Four years ago, I was one of 337,498 Pennsylvanians who voted for Conor Lamb as the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate.
We’ll never know how Lamb, a former congressman and federal prosecutor who was considered moderate, would have fared in the general election. More than twice as many primary voters chose Lieutenant Gov. John Fetterman, who won them over with his shorts-and-hoodie ensembles and progressive positions.
Once he took his Senate seat, however, Fetterman crossed the aisle to the extent that a February poll put his approval ratings at 73% of Republicans but only 22% of Democrats. He hasn’t just supported the Trump/Project 2025 regime’s war of choice, cruel and sometimes deadly immigration policy and ballroom/bunker vanity project; he’s also scolded fellow Dems for their resistance.
Fetterman’s term isn’t up for 2½ years, but Lamb is seen as a potential challenger. While he told Coal Region Canary he hasn’t decided whether to run, he’s been crisscrossing the state to promote his party and its midterm candidates.
Lamb had my vote in 2022 largely because he’d already spent four years in Congress. And he got bonus points for getting there by flipping a red district in 2018 in a special election.
I was also impressed by his speech on the House floor when some GOP colleagues, including my congressman, Dan Meuser, objected to certifying our state’s legitimate 2020 election results hours after MAGA goons had invaded the Capitol. Lamb placed the blame for the insurrection where it belongs – on Donald Trump and his cronies’ Big Lie.
Pressing issues
Recently I liked what I heard from Lamb during a brief interview and his keynote speech at the Schuylkill County Democratic Committee’s annual Kennedy Dinner.
If he was still in Congress, he said, his top priorities would be anti-corruption measures and affordable health care.
“Trump is just brazenly the most corrupt president in history,” he said. “He’s clearly taking money from foreign governments, from really wealthy people, in the form of crypto and real estate, and no one knows why he’s doing this war in Iran.”
Restoring the Medicaid funding that Trump cut and returning the Affordable Care Act to “sound footing” are also crucial. “That’s a jobs issue as well because your local hospitals, like the one in Pottsville, for example, they might really go under if they lose the federal funding that they typically rely on.”
Lamb took aim at the regime’s plan to convert the former Big Lots warehouse in Tremont to an ICE concentration camp. Rounding up the property’s $119 million purchase price to $120 million, he said that money could have provided every Schuylkill Countian with gasoline rebates of $2 a gallon for a year.
In his opinion, people would take those savings over “a warehouse for human beings” that would do “God knows what” to the area.
As for the data centers that threaten to invade our communities, “you won’t hear Trump or [J.D.] Vance or any of them say one word about it because all the people that are building those data centers were standing behind them at the inauguration.”
Lamb also pointed to the excellent benefits – education, training, child care and health care — that the military bestows on its recruits so that they are prepared for the next national emergency.
A truckdriver or home health aide isn’t the same as a Marine Corps gunner, he said, but workers like those are essential to making a community work. “The difference between us and the Republicans is we’re not going to treat those people like they’re just a number.”
Recalling the 2022 campaign, Lamb said it seemed to be more about Fetterman’s image and social media presence than the issues.
“I felt like I never got my point across,” he said. “It’s a big state, and it’s hard to get to know everybody, so I’ve tried to work since then on just letting people get to know me better.”
I was heartened to hear him express a preference for in-person town halls, where constituents can ask a politician tough questions, see their reaction and ask follow-up questions.
Such gatherings are hard, he acknowledged, “but that’s the job.”
I was also glad he said the telephone town halls favored by Meuser and our state’s GOP Sen. and Trump acolyte Dave McCormick are “worthless” because the politicians can screen the questions.
As far as I know, Fetterman hasn’t held a town hall as a senator. To be fair, though, he’s bucked the regime in some important ways, such as voting against some of its Cabinet nominees as well as the One Big Beautiful Bill (for Billionaires) and the SAVE (Trump and His Project 2025ers from Voters Opposing Them) Act.
And Fetterman has stood up against the Tremont concentration camp and one planned in Berks County because of the “undue burdens” they’d place on those communities.
That’s why I’m still glad I voted for him in November 2022. His GOP opponent, Mehmet Oz, would have followed every Trump/Project 2025 directive.
But whether or not Lamb runs for office again, I appreciate his speaking out about this regime — and presenting a better alternative to the elected officials we have now.
Canary note: Opinions expressed in any Op-Ed column appearing on this site are the views of the writer and are not necessarily the opinions of Coal Region Canary.
Want to be a columnist with Coal Region Canary? Contact us at newscanary@gmail.com.
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