{"id":2242723,"date":"2024-05-12T06:09:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-12T10:09:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fettermans-loud-support-for-israel-creates-headaches-for-casey-in-pennsylvania-senate-race\/"},"modified":"2024-05-12T06:12:37","modified_gmt":"2024-05-12T10:12:37","slug":"fettermans-loud-support-for-israel-creates-headaches-for-casey-in-pennsylvania-senate-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fettermans-loud-support-for-israel-creates-headaches-for-casey-in-pennsylvania-senate-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Fetterman&#8217;s strong backing of Israel poses challenges for Casey in PA Senate race"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffettermans-loud-support-for-israel-creates-headaches-for-casey-in-pennsylvania-senate-race%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2242723&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Republicans are highlighting Senator John Fetterman&#8217;s firm support for Israel to portray Senator Bob Casey as hesitant in the Gaza conflict during Casey&#8217;s Senate re<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lara-trump-biggest-winner-of-impeachment-trial-says-lindsey-graham\/\" title=\"Lara Trump \u2018Biggest Winner\u2019 Of Impeachment Trial, Says Lindsey Graham\">-election campaign<\/a> in Pennsylvania. Despite both Democrats backing Israel amid the conflict, Fetterman&#8217;s vocal support sets him apart and provides a benchmark for Republicans to compare Casey against. The Republicans are emphasizing Senator John Fetterman&#8217;s strong pro-Israel stance to depict Senator Bob Casey as indecisive in the Gaza conflict \u200bwithin Casey&#8217;s Senate\u200c re-election campaign in Pennsylvania. While \u200bboth Democrats support Israel during the conflict, Fetterman&#8217;s outspoken advocacy distinguishes him and\u200b serves\u2064 as a comparison point \u2063for Republicans evaluating Casey.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong>PHILADELPHIA \u2013 <\/strong>Republicans are using Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/john-fetterman\/\">John Fetterman\u2019s<\/a> (D-PA) outspoken support for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/israel\/\">Israel<\/a> to paint his Pennsylvania colleague, Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/bob-casey\/\">Bob Casey<\/a> (D-PA), as weak on the war in Gaza as he runs for a fourth term in the Senate.<\/p>\n<p>The two Democrats share a pro-Israel stance at odds with the left flank of their party. Both have stood by the country as it mounts a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/columbia-protests-give-mike-johnson-chance-to-turn-page-on-ukraine-divisions\/\" title=\"Columbia Protests Offer Mike Johnson Opportunity for Unity after Ukraine Discord\">casualty-heavy war<\/a> to root out Hamas. Neither has called for a ceasefire or conditions on its military operations in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p>But there is a difference between them. Casey cuts a lower profile in the Senate, on Israel and virtually every other topic. Meanwhile, Fetterman has become synonymous with support for the Jewish state with loud shows of solidarity.<\/p>\n<p>Outside his office, Fetterman hung pictures of the hostages taken by Hamas in their Oct. 7 rampage through Israel and memorably <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2441369\/john-fetterman-attends-pro-israel-rally\/\">draped himself in the Israeli flag<\/a> in the weeks following the attack. More recently, he\u2019s mocked the pro-Palestinian encampments cropping up at universities across the country as \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/4627216-fetterman-decries-college-campus-pup-tents-for-hamas\/\">pup tents for Hamas<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The gestures of support, in conflict with the increasingly hard line President Joe Biden has taken on Israel, have endeared Fetterman to Republicans and are part of a larger <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/2905112\/his-own-fetterman-the-pennsylvania-senator-embraces-biden-despite-centrist-rebrand\/\">political rebrand<\/a>. Fetterman developed a reputation as a progressive on the campaign trail and has since tacked to the right on issues like immigration.<\/p>\n<p>But his leave-no-doubt approach to defending Israel has implications beyond his own career. It has given Republicans a benchmark to compare Casey against.<\/p>\n<p>And by that metric, they\u2019re telling Pennsylvania voters that Casey has fallen short.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI applaud the moral clarity that Sen. Fetterman has as it relates to the antisemitism, the hate for Jews, that we\u2019re seeing spread across campuses, his moral clarity on condemning what Joe Biden is doing,\u201d said Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), the chairman of Senate Republicans\u2019 campaign arm.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a refreshing contrast to virtually every other Democrat right now, including Sen. Casey,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., holds a small Israel flag as he heads to the chamber for a vote, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The compliment is not unique to Daines. Dave McCormick, the Republican challenging Casey in the fall, has been calling the contrast \u201cextremely notable\u201d for months.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou never wonder where John Fetterman stands,\u201d he told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> in a Tuesday interview.<\/p>\n<p>Casey, who has the support of AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group, has shown some willingness to criticize the war. He\u2019s encouraged Israel to \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/2923761\/bob-casey-says-israel-can-do-more\/\">do more<\/a>\u201d to allow humanitarian relief into Gaza, whereas Fetterman has been unequivocal in blaming Hamas for the Palestinian plight.<\/p>\n<p>Otherwise, Casey has staked out largely the same positions as Fetterman. Last week, Casey went to the Senate floor to denounce the spike in antisemitism at college campuses and urged his colleagues to pass a bill he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casey.senate.gov\/news\/videos\/watch\/casey-floor-speech-on-the-antisemitism-awareness-act\">sponsored<\/a> to crack down on it.<\/p>\n<p>He also <a href=\"https:\/\/penncapital-star.com\/campaigns-elections\/casey-talks-penn-encampment-and-war-in-gaza-during-visit-to-american-jewish-history-museum\/\">called<\/a> the University of Pennsylvania\u2019s decision to take down a protest encampment the \u201cright decision\u201d on Friday, citing the disruption it was causing students.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the discrepancy comes down to the speed and force with which Fetterman offers his views on Israel.