What Democratic Populism Could Look Like | Opinion
Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman’s November 2022 Election Win is a Model for Democratic Populism
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In retaining a Senate majority under a president with low approval ratings and poor public optics, the 2022 midterm election was strikingly successful for the Democrats. Despite their success, Democrats have more questions than answers as they face the 2024 presidential election. The only major Republican candidate to announce their campaign for office is a populist, former President Donald Trump. Democrats need a competing populist but have little idea what that would look like.
Past attempts at Democratic populism—Bernie Sanders—have failed because of their association with the word "socialism," which reviles half the country. However, Pennsylvania Senator-Elect John Fetterman (D) presents an alternative form of Democratic populism that is uncontaminated by "socialism"—though full of messaging about taking on the powers that be.
Pennsylvania's senate race involved not one but two populists. Trump-endorsed Dr. Mehmet Oz was on the Republican ticket—whose "America First" campaign slogan and the general atmosphere was, more or less, a Trumpian copycat. Fetterman's victory—by over 250,000 votes—is an example of a Trump-like populist losing to a Democratic populist that lacks any reputation as a socialist. Democrats must look at this election as an example to follow for the 2024 presidential election, as there is high probability that Donald Trump will become the Republican nominee.
Fetterman's populism worked successfully to flip a GOP Senate seat in a swing state not only because it lacked any signs of "socialism." He painted Oz as a self-interested elite outsider without ties to Pennsylvania. In addition to running extensive advertising campaigns on abortion rights, Fetterman was not afraid to call out and name-call his opponents as abrasively and vulgarly as Trump does. Democrats like Fetterman point the finger at Republicans—to their faces—as responsible for everyday Americans' problems like inflation and the risk of losing nationwide reproductive rights.
In other words, Fetterman's campaign was successful because it avoided the mistakes that cost Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders the 2016 presidential election. That is, Fetterman did not "go high when they went low," as Clinton and Michelle Obama famously advocated on behalf of the Democratic Party. Instead, Fetterman did the opposite. When the GOP went low—and Dr. Oz went pretty low—Fetterman went even lower. Fetterman enjoyed calling Oz "a malicious scam artist" and even a Dallas Cowboys fan, demonstrating his genuine knowledge of Pennsylvania with savvy while insulting Dr. Oz.
Fetterman's lows never reach conspiratorial or illiberal levels. For example, imagine what lies Trump would have concocted if his opponent had served in the Turkish military with dual citizenship as Dr. Oz did. As Fetterman communications director Joe Calvello told HuffPost, "[Oz] was not defined as a doctor. He was defined as a rich asshole from Jersey." Fetterman's populism is effective because it lacks cruelty—which Democrats aren't famous for advocating. Likewise, it lacks the sort of ignorance behind Trumpian statements such as, "No one's gotten to the bottom of 9/11." Finally, and most importantly, it successfully strips opponents of all credibility by pointing out their flaws through humor and serious political accountability for the grave everyday problems the average American faces.
Instead of being cruel and utterly fictitious, Fetterman's populism is often funny—another attribute Democrats aren't famous for. Fetterman even hired Jersey Shore star "Snooki" to cameo in pro-Fetterman commercials against Dr. Oz. Other advertisements showcase Oz's apparent ignorance of the state he is running in, and even his ignorance of medical science—despite being a credentialed medical doctor. Additionally, Fetterman successfully avoided the pitfall many democrats fall into—being soft on crime—by showcasing his record of reducing crime as mayor of Braddock.
Democrats should not fear being as bold and offensive as Donald Trump. However, a Democratic candidate that paints the opposition as the "bad guy" using insult after insult while also avoiding retribution from the other side sounds like asking for too much. Undoubtedly, a reality where Democrats actually choose such a candidate will require delicacy and careful decision-making. Unfortunately, the general opinion on the left is that the Democrats must deal with an aging Joe Biden, or they are entirely lost in considering what an alternative presidential candidate could look like. Fetterman's "punk rock" victory should shatter this opinion among Democrats. The party must free itself and choose similar candidates for 2024—candidates more willing to wrestle in the mud with the likes of Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
