This week Lt. Gov. John Fetterman urged President Joe Biden to decriminalize Marijuana, a request that received praise from the Democratic electorate.
Fetterman, a Senate nominee, has shared his support for the reform with the belief that it would lead to a fairer criminal justice system.
Though Biden hasn’t responded to Fetterman’s requests, the Senate nominee’s push points to angling by liberals for greater influence ahead of the midterms.
They may get that influence following the midterms.
Despite having an overall disappointing primary season, in races where progressives emerged victorious they had tremendous victories.
Looking forward to November, these progressives want to prove their electability to voters and, should they win, promote their signature issues within Congress.
Naveed Shah, a political director at Common Defense, a progressive group that endorsed Fetterman, noted that bringing their progressive issues to Congress was the goal.
Shah explained Democratic candidates would be “taking on a lot of these same issues that progressives have been talking about for a long time, whether it’s student loans or expanding health care or anything else.”
Shah also noted that even typically non-progressives have embraced progressive ideas, calling the move “a big shift.”
Getting non-progressivre to embrace progressive ideologies is “the goal.”
“The goal isn’t just to get progressives that bear the title elected, it’s really to shift the party.”
In the Rust Belt in the South, progressive Democrats have made headway in winning their general elections, overcoming centrists and moderate Democrats to win competitive races.
