I’ll admit it. I’ve been having a slight existential crisis these last few months. Part of it is due to the fact that I spend most of my days locked in a cell listening to Fox News Radio. Not exactly easy listening for moderate Democrats. Of course, I flip over to NPR occasionally but hearing Terry Gross politely interview some lesbian poet just lacks the apocalyptic pyrotechnics of Jesse Kelly raving about the “Demonic Left.”

Another contributing factor is the growing fatigue from arguing with my fellow prisoners that despite Trump’s First Step Act, despite his endless bemoaning the Justice Department and court system, despite his pardoning of Kodak and Weezy, and despite his own recent criminal convictions; a meandering and geriatric Biden is still the better choice for President, if only for the District, Appellate, and Supreme Court judges he will appoint.

If this sounds like a hard sell, you have no idea.

Recently I wrote about mental maps and how often we ignore incoming information simply because it runs counter to the story we are telling ourselves in our heads. For years, I have rejected the narrative that modern American conservatism has the market cornered when it comes to strength and masculinity. In the face of almost every other song on country music radio, every Clay Travis and Buck Sexton mention of “liberal wimpiness,” every cringe-inducing progressive squad soundbite from Capitol Hill—I have stood firm.

But a few weeks ago, a couple back-to-back news stories forced me to pull my bald head from the proverbial sand. The first was about Trump getting a standing ovation at a Jersey UFC fight. The second was about an LGBTQ parade. These diametrically opposed headlines illustrate and underscore the gravitational force of the Republican Party on the American everyman, regardless of race.

In reality, true strength transcends party affiliation. Picture a soldier carrying a fallen comrade off the battlefield, a cop wading into danger to protect innocent lives, a dad pulling sixty-hour work weeks to support his family, a grandmother taking in the children of incarcerated and addicted parents . . . As I read back over these examples, it occurs to me that there is a parallel through-line running side by side with my understanding of strength—selflessness.

If you are one of the few remaining American male Democrats, and you’re reading this, it’s what drew us to the party, right? Human rights, civil rights, workers’ rights, the elderly, the poor, the marginalized, the mentally ill, and for me at least, the prisoner. Stalwart souls who dedicate their lives to championing the rights of fellow struggling citizens are unbelievably strong. They are unsung American heroes. Badasses.

But again, perception trumps reality. And the current perception is that real men make their political home on the right. The party of God, guns, and country. The party of hard work and cold beer. While on the emasculated left, we have what? Transgender bathroom rights and Palestinian protests.

Recent polls show Trump leading in every battleground state and making significant inroads into long-held Democratic strongholds. Pundits will claim this is due to Biden’s incoherent debate performance, and the party appears to be on the verge of a palace coup to unseat him as the 2024 presidential nominee. But while a quarterback change this late in the fourth might be enough to pull off a thrilling came-from-behind victory in November’s electoral Super Bowl, long-term there are other problems that can no longer be ignored. Not just messaging problems. Core, fundamental, philosophical problems. One of which is that in their burning desire to appear all-inclusive, the DNC has effectively excluded the American male.

Although my access to the free world is limited, I doubt I am the first to have grappled with this. In this nation of 330 million, I’m sure there are other centrists, moderates, independents, and never-Trumpers feeling this way. If so, take heart. A six-foot-eight, pro-Israel, criminal-justice-reforming, glimmer of hope has arrived . . . in a hoodie and shorts.

John Fetterman might just save the Democratic Party.

—July 4, 2024