PA-SN 2022 megathread: Shrek vs. The Wizard of Oz

[LostFellow]

I don't know much about the politics of PA, nor am I particularly invested in this race, but I get the feel that the punditry is once again focusing on ideology, policy views, and "candidate qualities" way too much, similar to the Democratic presidential primary in 2020.

Something I noticed during the 2020 pres primaries was that Biden was really the only candidate who emphasized the non-policy quality of "being able to get things done." And despite having like zero activist support, Biden's hold with older Black voters in the deep south due to the reason of being able to get things done (who in the primary exit polls were actually more in favor of policies like Medicare for All) got him the nomination.

I think that perhaps one of the most overrated things is being in tune with the myriad of activist groups that exist, so that angle on Fetterman seems incredibly overrated, since most voters really don't care about these things. I think the more valid angle of attack would be Fetterman's demonstrated poor ability to form legislative coalitions, but I think Fetterman will always have a high floor from his focus on the non-policy perspective of "having gotten things done  (e.g. criminal justice) while Lt Gov."