Who will dare represent Pennsylvania at the Freedom 250 Great American State Fair?

The commonwealth’s Governor Josh Shapiro announced last week that the state would not be represented at the fair because no businesses were interested in sponsoring the booth. Senators John Fetterman and Dave McCormick countered two days later that they had assembled a coalition of Pennsylvania companies, including crayon manufacturer Crayola, willing to step in.

“Pennsylvania is where America’s story began, and there was no way we were going to let the Commonwealth go unrepresented,” McCormick explained. “Celebrating America’s 250th birthday and Pennsylvania’s special role in our country is important and bipartisan,” said Fetterman. That doing so happens to show up Shapiro, a 2028 presidential contender who Fetterman severely dislikes, is just a bonus.

Shapiro’s initial stance aligned with the view that the event, run by the Trump administration’s Freedom 250, is divisive and partisan. (More on Freedom 250 here.) “It reflects this sad state of affairs that we find ourselves in – that the President has politicized this to a degree that businesses don’t want to participate,” Shapiro told the New Republic.

But the businesses that agreed to support McCormick and Fetterman’s effort don’t seem to agree. Crayola sent boxes of markers and Pennsylvania history coloring sheets. US Steel contributed a commemorative penny-press machine. The Gettysburg Foundation shared artifacts, stickers and bookmarks of the Gettysburg Address.

Cockburn ventured down to the fairgrounds this morning to visit the contentious booth. It’s decorated with a replica of the Liberty Bell, a flag from the state’s........

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