On Constitution Day, Raw America managing editor Carl Gibson and former Pennsylvania Democratic Congressman Conor Lamb had in in-depth discussion about embattled Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and how Pennsylvania could be the key to Democrats’ success in the November midterms.
Lamb, who represented Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District from 2018 to 2022 and ran against Fetterman in the 2022 Democratic U.S. Senate primary, didn’t hold back on his former rival. But he expressed hope that Democrats in Pennsylvania can show the model for the party as it builds toward 2028.
Gibson and Lamb covered multiple topics, including:
Whether Sen. Fetterman should resign, and if he even still wants the job
If the senator’s 2022 stroke significantly changed him or if it simply revealed who he always was
The likelihood Fetterman switches his political affiliation to save his career
How Fetterman’s support of the Iran war has cost Pennsylvanians
The shifting cultural and political backlash against the Israeli government, including the Ed Sheeran tour scandal
Pennsylvania’s competitive 2026 House races and the ideological diversity of Pennsylvania Democrats
How Democrats should focus their accountability should they retake Congress
Why even deep-red rural Pennsylvania districts are trending blue
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Lamb Demands Fetterman Step Down
Gibson opened by asking Lamb about comments he’d made at a recent public event suggesting Fetterman no longer wants to be a senator. His one-time primary rival responded by saying Fetterman “absolutely should resign.”
The former congressman noted he’d avoided calling for Fetterman’s resignation for the past year and a half out of deference to Pennsylvania voters. However, he said the recent bombshell Wall Street Journal report about Fetterman phoning it in on the job was the breaking point. He citing Fetterman’s refusal to attend an event for paralyzed veterans and blowing off a solemn funeral for police officers killed in the line of duty.
“That’s just like a massive red flag that this guy needs to go, and he’s not functioning in the job,” Lamb said.
Did Fetterman’s Stroke Mark a Change, or Did it Reveal Fetterman’s True Nature?
Later, Gibson pointed out that Mercer County Democratic Party Chair Judy Hines told the Wall Street Journal that Fetterman “worked his heart out” on the campaign trail in 2022. He then asked Lamb if the debilitating stroke Fetterman suffered just before the election fundamentally changed him, or if it just fully exposed the senator’s personality.
Lamb, who recalled standing just inches away from Fetterman during a U.S. Senate primary debate, said it was the latter.
“To me, he was actually pretty similar before the stroke,” Lamb said, pointing out that Fetterman “couldn’t really answer basic questions before the stroke either.”
The former Pennsylvania congressman argued that voters likely were enamored by the image Fetterman projected rather than who he actually was, and that the senator’s lack of “core fundamental beliefs” meant “he could change and become anyone at any time.” Lamb acknowledged the stroke may have “accelerate[d]” or “ma[de] it more obvious,” but noted: “I think that was there all along.”
Will Fetterman Join the GOP?
Gibson then pointed to one local Pennsylvania Democratic Party official who called for Fetterman’s resignation all the way back back in March 2025. That official said Fetterman’s votes for Trump’s most controversial cabinet picks like former Attorney General Pam Bondi, along with his refusal to hold town halls and joining himself at the hip with Republican Senator Dave McCormick was inexcusable.
Lamb opined that Fetterman “probably will” switch his party affiliation to Republican because “there’s really no other path to his survival.”
But the former congressman said that the even worse offense to him was Fetterman’s support for President Donald Trump’s war with Iran, which the president launched in conjunction with Israel in February. Lamb said the emergence of affordability as the key issue in the midterms is largely due to that war, and reminded viewers that Fetterman has supported it every step of the way.
“It has cost the average people billions and billions of dollars at the pump,” Lamb said, calling the war “one of the worst decisions we’ve ever made as a country” and labeling Fetterman as “the biggest cheerleader for it.”
Gibson then mentioned that Fetterman had previously cast the deciding vote to kill a War Powers Act resolution that would have reined in Trump’s ability to wage war on Iran, due to his fervent support of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He then asked Lamb if he thought Fetterman prioritizes Israel over his own constituents.
“It’s a fair assessment,” Lamb said, while acknowledging that criticism of Netanyahu shouldn’t be equated with criticism of Israel as a sovereign state or the Jewish community. Lamb said that roughly 200,000 Pennsylvanians have lost their health insurance since Fetterman has been in office, and yet the senator has been far more vocal in his support for Israel than he has for his constituents who need healthcare.
“You trust me, go out and try to find a place where [Fetterman] has addressed that issue or stood up for those people,” Lamb said. “He never has.”
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How Can Voters Have Accountability for Derelict Senators?
