Democrats are trying to figure out what to do about John Fetterman. One of them is stepping up
ENOLA, Pa. (AP) — Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania isn't even up for reelection until 2028, but already a one-time primary foe, former U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, is crisscrossing Pennsylvania and social media, looking and sounding like he's preparing to challenge Fetterman again.
At town hall after town hall across Pennsylvania, Democrats and allied progressive groups aren't hearing from Fetterman in person — or Republicans who control Washington, for that matter.
But they are hearing from Lamb, a living reminder of the Democrat they could have elected instead of Fetterman. The former congressman has emerged as an in-demand town hall headliner, sometimes as a stand-in for Fetterman — who just might bash Fetterman.
'I thought I was going to play Senator Fetterman,' Lamb joked as he sat down in front of a central Pennsylvania crowd last Sunday.
Democrats are frustrated with Fetterman
Lamb's reemergence comes at an in-between moment, roughly halfway through Fetterman's six-year term, and is helping define the struggle facing Democrats in swing-state Pennsylvania.
There, Democrats figure prominently in their national effort to push back on President Donald Trump, but also in their struggle to figure out what to do about Fetterman, who is under fire from rank-and-file Democrats for being willing to cooperate with Trump.
Frustration with Fetterman has been on display on social media, at the massive ' No Kings ' rally in Philadelphia and among the Democratic Party's faithful. The steering committee of the progressive organization Indivisible PA last month asked Fetterman to resign.
It's quite a turnabout for the hoodies-and-shorts-wearing Fetterman, elected in 2022 with an everyman persona and irreverent wit, who was unafraid to challenge convention.
For some progressives, frustration with Fetterman began with his staunch support for Israel's punishing war against Hamas in Gaza, an issue that divides Democrats.
It's moved beyond that since Trump took office. Now, some are wondering why he's — as they see it — kissing up to Trump, why he's chastising fellow Democrats for their anti-Trump resistance and whether he's even committed to their causes at all.
Most recently, they question his support for Trump's bombing of Iran.
'It hurts,' said John Abbott, who attended Sunday's event in suburban Harrisburg.
Speaking at the flagship 'No Kings' rally in Philadelphia, Indivisible co-founder Leah Greenberg name-checked Fetterman.
'We're looking to the leaders who will fight for us, because even today there are folks among the Democratic Party who think we should roll over and play dead,' Greenberg said. 'Anyone seen John Fetterman here today?'
The crowd booed.
Why is Conor Lamb crisscrossing Pennsylvania again?
In Pittsburgh, progressives trying to land an in-person town hall with Fetterman or first-term Republican Sen. David McCormick noticed when the two senators advertised an event together at a downtown restaurant to celebrate the release of McCormick's new book.
Progressive groups organized to protest it and — after it got moved to a private location with a private invite list — went ahead with their own town hall. They invited Lamb and a local Democratic state representative instead.
More invitations for Lamb started rolling in.
By his count, he's now attended at least a dozen town halls and party events, easily clocking more than 2,000 miles to appear in small towns, small cities and suburbs, often in conservative areas.
'Showing up matters and it really does make a difference,' said Dana Kellerman, a Pittsburgh-based progressive organizer. 'Is that going to matter to John Fetterman? I really don't know. I don't know what he's thinking. I don't know if he's always been this person or if he's changed in the last two years.'
Fetterman has brushed off criticism, saying he's a committed Democrat, insisting he was elected to engage with Republicans and — perhaps hypocritically — questioning why Democrats would criticize fellow Democrats.
At times, Fetterman has criticized Trump, questioning the move to 'punch our allies in the mouth' with tariffs or the need for cuts to social-safety net programs in the GOP's legislation to extend 2017's tax cuts. Fetterman's office didn't respond to an inquiry about Lamb.
Is Conor Lamb running for Senate?
For his part, Lamb — a former U.S. Marine and federal prosecutor — says he isn't running for anything right now, but he'll do whatever he can to 'stop this slide that we're on toward a less democratic country and try to create one in which there's more opportunity for people.'
To some Democrats, he sounds like a candidate.