<\/p>\n<p>Casey opposes the Biden administration\u2019s decision to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bob-casey-gop-challenger-heaps-praise-on-fetterman-for-israel-moral-clarity\/\" title=\"Republican challenger Bob Casey praises Fetterman for his clear stance on Israel\">pause ammunition shipments<\/a> to Israel, but Fetterman has blared his objections. On Tuesday, Fetterman appeared on Fox News to disagree with the policy.<\/p>\n<p>When Biden announced the next day he would withhold artillery shells and bombs if Israel invades Rafah, Fetterman wasted no time <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SenFettermanPA\/status\/1788349329662423070\">posting<\/a> his \u201cdeep disappointment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That distinction has created an impression Republicans have readily seized upon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSilence is complicity, and this is a time for a full-throated condemnation,\u201d said Daines. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re Republican or Democrat, as evidenced by Sen. Fetterman. He\u2019s not afraid to speak up, and he\u2019s on the right side of history.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fetterman wants no part in the comparison. Ironically, he is a reliable booster for Casey and regularly lobs insults at McCormick, who narrowly lost the Senate GOP primary to challenge Fetterman in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>When asked about McCormick\u2019s habit of complimenting him on Israel, Fetterman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/2995465\/bob-casey-mccormick-fetterman-defense-israel-moral-clarity\/\">rejected<\/a> the praise with a tongue-in-cheek reference to Connecticut, where McCormick spent years managing the hedge fund Blackwater.<\/p>\n<p>McCormick was born and raised in the Pittsburgh area and bought a house in Pennsylvania to run for Senate in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, I went to graduate school in his home state, so I can only have good things to say about him, too,\u201d Fetterman said of his MBA from the University of Connecticut. \u201cWe have a special bond over Connecticut.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The Casey campaign responded to the comparison by accusing McCormick, a West Point graduate and former Bush administration official, of drawing attention away from the foreign ties of his former hedge fund.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., speaks as Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., listens before President Joe Biden about his infrastructure agenda while announcing funding to upgrade Philadelphia\u2019s water facilities and replace lead pipes, Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, at Belmont Water Treatment Center in Philadelphia. (AP Photo\/Patrick Semansky)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cDavid McCormick and his out-of-state billionaire backers are trying to distract from his record of\u00a0 making millions putting the interests of our adversaries ahead of what\u2019s good for America,\u201d said spokeswoman Maddy McDaniel, noting Bridgewater\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bloomberglaw.com\/capital-markets\/gops-mccormick-led-bridgewater-during-china-military-investment\">investments<\/a> in Chinese manufacturers of military equipment.<\/p>\n<p>The complimentary words for Fetterman are just one part of a broader critique of Casey. McCormick has cited everything from the Iran nuclear deal to Casey\u2019s endorsement of Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA), an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/russia-opens-criminal-case-against-ally-of-kremlin-critic-navalny\/\" title=\"Russia opens criminal case against ally of Kremlin critic Navalny\">outspoken critic<\/a> of the war in Gaza, to portray him as someone who wears support for Israel with hesitation.<\/p>\n<p>Casey voted for the 2015 nuclear deal, seen by Republicans as a capitulation to Israel\u2019s regional foe, but has simultaneously supported additional sanctions. On Lee, he maintains his support but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2996265\/dave-mccormick-casey-both-ways-summer-lee-antisemitism\/\">notes<\/a> the two \u201cclearly\u201d do not agree on \u201cevery issue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you\u2019re really objective about it, and go back through Bob Casey\u2019s track record, I think you\u2019ll see him answering very little and when he does, it\u2019s late and only when pressed,\u201d McCormick said. \u201cHe\u2019s not a leader. He\u2019s not willing to get out there and shape the future, and that\u2019s what we need right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Democrats call the line of attack manufactured and \u201cunfair.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s how they run their campaigns,\u201d said Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), who chairs Senate Democrats\u2019 campaign arm.<\/p>\n<p>But the November election will test its efficacy as a political wedge. The sense that Democrats are abandoning Israel could have ripple effects in Pennsylvania, home to large Jewish populations around Philadelphia and Pittsburgh that traditionally vote Democratic, not to mention its possible impact at the top of the ticket.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans have argued that Biden\u2019s threat to withhold military aid undermines what the president has called his \u201cironclad\u201d commitment to Israel.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>McCormick said the issue \u201ctranscends\u201d the Jewish vote, tying it into what he described as a vacuum of leadership in the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think many Americans, probably most Americans, see what\u2019s happening on our campuses and are repulsed by it, see what happened on Oct. 7 and are repulsed by it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s the byproduct of weakness, appeasement, and a lack of moral clarity.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Philadelphia, Republicans leverage Sen. John Fetterman&#8217;s pro-Israel stance to portray Sen. Bob Casey as Gaza conflict-wary in his Senate re-election bid. Despite their party&#8217;s leftward shift, both Democrats uphold a strong pro-Israel stance, setting them apart from their party&#8217;s progressive wing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2651,"featured_media":2242724,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP24025741226788-1-1024x591.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2242723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP24025741226788-1-1024x591.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2242723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2651"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2242723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2242723\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2242724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2242723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2242723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2242723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}