The question is rhetorical, but not entirely unrealistic. It also has nothing to do with Fetterman’s recent hospitalization for a minor heart issue, but rather with his appeal across the aisle.

You remember Reagan Democrats, don’t you? They were the working-class Democrats who saw something decent and hopeful in Ronald Reagan’s message and crossed party lines to vote for him – maybe the first Republican they had ever voted for.

Something similar could be going on now, except in the opposite direction, as Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania puts distance between himself and the progressive elements of the Democrat Party and begins to sound decent and hopeful just like Reagan.

The latest example was when Fetterman urged his fellow Democrats to stop the government shutdown they had caused:

"As a committed Democrat, it’s always been wrong for us to shut the government down. Rightly, they criticize the Republicans when they’ve shut the government down all the time. It’s wrong. It’s reckless. … I absolutely support extending those [Affordable Care Act] tax credits. But for me, the kinds of chaos and holding our government hostage is unacceptable. And you can have priorities, but it’s wrong to go shutting our government down, and that’s where we’re at."

So am I a Fetterman Republican? Maybe not. Not entirely anyway. I certainly don’t support extending the COVID-era ACA tax credits, but I understand why the Pennsylvania Democrat’s star is rising. He is one of the few U.S. senators of either party who seems to follow his conscience........

© RealClearPolitics