'That he's doing these town halls is a good indication that he'll be running for something, so it's a good thing,' said Janet Bargh, who attended the event in suburban Harrisburg.
Aside from the town halls, he spoke at the Unite for Veterans event on the National Mall. He has also been active on social media, doing local radio appearances and appearing on MSNBC, where he recently criticized the June 14 military parade ordered up by Trump.
Not long ago, it was hard to envision Lamb losing a race, ever.
In 2018, he won a heavily Trump-friendly congressional district in southwestern Pennsylvania in a special election. It was the center of the political universe that spring, drawing campaign visits by Trump and then-presidential hopeful Joe Biden.
Suddenly, Lamb was ascendant. Then he ran for Senate and lost handily — by more than two-to-one — to Fetterman in 2022's primary.
People often ask Lamb if he's going to challenge Fetterman again. Lamb said he reminds them that Fetterman has three years left in his term and pivots the conversation to what Democrats need to do to win elections in 2025 and 2026.
Still, Lamb is unafraid to criticize Fetterman publicly. And, he said, he's a magnet for Democrats to air their unhappiness with Fetterman. What he hears, over and over, is frustration that Fetterman spends too much time attacking fellow Democrats and not enough time challenging Trump.
'And that is, I think, what's driving the frustration more than any one particular issue,' Lamb said.
At the town hall, Lamb wasn't afraid to admit he'd lost to Fetterman. But he turned it into an attack line.
'When I watch the person who beat me give up on every important issue that he campaigned on … the more I reasoned that the point of all of this in the first place is advocacy for what's right and wrong,' Lamb told the crowd. 'And advocacy for not just a particular party to win, but for the type of country where it matters if, when you stand up, you tell the truth.'
The crowd cheered.
___
Follow Marc Levy on X at: https://x.com/timelywriter
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Canada News.Net
14 minutes ago
- Canada News.Net
International Year of Glaciers' Preservation: save the glaciers!
The United Nations has designated 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation to highlight the importance of glaciers and ensure that those relying on them, and those affected by cryospheric (1) processes, receive the necessary hydrological, meteorological, and climate services. Glaciers are crucial for regulating the global climate and providing freshwater, essential for billions of people. However, due to climate change, driven mainly by human activities since the 1800s, these vital resources are rapidly melting. The resolution calls on the international community to resolve conflicts through inclusive dialogue and negotiation in order to ensure the strengthening of peace and trust in relations between UN member states as a value that promotes sustainable development, peace and security, and human rights. Contrary to calls on the international community to resolve conflicts through inclusive dialogue and negotiation, Canada has decided to militarize the Arctic, citing the war in Ukraine as a major factor. In fact, much of the Arctic Circle is located in Russia, Canada, and Greenland. Last year the Canadian government affirmed that NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) will ensure Canadian sovereignty over the Arctic. However, NORAD, which is led by the United States and headquartered in Colorado Springs, is in power, while NATO is headquartered in Brussels. This decision by the federal government gives disproportionate control over the Canadian Arctic and threatens Inuit sovereignty and the balance of the already fragile Arctic ecosystem. The proposed militarization of the Canadian Arctic threatens to further weaken the ecosystem, which is being hit hard by climate change and melting ice. Dramatic changes in the Arctic, including an increase in wildfires, the greening of the Tundra and an increase in winter precipitation, are documented in the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's 2024 Arctic Report Card. The report notes a growing scientific consensus that melting Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, among other factors, may be slowing important ocean currents at both poles, with potentially dire consequences for