Some Weird Alliances Are Breaking Out Among Democrats

When Conor Lamb came to AOC’s defense, it turned heads. In an interview, Lamb explained why it made complete sense.

Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Pa., leaves the U.S. Capitol after the last House votes of the week on Thursday, April 7, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

In Like a Lion. Out Like a Lamb.

Democrats have spent the first few months of Donald Trump’s presidency bickering amongst themselves—not over ideology or even policy positions, but over communication styles and each other’s willingness to “fight.”

The fissures have produced calls for changes in leadership, a wave of new candidates for office, and some unexpected coalitions among those currently serving. Perhaps the most telling example of this dynamic came last week, during an exchange among Sen. John Fetterman, former Pennsylvania Rep. Conor Lamb (Fetterman’s one-time primary opponent), and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

In normal times, AOC and Lamb would not be strategic or even temperamental allies. The New York congresswoman is a progressive stalwart. Lamb is an even-tempered moderate from Pittsburgh who has largely stayed out of intra-party fights since he lost to Fetterman in 2022.

But these aren’t normal times. And Lamb, who since leaving office returned to his career as a lawyer, had been growing increasingly frustrated with the party’s approach to the president. In particular, he felt that Fetterman was being too acquiescent and even accommodating of the administration.

“I’ve just been really alarmed,” Lamb said in an interview with The Bulwark, listing off the number of ways Trump’s DOGE cuts have harmed Pennsylvanians. “I think for the first couple of months after the election, when [Fetterman] wanted to say things about Democrats, I understood where he was coming from. But there’s just a point where you go, ‘Okay, we get it.’ You’ve said that a hundred times, but you have a job now—and an enormous part of your job is oversight and demanding answers.”

Over the weekend, Lamb slammed Fetterman after the senator mocked Ocasio-Cortez for saying Democrats need to “fight harder.” All of which prompted Ocasio-Cortez (who backed Fetterman over Lamb in the primary) to respond: “I was wrong about you and I’m sorry.”

“Times change,” Lamb told The Bulwark. “Right now I think the urgency of just being out there, interacting with people, creating energy around these town halls, reminding people that they have a voice and that they deserve to be listened to is really important. And [Ocasio-Cortez] is one of the people doing it. And my senators here in Pennsylvania, neither one of them are doing that.”

The exchange between Lamb and Ocasio-Cortez is a clear indication that leaders from disparate factions of the Democratic party are increasingly willing to put aside ideological differences in favor of a more oppositional and confrontational approach to the second Trump administration. And it’s a sign that Democratic voters will perhaps be less driven this midterm cycle by the ideological purity tests that have gripped the party in the past, looking instead for leaders who they view as fighting against Trump.

That Lamb would come to personify this approach was, in a way, fitting. He was the first Democrat to flip a Republican House seat in 2018, during Trump’s first presidency. But he won that race not as someone willing to fight Trump but by distancing himself from the left flank of the party and pitching himself as someone willing to reach across the aisle. His newfound outspokenness and willingness to embrace Ocasio-Cortez underscores just how different the political climate is from eight years ago. From his outside-the-beltway perch, Lamb is channeling the frustration he says he hears from voters who are frustrated that Democratic leadership isn’t doing more.

Lamb said he watched Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer cave on the funding bill earlier this month and was left wondering why Democrats weren’t willing to make concrete demands—such as a promise from the administration not to touch the Social Security Administration or the Social Security Trust Fund—in exchange for their votes.

Lamb said he has also grown frustrated with how few Democrats, particularly Fetterman, are willing to hold more town hall events or take questions from constituents who are scared about what will happen to their Social Security and Medicare. And he’s confused about why so many Democrats keep holding book events (both Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have released books this year) when their constituents are clearly asking for something more.

“What it starts to look like is that he has this preference of cozying up to an administration and cozying up to a party over speaking out on issues that are clearly hurting a lot of his constituents, especially the most vulnerable ones,” Lamb said of Fetterman’s decision to attend an event promoting Republican Sen. Dave McCormick’s new book about mentorship. “I’m not saying don’t ever work with McCormick. . . . But you have to look at the moment and understand what your job requires.”

Lamb is scheduled to attend a town hall on Saturday in State College. He says the event has nothing to do with him running for office again—but he didn’t rule out another run at some point in the future. As he sees it, there’s a leadership vacuum in the Democratic party.

“There’s an opportunity for Democrats to step up,” he said. “I don’t think people realize that listening goes a really long way. Giving people a chance to speak their mind is important, not just because it may lead to some direct action of people influencing the administration or piece of legislation, but it just keeps alive this culture that’s so important to what America is that people are free to speak their minds; that the elected officials work for us, not the other way around.”

🫏 Donkey Business:

— I wrote last week about how Democrats faced a Joe Biden litmus test. But could they also face a Chuck Schumer litmus test? In an interview with Politico, Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow—who is widely expected to announce a bid next week to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Gary Peters—said that the Democratic party needs a generational change in its leadership. “I think it is” time for Schumer to step back, McMorrow told Politico, adding that the GOP “is a MAGA party. And the same approach is not going to work.”

McMorrow also shared with Politico a previously unreported letter she sent Biden after the debate urging him to step down from the ticket. Interesting that she felt compelled to share it 8 months later!

— If you attended the CycleBar class that Rep. Eric Swalwell led, I would like to talk to you. My inbox is open.

My open tabs:

— Jonathan Cohn’s first piece for The Bulwark, obviously.

— The backstory on those viral pig show videos (if you have no idea what I’m talking about, you’re missing out).

— Very interested in this Gen Z creator running for Congress.