Why Oz is the better choice for blue collar voters
In the race for Pennsylvania's open U.S. Senate seat, Republican Mehmet Oz needs to highlight the yawning gap between himself and Democrat John Fetterman on immigration policy, a critically important issue for voters throughout the Keystone State.
Both candidates are chasing the blue-collar vote. And at first glance, hardworking Pennsylvanians may think Fetterman is their man. After all, Democrats were historically pro-labor, and Fetterman goes out of his way to look the part, blogging about his tattoos, appearing at events in hoodies and basketball shorts, and touting his support for "the union way of life." Oz, on the other hand, is a celebrity doctor and talk show host — not the most relatable profession — who wears custom suits.
When you look at their actual policies, though, one man will clearly do more for low- and middle-income Pennsylvanians — and it's not the guy in shorts. Fetterman has made it clear that he'd vote in lockstep with President Biden, who has implemented a borders policy that has led to 3.5 million apprehensions of illegal border crossers since Pres. Biden took office — an all-time record — with hundreds of thousands more who elude Border Patrol agents. These migrants compete directly against citizens and legal immigrants for jobs, housing, and put strains on local schools and support systems. Oz's stance on immigration is far more favorable to voters who don't want to see their wages drop and their rents soar.
Pennsylvania's leading industries — including agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and oil and gas — are historically blue-collar employers. And as common sense and a recent study in the Journal of Economic Surveys both shows, an influx of immigrants into the United States threatens the job prospects and wages of American blue-collar workers.
Similarly, the arrival of millions of people — at a pace that far outstrips the rate of new housing construction — drives up rents. In the Greater Philadelphia area, for instance, average rents rose 11.5% between April 2021 and April 2022. In Pittsburgh, they jumped 8%.
The economic impact largely explains why voters rank immigration as a top concern. GOP voters named it their second most urgent issue after inflation, according to a national Quinnipiac poll in June. For independents, it was the third most-pressing issue.
Oz has made it clear that clamping down on illegal immigration is one of his top objectives, and that the Biden administration's failure to secure our borders is "a complete and utter betrayal of Pennsylvanians."
He has stridently condemned recent "ghost flights," where illegal immigrants were flown into the Keystone State from border states. "Securing our border may not be Joe Biden's top priority," he said, "but I can assure my fellow Pennsylvanians that it is mine."
Meanwhile, Fetterman's immigration stance is a betrayal of the hardworking people of Pennsylvania. He claims to be an adamant supporter of organized labor. But by backing amnesty, the mere prospect of which is already leading to record levels of illegal immigration, he and his party are undermining union workers' bargaining position. It's no coincidence that Cesar Chavez, one of the most famous labor organizers in American history, was stridently opposed to illegal immigration — he recognized the basic economic reality that corporations use illegal labor to break strikes and hold down wages.
Oz would be wise to make the issue the crux of his campaign — partly because Fetterman's backing of amnesty is deeply unpopular with swing voters, and partly because Oz is uniquely qualified to speak out on illegal immigration. Progressives invariably attack anyone opposed to illegal immigration as a xenophobe and bigot — but those charges are laughable when leveled against the son of legal Turkish immigrants and the man who'd become the first Muslim U.S. Senator if elected.
Blue-collar Pennsylvanians will decide this election. And if Oz decides to make immigration policy a keystone of his campaign, working-class voters will quickly see who's really looking out for them, versus who's merely play-acting.
Judy Zabel is a resident of Lackawanna County who serves as Chapter Leader of the Pennsylvania Eagle Forum.
This article originally appeared on The Intelligencer: Why Oz is the better choice for blue collar voters in Pennsylvania
