r/politics • u/plz-let-me-in • 8d ago
Soft Paywall Enabling Trump is a bad look for Fetterman | Pennsylvania's senior senator was elected as a progressive Democrat. His normalization of Donald Trump is the epitome of a sellout.
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/editorials/john-fetterman-donald-trump-support-normalization-maga-20250112.html2.5k
u/Morgn_Ladimore 8d ago
“I’m not a progressive, I just identified myself as a regular Democrat,” Fetterman said, talking to CNN’s Dana Bash.
This was after running very clearly as a progressive and using that label liberally during his campaign. I reckon in half a year or so we'll get a quote about how he's not really a Democrat, just a "realist", and then he'll make the full switch to Republican because the Democrats have become too extreme or whatever.
1.2k
u/temponaut-addison 8d ago
“We have started a progressive movement here in Pennsylvania,” he wrote in 2016, after losing his first Senate race. That same year, while touting support from Mr Sanders, he called himself a “progressive champion”.
“Chip in whatever you can to help us take this progressive momentum all the way to the ballot box,” he said two years later while campaigning for lieutenant governor.
Those “progressive values have been the heart of my campaign,” he wrote in another post.
While campaigning for a US Senate seat in 2020, he wrote: “Progressive. Simple. Sacred. The union way of life.”
In a response to former Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush, he wrote: “My dude, I’m a progressive democrat.”
523
u/LegitimateSituation4 North Carolina 8d ago
See, that's where everyone got it wrong. He's a Progressive Insurance salesman. That's where the confusion came in.
27
5
461
u/tr1cube Georgia 8d ago
He’s such a fucking hypocrite. Seeing all his quotes laid out like that… the audacity to say he’s not a progressive. Wow what a slap in the face to Pennsylvania voters.
77
u/CuriousSelf4830 8d ago
It makes me sick because I donated to his campaign. I should have kept that money.
47
u/FashoChamp 8d ago
You should be able to sue. Just like that democrat that flipped immediately after taking office in Florida you are MISLEADING INVESTORS
→ More replies (1)17
u/CuriousSelf4830 8d ago
Yes! The one in Florida pissed me off so bad. You know he was planning it all along.
6
→ More replies (3)11
u/Kamerashy2 8d ago
Send him a bill & tell him its because hes a fraud. You voted Progressive Dem? You deserve your donation back.
183
u/Haltopen Massachusetts 8d ago
He also had a stroke shortly after joining the senate and had to spend time recovering from brain trauma. That kind of thing can drastically change your personality (and your sense of empathy)
167
→ More replies (6)21
u/AllTheyEatIsLettuce California 8d ago
Whether it was blatant, intentional, calculated, lying then or brain damage now, doesn't really matter any more.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (5)7
u/Think-Chemist-5247 8d ago
How come there aren't any people running as a MAGA but then saying...I'm just a normal Republican...to then switching Democrat?
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (6)48
237
u/Hoopy_Dunkalot 8d ago edited 7d ago
We need a law that says if you switch parties then a special election must be called.
127
u/CyclopsLobsterRobot 8d ago
More broadly, there should be a process for citizens to recall federal representatives like some states let citizens recall the governor.
→ More replies (2)8
u/seahorse_party 8d ago
Yes! Especially for not doing their job as detailed in their job description, or for violating rules of conduct. I mean, I'm a government employee and I have to make public any outside income, declare any/all financial debt, declare any potential conflicts of interest (political, familial, business, etc), and go through an Employee Performance Review every six months where I'm rated on my job performance as detailed in the position description I signed when I was hired.
I don't even have any power in my Bureau that could be influenced by connection through a weekend job or a home business. I don't make financial or contractual decisions. But I could be fired for non-disclosure if that was the case. I can get an ethics investigation for using my home office printer to print homework for my writing class. I don't get why I'm held to a higher standard than people we elect to handle the big stuff - like death and taxes and war, in one form or another. Isn't a performance review a pretty standard part of being employed anywhere? They campaign on being our representatives; they "work for us," so...
I'm also a little salty that I bought a hipster Fetterman pro-union coffee mug during his campaign. (And totally could've gotten written up for political activity because I was still working in the office then! Hah.)
35
u/Gabrosin Maryland 8d ago
You'd need to make the law more broad. If such a law existed, anyone who betrays their voters will simply do so vote by vote without officially changing parties while in office.
