Summer may be officially over, but the battle for Pennsylvania’s Senate seat in the upcoming 2022 midterm elections is definitely heating up. As of now, Democrat John Fetterman is holding a 6.5 point lead according to the Real Clear Politics Average over Republican Dr. Memhet Oz.
Most Pennsylvanians are somewhat familiar with Dr. Oz due to the fact that he hosted a daytime talk show from 2009 to 2022. Oz has also been quite accessible on the campaign trail, as he has made dozens of appearances for townhalls and meet-and-greets with local voters. Moreover, Oz has plainly stated that he is a MAGA Republican who favors low taxes and regulations, limited government, free-market capitalism, and individual freedom.
On the other hand, voters know very little about Oz’s opponent. Why? Well, first of all, Fetterman is recovering from a stroke, which has severely limited his campaign appearances thus far.
However, stroke aside, it is very possible that Fetterman is taking a page out of the Joe Biden 2020 election playbook. Throughout the 2020 campaign cycle, Biden remained mostly in his basement, rarely appearing in public and seldomly sitting for in-depth interviews with media. Although many pundits questioned this strategy at the time, it seems to have worked to Biden’s advantage, as he was less apt to make gaffes or commit to policies. By sitting on the sidelines, Biden basically allowed the media to campaign for him, which went out of its way to falsely portray Biden as a middle-of-the-road Democrat. As we now know, Biden has not governed as a middle-of-the-road Democrat. In fact, he has governed as one of the most progressive presidents in U.S. history.
Without a doubt, the mainstream media is trying to portray Fetterman in much the same light. Yet, based on his record and own comments, Fetterman is far from a commonsense Democrat. In reality, Fetterman is a radical socialist who says on day one he would “scrap the filibuster.”
So, what else would Fetterman do if he were to win the Senate seat in Pennsylvania? According to his campaign website, he supports universal health care; universal pre-K and childcare; “free” community college; lowering the Medicare eligibility age to 60 while expanding benefits to include vision, hearing, and dental care; the green energy transition; a $15 minimum wage; and several more far-left policies.
With the Senate split 50-50, every race in the upcoming midterm elections will be especially significant this year. In Pennsylvania, the contrast could not be starker: socialism v. freedom is on the ballot.
PHOTO: Lt. Gov. John Fetterman. Photo by Governor Tom Wolf. Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0).
Chris Talgo ([email protected]) is the editorial director and a research fellow at The Heartland Institute, as well as a researcher and contributing editor at StoppingSocialism.com.