a much colder northern Europe) and greater sea-level rise along the U.S. East Coast. Unfortunately, the Trump administration's plan to dismantle the nation's atmospheric research programs and could set U.S. forecasting back to dark age, warns hurricane, weather and ocean scientists. We cannot negotiate with the melting point of ice, is one of the bottom lines of the report from the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative, which includes scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and WMO's Global Cryosphere Watch network. These new findings corroborate recent WMO State of the Global Climate and State of Global Water Resources reports which also have also highlighted the alarming melting affecting the cryosphere. A glacier is a large accumulation of mainly ice and snow, that originates on land and flows slowly through the influence of its own weight. Glaciers are found on every continent. They exist in many mountain regions and around the edges of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. There are more than 200 000 glaciers in the world, covering an area of around 700 000 km2 (RGI, 2023). Glaciers are considered as important water towers, storing about 158 000 km3 of freshwater (Farinotti et al., 2019). Glaciers are a source of life, providing freshwater to people, animals and plants alike. Okjkull (Icelandic pronunciation: [kjktl], Ok glacier) was a glacier in western Iceland on top of the shield volcano Ok.[2] Ok is located north-east of Reykjavik. The glacier was declared dead in 2014 by glaciologist Oddur Sigursson due to its loss of thickness. The plaque was installed on August 18, 2019,[5] with an inscription written by Andri Snr Magnason, titled A letter to the future, in Icelandic and English. The English version reads: Ok is the first Icelandic glacier to lose its status as a glacier. In the next 200 years all our glaciers are expected to follow the same path. This monument is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it. Impact Glaciers and ice caps are critical for sustaining ecosystems and human livelihoods. They provide essential meltwater runoff during dry seasons, supporting drinking water, agriculture, industry, and clean energy production, making these frozen reservoirs vital for global water resources. Climate and cryosphere changes, however, are disrupting the water cycle, altering the amount and timing of glacier melt, causing knock-on impacts on water resource availability while also contributing to sea-level rise. As glaciers continue to shrink and snow cover diminishes, less water will be available for communities, particularly in seasonally dry regions. Increased competition for water resources is expected, with regions like China, India, and the Andes among the most vulnerable. Glaciers that have surpassed their "Peak Water" point-the stage at which meltwater runoff reaches its maximum-will gradually provide decreasing contributions to downstream water supplies, intensifying challenges for water security. Over the past century, despite representing only 0.5% of global land surface area, glaciers have contributed more to sea-level rise than the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. Between 2000 and 2023, glaciers are estimated to have lost an average mass of approximately 273 billion tonnes per year, which is equivalent to approximately 0.75 mm per year of global sea-level rise (The GlaMBIE Team, 2025). The continuous retreat of glaciers signals the growing impacts of global warming and creates new hazards while intensifying existing ones. For example, melting glaciers are increasing the risk of hazards such as glacier lake outburst floods, ice avalanches and glacial debris flows, posing dangers to local and downstream communities. However, risk assessments are often not possible due to an absence of data (IPCC, 2019). Therefore, increased observation of the cryosphere is critical for effectively forecasting the impacts of cryosphere-related hazards. ___________________________________________ (1) Cryospheric: The cryosphere is an umbrella term for those portions of Earth's surface where water is in solid form. This includes sea ice, ice on lakes or rivers, snow, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, and frozen ground (which includes permafrost).
Canada Standard
29 minutes ago
- Canada Standard
International Year of Glaciers' Preservation: save the glaciers!