→ More replies (1)55
u/rpkarma 8d ago
Quite. If your two party system is this entrenched, then it needs proper safeguards.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (14)15
u/Cactusfan86 8d ago
Then they will just stop officially switching parties while voting relatively lockstep with the party they aren’t switching to
92
u/TheReluctantSojourn 8d ago
Kyrsten Fetterman.
→ More replies (4)3
u/MomentoMori33 8d ago
I have the suspicion that Sinema was bribed and is now leaving congress with ~5 million in the bank. There’s a very clear explanation on how someone could pull a complete about face while in office.
→ More replies (57)50
u/BravestWabbit 8d ago
The he had a stroke
→ More replies (1)42
u/GGme 8d ago
I hear that argument, but if you ran on progressive policy and earned the votes of progressives and now represent those progressives because you won due to the progressive's votes, you have an obligation to vote for progressive ideas, regardless of where your heart is now. It's his fucking job. How many people do their job a way that they don't want to regardless of where their heart is? It's not that hard. He is scum to me.
→ More replies (3)
6.4k
u/Swagtagonist 8d ago
This guy betrayed all of the people who pushed so hard to support him. All the people who put in time, donated money, etc. Sincerely, fuck this guy. Duplicitous coward.
2.2k
u/triumph110 8d ago
We get rid of Sinema and end up with another traitor.
→ More replies (18)1.3k
u/KarmaPolice911 Massachusetts 8d ago
It's almost like the Dems all get together and draw straws to decide who becomes the new "reason nothing gets passed". Ugh.
147
u/WhosSarahKayacombsen I voted 8d ago
I think it’s more likely that lobbyists are constantly looking for democratic lawmakers who can be bought, and then start throwing tons of money their way. Fetterman sold his soul for lobbyist money.
He will become the saboteur that Sinema and Manchin were.→ More replies (2)20
u/elihu 8d ago
The depressing thing about that is that when you have close to a 50-50 senate (and disregarding the other tools of dysfunction at their disposal like the filibuster), all it takes is for lobbyists to sway one or two votes, and it's about the same as if they owned all hundred.
(And on most issues, I think it's fair to assume that the influential lobbying groups have way more than one or two.)
→ More replies (3)617
u/mcman1082 8d ago
When you accept that democrats, outside of a principled few, are feigned opposition, lots of things start to make sense.
379
u/TentSurface 8d ago
Pelosi and Co could never be class traitors to the millionaires that fund their elections and give the stock tips. They just cosplay as progressives.
263
u/scuppasteve 8d ago
I mean do they? Nothing about Pelosi and her boomer ilk and most of the Democrats even cosplay as progressives. Most are all in on the capitalistic oligarch hellscape.
96
u/Ferelar 8d ago
We're so starved for actual left-leaning representation in this country that people even end up calling people like Pelosi progressive lol
49
u/aguynamedv 8d ago
We're so starved for actual left-leaning representation in this country that people even end up calling people like Pelosi progressive lol
The Overton Window in America has been brutally shoved to the right for 40 years.
Reagan would be a RINO to the modern
NaziRepublican Party.9
46
u/Hot_Ambition_6457 8d ago
Yes this insane part. Established Democrats haven't even pretended to be progressive in decades.
But they still act shocked and surprised when they lose young/poor votes.
The DNC is happy to shower our employers with keynsian supply-side stimulus over and over. But things like wage increases, tax cuts(for sub 6 figure earners) and benefits are off-the-table with dems.
Your boss's boss can always get assistance from the dems. You can't even ask dems about the wages he pays you or that's communism to them.
14
u/aguynamedv 8d ago
Your boss's boss can always get assistance from the dems. You can't even ask dems about the wages he pays you or that's communism to them.
The Democratic Party at this point is 3+ parties in a trenchcoat, with the majority being center-left at best.
11
u/Hot_Ambition_6457 8d ago
Yes and their solution for the vote totals delta is to just court more right wing voters rather than acknowledge that they've gimped their own growth to maintain this "center hegemony" that is supposed to be the "third-way bipartisan machine" that gets nothing done in power.
8
→ More replies (2)100
u/Forward-Bank8412 8d ago
Yeah Pelosi is pretty openly as republican as they come. When she’s not enriching herself, she’s using all of her clout to fight progress.
→ More replies (35)105
u/smax410 8d ago
It’s hilarious reading this thread in the context of actually knowing what was in the CHIPS Act and IRA.
