“I’d love to see him as a Republican,” President Donald Trump told reporters Saturday.
asserted
Trump → love → reporters
He was speaking, of course, of Sen. John Fetterman, the maverick Pennsylvania Democrat who’s been increasingly willing to break with his party in recent months.
asserted
who → speak → months
Trump’s comment revved up a rumor mill that Fetterman himself recently sought to tamp down.
asserted
Fetterman → rev → that
“I don’t have a reason” to jump ship to the Republicans, he assured CBS’ Major Garret two weeks ago.
asserted
he → have → Garret
Then he dropped a quiet bombshell.
asserted
he → drop → bombshell
“If I’m 51” — that is, the Senate’s 51st Democrat and the deciding vote for the body’s control — “then I don’t know.”
asserted
I → ’m → control
He continued the tease: “Let’s revisit after the midterms.”
asserted
’s → continue → midterms
Fetterman has every reason to be coy — it makes him Washington’s most powerful kingmaker.
asserted
him → have → reason
If he does switch parties, or becomes an independent caucusing with the GOP, the Democrats’ Election Day hill gets very steep: It means they’ll need a net pick-up of five seats to take the Senate — improbable given socialist-adjacent candidates in places like Maine, Texas, Michigan and elsewhere.
But more importantly, a Fetterman exit would be an ominous signal of coming attractions for his party.
asserted
exit → switch → party
In 2024, the Democratic Party politburo lied about President Joe Biden’s fitness for a second term, then about Kamala Harris’ readiness for prime time.
asserted
politburo → lie → time
These Big Lies cost them the election, as I predicted then on these pages.
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I → cost → pages
That’s because the party’s tent is “big” only for the extremist left.
asserted
tent → ’ → left
If you want to “seize the means of production,” eliminate the Senate, the presidency and the Supreme Court, open the borders, defund the police, abolish prisons and deprive Israel of its right to self-defense, then top Democrats will lay down prostrate: You get a red-carpet welcome.
But if you question the trans-right agenda, you risk excommunication by the party’s activist class and mutiny by your own staff, as Rep. Seth Moulton learned in 2024.
asserted
Moulton → want → 2024
If you want to close the borders, you’re a bigoted xenophobe.
asserted
you → want → borders
If you don’t parrot Hamas’ lies about genocide, you’re a colonizer.
asserted
you → parrot → genocide
All grounds for excommunication, as Fetterman is finding out.
asserted
Fetterman → find → excommunication
Former President Barack Obama has swooned for Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed, a candidate who can’t condemn the Muslim Brotherhood and refuses to say that the Nazi leadership in Tehran “is a greater threat” than the multiracial democracy in Israel.
asserted
leadership → swoon → Israel
New York Mayor Zoran Mandami blames Israeli Jews for the genocidal Oct. 7attack, while his wife boosts social posts celebrating that barbarism.
asserted
wife → blame → barbarism
A decade ago, Democrats would have had nothing to do with this fetishization of terrorists.
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Democrats → have → terrorists
Today they mainstream it.
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they → mainstream → it
So where does that leave the likes of Fetterman — and the many Democrats like myself who fought for years for Democratic presidents and candidates?
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who → leave → presidents
When Fetterman this year said how “liberating” it was “not to be a progressive” — after announcing his unwavering support for Israel in 2023 — the knives came out.
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knives → say → 2023
His former staff members started a smear campaign; Rep. Brendan Boyle, a fellow Pennsylvania Democrat, called Fetterman “a disgrace.”
asserted
Boyle → start → Fetterman
Back in July, Fetterman set a condition for leaving the Democratic Party.
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Fetterman → set → Party
“If our party ever becomes . . . the anti-Israel party, you know, that’s when I would leave,” he told the Hill Nation Summit.
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he → become → Summit
But half of House Democrats have already voted to cut off Israel aid — and with Democrats like New Jersey’s Adam Hamawy soon heading for Congress, the trend line is clear.
asserted
line → vote → Congress
If Fetterman does leave, the impact could be enormous.
He reflects the values of not just the anti-terror centrists, but of a broad swath of working-class voters who share his stances on immigration, gender, crime, race and so much else.
uncertain
who → leave → immigration
That’s why his exit could start a trend.
uncertain
exit → ’ → trend
Fetterman already enjoys a 77% approval rating among Pennsylvania Republicans and 48% approval statewide.
asserted
Fetterman → enjoy → Republicans
In his home state, as in the rest of the country, nearly 7 in 10 voters identify as moderate or conservative, and they strongly reject the socialist revolution.
asserted
they → identify → revolution
So as the Democratic Jacobins try to guillotine him politically, they’ll only be executing themselves.
asserted
they → try → themselves
Within the Democratic Party, the center has collapsed: 70% of voters think the party is out of touch with everyday voters, and nearly every poll finds their cultural and economic ideas far to the left of the median voter.
asserted
poll → collapse → voter
Regardless of what happens on Nov. 3, that toxic brand bodes poorly for 2028 and beyond.
asserted
brand → happen → 2028
The Pennsylvania maverick clearly senses that moderates are no longer welcome in his party.
asserted
moderates → sense → party
If he bails out after November, the question will be how many of us he takes with him.
asserted
he → bail → him
The Aporia