The conversation then pivoted to the prospect of recalls for U.S. senators, with Gibson pointing out that as a Kentuckian, he’s had Mitch McConnell as a senator for as long as he’s been alive and yet has never felt less represented. He asked Lamb whether the Senate’s six-year terms for members combined with no constitutional recall process is harmful for democracy.
Lamb explained that the framers initially designed the Senate to be insulated from political pressure, similar to a court (U.S. senators weren’t directly elected by voters until the ratification of the 17th Amendment). However, he went on to say that the Senate’s independence has been tainted by the influence of money in politics.
“We should be trying to get this situation with money in politics under control, so that someone like [Fetterman] can’t just use their platform to suck up to Elon Musk or the AI companies,” Lamb said. He contrasted the Senate with the House, which he said has “a little bit more churn” due to members only serving two-year terms.
Gibson raised the counterargument that Fetterman and some of his defenders might make, that he still voted with Democrats on things like confirming former President Joe Biden’s judicial appointees, and that represents a purple state with a significant number of Republican constituents. Lamb rejected that argument outright.
Lamb went on to say that Fetterman’s real influence lies not in his votes for things that are already assured with or without his support, but in his public platform, which he uses to “attack everyone else in the Democratic Party besides himself, promote the cause of Israel, promote the Iran War and now increasingly compliment Dave McCormick and Donald Trump.”
How Democrats’ Path to a House Majority Runs Through Pennsylvania
Shifting to the midterms, Gibson named several competitive Pennsylvania House races in which incumbent Republicans are facing tight reelection battles, including districts currently represented by Rob Bresnahan, Brian Fitzpatrick and Scott Perry. Lamb insisted that “Pennsylvania is absolutely at the center of this whole thing.”
He credited the Pennsylvania Democratic Party organization for recruiting strong candidates, and reminded viewers that Governor Josh Shapiro, who is running for another term this fall, enjoys widespread popularity. He added that other Democrats eyeing 2028 will be watching how Pennsylvania Democrats built their coalition.
Gibson also pointed out the ideological diversity among Pennsylvania’s Democratic candidates, saying that the Keystone State has both progressive champions like 3rd District nominee Chris Rabb, who is running to represent a deep-blue part of Philadelphia, to moderates like Gov. Shapiro.
Lamb said the nature of Pennsylvania, which includes both densely populated urban areas and rural Appalachian small towns, forces the party to build a big-tent coalition that makes room for a wide array of policy ideas rather than hewing to one specific ideology.
“It just takes two to tango,” Lamb said, describing his own experience working across the various factions of the Democratic Party when he was in Congress.
How Should Democrats Pursue Accountability?
Gibson then asked how a potential Democratic-controlled Congress should prioritize impeaching Trump and other officials versus conducting investigations into the various corruption scandals that have become so commonplace in the second Trump administration.
Lamb said Democrats “have to start with the kind of most violent and shocking things, which are murder, torture, imprisonment,” pointing to the administration’s extrajudicial killings of more than 220 people in the Caribbean, and deplorable conditions at Florida’s now-defunct “Alligator Alcatraz” immigrant detention camp.
He also said Trump’s personal financial dealings deserve a significant amount of public scrutiny should Democrats retake the House.
“There’s just no precedent in our history for someone making $2 billion in a year while serving as president,” he said.
Gibson also drew on Lamb’s experience as a former military prosecutor, asking him specifically about accountability for the boat strikes, and whether court-martials of top military officials are realistic under a potential future Democratic administration.
Lamb explained that while “it’s a military crime to execute an unlawful order,” it’s difficult to assigning individual culpability up a long chain of command. He cited the bombing of the girls’ school in Minab, Iran as a case that might more clearly constitute “a dereliction of duty.” And he emphasized that accountability should target “the decision makers and the people at the top,” rather than focus on lower-level personnel.
Pennsylvania Voters Identify the One Issue Driving Them to the Polls
Finally, Gibson closed out the conversation by pointing to surprise Democratic victories, like that of Brandon Dukes, who eked out a razor-thin victory in a Pennsylvania state legislative district that Trump won by more than 30 points in 2024, and that Republicans had controlled for decades. Lamb noted that voters he’s spoken with are singularly focused on the affordability crisis, and that this will likely be the number-one issue for voters headed into November.
“I think the number one thing driving what’s about to happen is issues of affordability and the economy generally,” Lamb said, citing $4.59 gas prices in western Pennsylvania. He also acknowledged that former Republicans showing up at Democratic events are increasingly raising concern about corruption and are worried about “what kind of country are we going to be raising our kids in.”
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