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In professional wrestling, a “heel turn” refers to when a fan favorite does something that turns their own throng of supporters against them. The move is usually sudden, unexpected and met with a chorus of boos. And the newly minted villain often responds to fans’ dismay by berating them and asserting moral, intellectual or even physical superiority.
Think: Hulk Hogan at WCW’s Bash at the Beach ’96.
And while politicians reserve the right to change their minds, some of the moves have reeked of desperation and self-preservation, if not outright betrayal.
In a lot of ways, I think 2023 was the year of the political heel turn among liberals. We saw several politicians turn against the very parties and platforms they used to obtain power in the first place. And while politicians reserve the right to change their minds, some of the moves have reeked of desperation and self-preservation, if not outright betrayal.
This came to mind as I thought about Sen. John Fetterman’s recent announcement that he’s “not a progressive,” a declaration apparently rooted in his staunch backing of the Israeli government and hard-line immigration policies in the United States. The Pennsylvania Democrat has earned comparisons to Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who was elected as a Democrat but switched her party affiliation to independent. Last month, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia said he was “considering” leaving the Democratic Party, as well, after announcing that he won’t run for re-election next year.
At the state level, we have lawmakers like state Rep. Tricia Cotham of North Carolina and state Rep. Mesha Mainor of Georgia — both of whom were elected as Democrats in Democratic-leaning districts, before they switched to the GOP in the middle of their terms.
With her switch, Cotham, who ran on an abortion-rights platform, gave North Carolina Republicans — who have sought strict bans on abortion — a veto-proof majority in the state House. Mainor has voiced support for right-wing initiatives, such as school vouchers and a bill designed to punish Georgia prosecutors who don’t abide by the right-wing Legislature’s criminal justice priorities.
But the list doesn’t end there. In the presidential race, third-party candidates with dubious links to right-wingers — namely Cornel West and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — have switched affiliations, seemingly in attempts to signal their independence to voters (and suspicious critics like myself).
West launched his campaign under the People’s Party and then left for the more amorphous Green Party — before also spurning that party to run as an independent. Kennedy, for his part, began his campaign as a Democrat, placing heavy emphasis on his family’s long history in party politics. But he, too, later announced plans to run an independent campaign.
I think these heel turns are a cheap way for ostensibly liberal figures to position themselves as mavericks in the public eye. But they’ve earned nothing but side-eyes from me.