By Joseph Catena
I can’t wait for the election. I’m not talking about the midterms either. I am eagerly awaiting the 2028 election.
The 2028 Pennsylvania Senate election, that is.
If the GOP campaigns on the right issues and the great successes of the Trump 2.0 presidency, there is no reason why the House should not remain in Republican hands, and the Senate lead should actually increase. House and Senate candidates can easily tout lower gas prices, lower interest rates, virtually no illegal immigration, very low inflation, and fatter income tax returns. They can also cite a tremendous America First foreign policy that has essentially halted multiple wars and forced NATO nations to pay their fair share and stop heaping everything on the United States’ broad shoulders. Republicans must articulate these victories and remind the voters that things will continue to get even better if they vote the right way and stay the course. The outcome of ’26 should be a no brainer.
As far as the 2028 Presidential Election, that too should be a no brainer. Whether the presumptive nominee is Vice President J.D. Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio, either should manhandle (pardon my toxicity) whomever emerges from the Democratic Freak Fest. And what a freak fest! Every drama queen and wing nut from Cory “Spartacus” Booker to Jasmine Crocket and every beta male and pseudo alpha from Pete Buttiegeg to Eric Swalwell will be popping out of the clown car and jumping into the center ring.
Pennsylvania’s Senate race is by far, the most intriguing battle. Thus far, Pennsylvania’s Democrat Senator John Fetterman is the only reasonable Democrat in the House or the Senate. He actually might be the only reasonable elected Democrat in America. Fetterman is a consensus builder. He has broken with antisemitic radicals in his party who hate Israel. Along with being pro-Israel, he has also supported the bombing of Iran’s nuclear facility. He has voted to fund ICE and has supported securing the border. Fetterman also voted against the Democrat-led government shutdown. Moreover, the senator has always spoken respectfully about President Trump and even accepted his invitation to Mar-a-Lago after Trump regained the presidency in 2024.
Fetterman refuses to engage in the nasty rhetoric of his party toward the president, and he has shown great respect for the office of the presidency. The gargantuan 6-foot, 8-inch senator has lambasted fellow party members as recently as Trump’s State of the Union Address for hollering, carrying derogatory signs, and overall rude behavior. He will not engage in name calling or insults. He has been extremely critical of the term “Nazi” being used by countless Democrat colleagues when they speak ill of President Trump or ICE in particular. He is a consensus builder, and he has formed a friendship and worked with Alabama Republican Sen. Katie Britt on issues concerning mental health. Basically, the only thing tasteless and rude about Fetterman is his wardrobe on the Senate floor.
No wonder the Left hates him.
And this is what makes his 2028 race so intriguing. Fetterman has turned off party hierarchy and will very likely be challenged in a primary by a woke nutcase. Then, Fetterman will be the only voice on the national Democrat stage to spout some views that Republicans or the vast majority of Americans in general believe in, like voter ID. Pennsylvania’s Democratic Senate primary will get ugly. The Democrats will literally combust during this internal war. If Fetterman beats his garden variety yet-to-be-named woke challenger, then things will really get interesting.
You see, Fetterman is still a Democrat with no aspirations of leaving his party. He has gone on record as saying one of the main reasons he stays in that party is because of his position on abortion rights. He is also a staunch supporter of the LQBTQ+ community. Long before his Senate service, he was the mayor of Braddock, a tiny Pittsburgh suburb with a population slightly more than 1,700. While mayor, Fetterman rebuked Pennsylvania law and officiated a gay marriage ceremony. As a senator he voted against a federal bill that would have prevented trans women athletes from competing in women’s sports.
Regarding abortion, Fetterman appears to be an extremist. He voted to block the “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act,” which would have required healthcare practitioners to seek and save the life of a baby born during an attempted abortion and ensure that the infant is hospitalized. Fetterman unabashedly doubled down on his position and considered this heinous circumstance as a woman’s health care right. Basically, Fetterman favors the right to infanticide. On these two issues, John Fetterman is woke. Period. It is as unsettling as it is unexplainable. How could such a mild-mannered, common sense, normal person be so off the mark with this pair of “90-10” issues? If Fetterman did switch to the GOP, those two views would make him a unicorn in the party.
Presuming Fetterman wins his nomination, his Republican opponent will hammer him on these two issues in the general election. But Fetterman is the Republican party’s favorite Democrat, one whom they respect, so they must be careful about how they attack him. If national Democrats leave their senator with little financial support and only nominal public support, it would be the political equivalent of suicide by cop. Regardless, this race will be one of unpredictable and rapidly unfolding political theater. A Fetterman loss would embolden the woke beast that the Democrat party has become and remind centrists that they aren’t welcome. Then again, a Fetterman victory would ensure President-elect Vance or President-elect Rubio that honest Democrats still exist and there will be at least one whom they can work with.
But who knows? Maybe unicorns really do exist.
Did not know how extreme Fetterman was on the life issue. Need to take him to Mary
It’s hard to dislike Fetterman, but those two extreme positions on those two issues makes him a head scratcher.
Joe, great post. What is your thoughts on this war?
Thank you, Bobbie. As far as the war, I am not an interventionist. I believe the U.S. should go on the offensive if threatened or struck. In this case, I do believe it is just for two reasons: first, Iran had agreed to stop building nukes last year after they were obliterated. They failed to live up to their word. Second, they have given no indication that their “Death to America” mantra has changed, nor have they stopped funding terrorist groups. This is not like Iraq, so I think we must finish the mission.