The United Nations has designated 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation to highlight the importance of glaciers and ensure that those relying on them, and those affected by cryospheric (1) processes, receive the necessary hydrological, meteorological, and climate services. Glaciers are crucial for regulating the global climate and providing freshwater, essential for billions of people. However, due to climate change, driven mainly by human activities since the 1800s, these vital resources are rapidly melting. The resolution calls on the international community to resolve conflicts through inclusive dialogue and negotiation in order to ensure the strengthening of peace and trust in relations between UN member states as a value that promotes sustainable development, peace and security, and human rights. Contrary to calls on the international community to resolve conflicts through inclusive dialogue and negotiation, Canada has decided to militarize the Arctic, citing the war in Ukraine as a major factor. In fact, much of the Arctic Circle is located in Russia, Canada, and Greenland. Last year the Canadian government affirmed that NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) will ensure Canadian sovereignty over the Arctic. However, NORAD, which is led by the United States and headquartered in Colorado Springs, is in power, while NATO is headquartered in Brussels. This decision by the federal government gives disproportionate control over the Canadian Arctic and threatens Inuit sovereignty and the balance of the already fragile Arctic ecosystem. The proposed militarization of the Canadian Arctic threatens to further weaken the ecosystem, which is being hit hard by climate change and melting ice. Dramatic changes in the Arctic, including an increase in wildfires, the greening of the Tundra and an increase in winter precipitation, are documented in the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's 2024 Arctic Report Card. The report notes a growing scientific consensus that melting Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, among other factors, may be slowing important ocean currents at both poles, with potentially dire consequences for a much colder northern Europe) and greater sea-level rise along the U.S. East Coast. Unfortunately, the Trump administration's plan to dismantle the nation's atmospheric research programs and could set U.S. forecasting back to dark age, warns hurricane, weather and ocean scientists. We cannot negotiate with the melting point of ice, is one of the bottom lines of the report from the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative, which includes scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and WMO's Global Cryosphere Watch network. These new findings corroborate recent WMO State of the Global Climate and State of Global Water Resources reports which also have also highlighted the alarming melting affecting the cryosphere. A glacier is a large accumulation of mainly ice and snow, that originates on land and flows slowly through the influence of its own weight. Glaciers are found on every continent. They exist in many mountain regions and around the edges of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. There are more than 200 000 glaciers in the world, covering an area of around 700 000 km2 (RGI, 2023). Glaciers are considered as important water towers, storing about 158 000 km3 of freshwater (Farinotti et al., 2019). Glaciers are a source of life, providing freshwater to people, animals and plants alike. Okjkull (Icelandic pronunciation: [kjktl], Ok glacier) was a glacier in western Iceland on top of the shield volcano Ok.[2] Ok is located north-east of Reykjavik. The glacier was declared dead in 2014 by glaciologist Oddur Sigursson due to its loss of thickness. The plaque was installed on August 18, 2019,[5] with an inscription written by Andri Snr Magnason, titled A letter to the future , in Icelandic and English. The English version reads: Ok is the first Icelandic glacier to lose its status as a glacier. In the next 200 years all our glaciers are expected to follow the same path. This monument is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it. Impact Glaciers and ice caps are critical for sustaining ecosystems and human livelihoods. They provide essential meltwater runoff during dry seasons, supporting drinking water, agriculture, industry, and clean energy production, making these frozen reservoirs vital for global water resources. Climate and cryosphere changes, however, are disrupting the water cycle, altering the amount and timing of glacier melt, causing knock-on impacts on water resource availability while also contributing to sea-level rise. As glaciers continue to shrink and snow cover diminishes, less water will be available for communities, particularly in seasonally dry regions. Increased competition for water resources is expected, with regions like China, India, and the Andes among the most vulnerable. Glaciers that have surpassed their "Peak Water" point-the stage at which meltwater runoff reaches its maximum-will gradually provide decreasing contributions to downstream water supplies, intensifying challenges for water security. Over the past century, despite representing only 0.5% of global land surface area, glaciers have contributed more to sea-level rise than the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. Between 2000 and 2023, glaciers are estimated to have lost an average mass of approximately 273 billion tonnes per year, which is equivalent to approximately 0.75 mm per year of global sea-level rise (The GlaMBIE Team, 2025). The continuous retreat of glaciers signals the growing impacts of global warming and creates new hazards while intensifying existing ones. For example, melting glaciers are increasing the risk of hazards such as glacier lake outburst floods, ice avalanches and glacial debris flows, posing dangers to local and downstream communities. However, risk assessments are often not possible due to an absence of data (IPCC, 2019). Therefore, increased observation of the cryosphere is critical for effectively forecasting the impacts of cryosphere-related hazards. ___________________________________________ Source: (1) Cryospheric : The cryosphere is an umbrella term for those portions of Earth's surface where water is in solid form. This includes sea ice, ice on lakes or rivers, snow, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, and frozen ground (which includes permafrost). Source: Pressenza
CTV News
35 minutes ago
- CTV News
Trump believes ‘he can make Canada a state,' political analyst says
Watch CTV News' U.S. political analyst Eric Ham says that Trump believes 'enough pressure will make Canada concede' and become the 51st state.
