The first piece I ever wrote for National Review in an official capacity was titled “John Fetterman Needs Better Friends.” I blasted Fetterman then — a progressive with a rabid online activist fanbase running for Senate in Pennsylvania against noted New Jerseyan Mehmet “Dr.” Oz — for hiding the severity of his stroke (revealed during his debate performance, which remains impossible to watch twice). I doubted his capacity to recover and do his job properly, and I already emphatically disliked the man’s politics and bearing before any of that. Since then, I’ve roasted him for attempting to have the U.S. Senate dress code altered to comport to his slovenly desires, as well as recommending he finally upgrade to dress shoes after being forcibly stuffed back into a suit.

Then, on the other hand, there is Jamaal Bowman, quite possibly one of the most comedically fascinating elected representatives in Washington, D.C., and a favorite recent subject of mine. Like a delightfully recurring sitcom character, the Democratic Socialists of America–affiliated New York congressman keeps popping his head up in loopy low-stakes political side plots — remember the wacky “fire alarm” story from Season Two? — that help to relieve the boredom of a Congress otherwise dominated by cynical, exhausted stasis and tales of Kevin McCarthy elbowing one of the guys who toppled him from the speakership in the back.

But the events and aftermath of the October 7 massacre of Israelis by Hamas ripped away a significant amount of the gauzy unreality covering our eyes, exposing the state of the world both here and abroad. It doesn’t feel like we’re living through a pointless mid-season-replacement sitcom anymore. Now, the failing mind and body of the president of the United States is revealed as a matter with agonizingly grave consequences. Now, Americans are awakening to the reality of an entire younger generation’s corruption at the hands of the educational and cultural elite. And now, faced with a clear test of moral right against historical wrong, we are learning something about who many of these elected progressive Democrats are from the different paths they have chosen.

So where has the ultra-progressive Bowman been since that day (other than in discussions with Capitol Hill police, his lawyers, and the court)? He was last seen demonstrating with fellow Squad members Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, et al. in a gathering sponsored by “Rabbis for Ceasefire,” an ad hoc group of anti-Zionists. He stood by as Tlaib — recently censured by Congress for rank antisemitism — proclaimed that a “‘humanitarian pause’ is not enough” and demanded that Israel simply cease fighting altogether. Then, in a moment made possible only by the arrogant incoherence of modern progressive politics, Bowman, in his own inimitable style, explained Judaism to Jews : “By me calling for a ceasefire with my colleagues and centering humanity, I am uplifting deeply what it actually means to be Jewish.” I’m sure his constituents appreciate an education in the faith.

Meanwhile, in the wake of October 7, John Fetterman has been banking more Strange New Respect from skeptics, centrists, and conservatives both nationwide and in the state of Pennsylvania than PNC. I have already written about how Fetterman has been perhaps the most forthright pro-Israel voice in the Democratic Senate caucus, despite being neither known as a foreign-policy guy nor Jewish nor . . . well, very talkative at all, for obvious reasons. (At a loss for a better explanation, I chalked it up to his being forced to wear a suit again.)

Yesterday, at the overwhelmingly attended bipartisan rally for Israel on the Mall in Washington, D.C., Fetterman was one of the most notable faces in the crowd. He looked goofy as always, towering above most other attendees and wearing his de rigueur sweatpants-and-hoodie combo, but accessorized this time with an Israeli flag draped across his shoulders like a cape. Fetterman surely would have spoken at the event, but alas circumstances make that currently difficult. Instead, he attended and, in the literal sense of the phrase, showed the colors: “Of course I’m here, how could I not be?” One assumes Fetterman will be a reliable vote for Democratic and progressive domestic policies as long as he remains in office; when he carries himself this way, with a moral clarity that speaks as an able substitute for faltering words, it’s easy to see him remaining in office for quite a while longer.

It is more difficult to say the same for Bowman. I will give him this much: He is consistent to his anti-Zionist principles, even at the cost of moral sense or his reelection prospects. He is a Democratic Socialist at heart. There will be no apology tour for him; he comes by his rotten convictions honestly. (It’s a shame — I very much would have enjoyed seeing Bowman on a political rehabilitation trip abroad wearing a kippah as he bows his head in solemn contemplation and poses for a photo at the Western Wall.)

But Bowman’s hard-left politics have always been a poor fit for the priorities of southern Westchester County, which, while not quite horse country, also isn’t the Bronx or Queens in terms of its tolerance for progressive socialists who also yank fire alarms to delay votes. And with well-liked Westchester County executive George Latimer tipped to get into the Democratic primary, Bowman is set for what could turn into one of the most hard-fought races in the nation (and for once not on the Republican side). Fetterman, a progressive darling with a bucketload of public sympathy and no need to face the voters for half a decade, faced a similar choice. He was as free as any modern politician ever will be to make a choice of pure conscience on a political level. (Perhaps not as much as many might think on a personal level, however; breaking with one’s most fervent supporters and friends is no easy task as a psychological or social matter.) And whatever else, his choice reveals something about his character worth respecting.