Photo from Governor Tom Wolf's Flickr account
Guy Ciarrocchi: PA Democrats, beware — hate is affecting your judgment
The Left’s anger with Senator John Fetterman has them not only chasing away an incumbent swing-state Senator who is actually very loyal to his party—and popular with many voters — but has many of them now rallying behind someone with whom they disagreed far more than Fetterman often just a few years ago.
Don Michael Corleone was right: Hate clouds your judgment.
Senator John Fetterman votes with his fellow Democrats 91 percent of the time. But the Democrat Party is now led and funded — and regularly berated — by left-wing progressives, who demand cult-like, absolute loyalty. So, 91 percent loyalty is not good enough.
The 91 percent party loyalty is important to note because facts can ruin a good narrative, so it’s never discussed. And the latest narratives from many Democrats, social media provocateurs, and legacy media would have you believe that Fetterman is an old-school “moderate,” with a huge independent streak, who is almost as likely to vote with the GOP as he is his fellow Democrats.
But the Left rejects voting record facts — just like they reject that there are two genders. After all, there’s a movement to advance: damn the torpedoes!
The reality is that Fetterman is a liberal — if not progressive — Democrat, but he hasn’t fully rejected common sense. He thinks Jews ought to be protected, not terrorists; that peaceful protests ought to be peaceful — no fires and no brick-throwing at cops, and that the border ought to be secured — for many reasons. And notwithstanding his commitment to his ideology, he believes it’s okay to be cordial and civil with Republicans.
As I’ve written, Democrats’ hatred of him actually tells us more about the mindset of 2026 Democrats, rather than an insight into Senator Fetterman. Because those leading their party and those driving the rallies, social media and protests — riots at times — demand cult-like loyalty, they’ve decided Fetterman must go. The progressive group “Indivisible PA” has demanded that he resign.
Despite the fact that his re-election isn’t until 2028, the move to oust him began in 2025. The movement is growing and candidates have stepped into the breach. The Democrats’ allies in the Working Families Party have begun an effort to have Fetterman’s donors request a refund on their donations — a campaign to “un-donate.” https://www.primaryfetterman.com/refund
So Senator— 91percent loyal, abortion-on-demand, men can play women’s sports, 100 percent support for the AFL-CIO and Mr. legalize “recreational” marijuana — Fetterman must go.
But there’s more to underscore how crazed the Left is with anger. Look who’s on deck: this really shows us that the Democrats are ignoring Don Corleone’s counsel.
Connor Lamb. Former Congressman Lamb hails from greater Pittsburgh. His name may ring a bell not only because he served in Congress, but because he ran against Fetterman in the 2022 Democrat Primary for Senate. But there’s a missing piece of that story.
Lamb ran to the right of Fetterman — openly and repeatedly. Now, he wants to dethrone Fetterman for not being left-wing enough. Not being party-loyal. Not being a true believer.
Well, let’s take a look way back to 2022, to Lamb’s time in Congress. Let’s see who the real “moderate” is.
In their 2022 debate, Lamb criticized Fetterman as being too liberal—alleging that he was unelectable in a state like Pennsylvania. He ran TV ads calling Fetterman a “silver-spoon-Socialist.” He went further: “John as a nominee is someone who’s ran around the state with Bernie Sanders supporting Medicare for all.”
In that 2022 primary, to make it crystal clear, Lamb stated that he would not accept the endorsement of Bernie Sanders.
While in Congress, when discussing military action against Iran in 2020, Lamb defended the actions of American troops after the assassination of Qasem Soleimani — a top official in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. As a candidate for Congress in 2018, Lamb told voters that he would not vote for Nancy Pelosi for Speaker.
I’m not a Democrat, but I do follow politics.
Doesn’t it sound like Fetterman was the progressive and Lamb was the moderate — afraid that progressives could not win, rejecting their leaders and ideology?
Well, it’s 2026 and apparently many in the Left hate Fetterman so much that they’re supporting Lamb in his quest for Senate 2.0.
Connor Lamb is now angry that Fetterman is “too moderate” and not progressive enough. Lamb’s more welcome on MSNBC/MSNow than Fetterman.
Will the Left actually embrace the moderate Congressman now pledging-to-be-progressive Connor Lamb just to get rid of the hoodie-wearing, “only” 91 percent loyal Fetterman?
Hate is a powerful force.
Guy Ciarrocchi writes for Broad + Liberty and RealClear Pennsylvania.A conservative commentator — and softball coach — you may follow Guy at @PaSuburbsGuy.
“I’m not a Democrat, but I do follow politics.”
Just wait until you hear about the guy in the White House and his hatred for Democrats! I’m sure that editorial will be next on the docket, right?
It is clear that for the “progressive, far left democrat” (my term) there is no such thing as the public good. A cult like attachment to this theology of the left is reminiscent of Jim Jones, but without Kool-Aid. Instead, we have hate campaigns and economic coercion. We have the formation of pressure groups that appear to be the type of groups that spend a great deal of time in the dark corners of their parent’s basements. We are confronted by people whose only concern is that their particular ideology prevail regardless of the consequences, up to and including the collapse of America. 58,000 of my brother soldiers died in Viet Nam and many thousands afterwards in other conflicts, it is sad to now see the country they sacrificed their last full measure of devotion for.
This article is BS. Fetterman’s fall of 108 points is not only democrats. Good riddance to 2 faced Fetterman. As to the rest- our Nation has learned hate from the insulting “Im glad he’s dead” Trump-MAGA cult. Get your head out of the sand.
Seek psychological help.
Guy Ciarrocchi’s analysis is dead on. Fetterman votes with the Democratic Party 91% of the time and is made into a political pariah by the increasingly radical/reactive/regressive Left. I wither in horror as my party continues down this trail, abandoning facts and critical thinking in favor of group think, and a demand for lock step agreement, or face cancel culture and worse. I watched him best the other Senate primary candidates ( Lamb, Sestak, and McGinty, who won the nomination, but lost the General to incumbent Pat Toomey) for the endorsement of the 9th ward in Chestnut Hill, a liberal, large, high percentage voting ward in that first Senatorial primary (disclosure: as a committee person, I was a vote for Fetterman’s 9th ward endorsement). Fetterman was then who his is now. His appearance alone tells you he is going his own way. He is doing his job, which is to represent all of the Commonwealth, even in the face of party divides, however substantial. When Bob Casey cooperated with Pat Toomey on getting judicial appointments done by agreement, he was (rightly) lauded. When Fetterman works with Dave McCormick, he is castigated. The people who say Fetterman has changed, or has abandoned his base are just flat it wrong. It’s his base that has (wrongly) abandoned him.