people who believed in you, you’ve turned it on them. Instead of taking on corporate greed, you’re taking on activists who demand accountability. Instead of calling out billionaires, you’re mocking the people who campaigned for you. Your staffers are quitting and making troubling accusations.
Most disturbingly, your combativeness is aimed at the very constituents you could be uniting through your grassroots, economic populist platform. By using your position to push forward real policy change and reform that would help average Americans, you would reach not just those of us on the left or progressive side but also our neighbors who are also struggling to make ends meet and who want an economically equitable future.
But you’re not.
You are militantly obsessed with Israel, refusing to acknowledge concerning actions that many are calling war crimes.
You are co-sponsoring laws that target immigrants accused of even nonviolent crimes.
You are largely silent on escalating executive overreach and the profoundly troubling actions of DOGE. You built your brand on standing up to the establishment. Now, when the government is overreaching into private citizens’ lives under the guise of ‘efficiency,’ your silence is deafening.
You’ve done nothing to pursue minimum wage legislation, protect unions from continued and escalating threats, advance universal healthcare, or really ANYTHING to help Pennsylvanians.
Maybe you are trying to position yourself as a maverick. Perhaps you are trying to widen your base. Heck, maybe you are launching yourself for a more prominent future role. I’m not a political strategy expert, but your behavior, votes, and lack of action feel like a recipe for disaster. Manchin and Sinema tried this, and while they had outsized power for a while, ultimately, they became punchlines. This isn’t the path; more importantly, it isn’t what we voted for.
To the People of Pennsylvania:
This is our senator. He works for us.
If you feel abandoned—if you feel like John Fetterman isn’t fighting for the issues that matter to working people anymore—then let him know.
Call his office.
Insist on and show up at town halls.
Demand that he return to the policies he ran on.
Politicians listen when their constituents make noise. And right now, we need to be loud.
Senator Fetterman, There’s Still Time to Turn This Around.
You ran on kitchen table issues. Get back to the table.
The people who elected you are not the enemy. The people who are disappointed in you are not extremists. They are the same working-class Pennsylvanians who stood by you when you needed them. The question is: Will you stand by them now?
You asked for our trust—we gave it. Now, earn it. Or we’ll find someone who will.
Bibliography: John Fetterman’s Political Evolution
Campaign Policy Positions:
"Issues - John Fetterman" Fetterman's official campaign website outlines his stances on healthcare, workers' rights, and criminal justice reform. https://johnfetterman.com/issues/
"John Fetterman's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test) - Vote Smart" https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/political-courage-test/166286/john-fetterman
"Election 2022: Oz and Fetterman policies on crime, policing - WHYY" https://whyy.org/articles/election-2022-pennsylvania-senate-oz-fetterman-criminal-justice/
Post-Election Actions and Policy Shifts:
"Fetterman flight: from Sanders-style progressive to Trump-adjacent senator" - The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/18/john-fetterman-democrat-trump-progressive
"John Fetterman Changes Political Identity as He Fights Democrats" - Newsweek https://www.newsweek.com/john-fetterman-not-progressive-democrat-border-1862802
"John Fetterman Faces Backlash After Breaking With Democratic Colleagues" - Newsweek https://www.newsweek.com/john-fetterman-backlash-breaking-democratic-colleagues-2026348
Reports on Behavior and Voter Response:
"Discontent with Fetterman bursts into the streets among Pa. Democrats" - WESA https://www.wesa.fm/politics-government/2025-02-06/fetterman-discontent-pennsylvania-democrats
“John Fetterman at fault in recent car accident, police say” - WHYY https://whyy.org/articles/john-fetterman-car-accident-at-fault-speeding/
"John Fetterman is challenging his fellow Democrats" - WHYY https://whyy.org/articles/john-fetterman-trump-democrats-pennsylvania/
"Democrat Sen. John Fetterman blasts party brand as 'toxic' after years of 'shaming' voters" - NY Post https://nypost.com/2025/02/07/us-news/democrat-sen-john-fetterman-blasts-party-brand-as-toxic-after-years-of-shaming-and-scolding-voters/
"John Fetterman: Democrats may not win back white men" - UnHerd https://unherd.com/newsroom/john-fetterman-democrats-may-not-win-back-white-men/
“Fetterman, Breaking With the Left on Israel, Rejects ‘Progressive’ Label” - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/21/us/politics/john-fetterman-progressive-israel.html
“John Fetterman's Latest Israel Move Sparks Fury” - Newsweek https://www.newsweek.com/john-fetterman-latest-israel-move-sparks-fury-1841836
I'll give you my two cents on Fetterman. The way he's been a turncoat to the Democrat party is simple. He's merely another Republican plant that was installed to run as a Democrat and win, but then start voting for right wing policies. This is a Carl Rove technique. This has been happening for years from small town elections and judges, all the way up to state legislators and justices. Republicans are cheaters at every turn in politics. This is exactly why you teach your children...never ever vote republican. Republican is synonymous with Nazism.
For whatever the reason for Fetterman’s decline, (and it’s probably medically related, but at this point I don’t care) the big red line here is collaboration with Fascism. The last thing we need is another Vichy member of Congress. Pennsylvania needs to primary him and throw him into the ash heap of history.