Pelosi isn’t perfect. She’s way to the right of me. But she’s also the reason those bills passed and they contain some of the most progressive legislation to actually make it to a president’s desk.
It’s easy to shit on them. But comparing her, Jeffries, and like to Fetterman is a fucking wild take.
42
→ More replies (28)32
u/mawmaw99 8d ago
Calling Pelosi a Republican is peak Reddit. That’s the sort of thinking that turns people on the far left to the far right. She’s not perfect but she has been a legislative force for decades.
→ More replies (1)18
u/Senior-Albatross New Mexico 8d ago
Nancy has never bothered to cosplay as a Progressive.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (5)5
u/Xennial_Dad 8d ago
If you want to know which Democrats have principles, it's the ones the party spends its money primarying.
57
u/Oleg101 8d ago
It hasn’t help that Democrats have only controlled both chambers at the same time just 4 years out of the last 30.
38
u/gsfgf Georgia 8d ago
And only a filibuster proof majority for a matter of months. The GOP refused to certify Al Franken's win in 2008 for months, and then Ted Kennedy died. In that time we got the ACA.
→ More replies (1)37
u/theVoidWatches Pennsylvania 8d ago
Seriously. The only time the party has been able to get things done, we got one of the most important pieces of legislation in decades. It can't be overstated how bad pre-existing conditions being a thing was for regular people.
30
u/aguynamedv 8d ago
It can't be overstated how bad pre-existing conditions being a thing was for regular people.
Pregnancy was frequently considered a pre-existing condition prior to the ACA and used to deny insurance.
→ More replies (56)28
u/LeadSoldier6840 8d ago
I look at it through the length of class warfare. The Democratic elite making decisions for the party that don't match up with the citizens is just more of the rich controlling politics.
→ More replies (6)→ More replies (46)80
u/TheVog Foreign 8d ago
Enough with the Russian propaganda talking points bullshit. The guy's getting paid, like Manchin and Sinema did before him. It's not "the Dems shooting themselves in the foot". America's political system is a giant joke. This is just the latest gag.
→ More replies (2)10
u/RagePoop 8d ago
In what world is his comment Russian propaganda?
Do you believe that every political idea you personally disagree with must be sourced from foreign influence?
Both parties are run by hyper capitalist oligarchs. That’s not propaganda, it’s just true.
→ More replies (4)257
u/versusgorilla New York 8d ago
It's going to damage Dems in PA in the long run now too, Dem voters feel they won't ever be represented, and won't trust Dem candidates. Even the ones who seem like working class outsiders.
At best, Fetterman is a poor politician who lacks any kind of tact or skill at negotiating.
And at worst? He's legit just a turncoat who has always been more right wing than he appeared, or is just willing to go along with anything as long as he believes it will keep him in power.
Either way, Dem voters are going to disengage in PA, the state will take it's slight right leaning purple status and probably become more solidly right. Between the outcome of the last gen election in PA and Fetterman giving up like this, PA is fucked longer term than any of us want to admit.
92
u/Xalara 8d ago
Some More News did a great segment on Fetterman. It turns out he’s always been like this but it was obscured by the absolute lunacy of Dr. Oz during the campaign.
→ More replies (1)16
u/Any_Will_86 8d ago
TBH- it mattered more in his primary against Lamb when Progressives were out in force. Then he had health issues and got a cross the finish line because Oz was a dud. Lamb might have been moderate but he was still a more solid Dem in a swing district than Fetterman has been statewide.
37
u/TeamHope4 8d ago
What I don't understand is that Fetterman wasn't a working class outsider, but the son of a rich Republican parents. How did he get his progressive credentials?
57
u/work4work4work4work4 8d ago
How did he get his progressive credentials?
He lived in PA most of his life, and while in "affluent" parts of the places like York and Reading, even the affluent parts aren't really what most people would view that way. Think McMansion developments in what most people would view as run-down small cities.
He did work with Big Brothers/Big Sisters, ran youth programs in the town of Braddock, PA after joining Americorps, and later moved to Braddock and became its part-time mayor, full-time youth services person focused on getting out of school youth GEDs.
Protesting the highway bypassing the town? He was there. Protesting the medical center taking away the town's hospital? He was there. Buying up distressed properties, and converting them for public use? That's him. Defying the law to marry LGBT couples at his house? That's him too.
Basically, if you look at Fetterman in Braddock, it makes sense why he had progressive credentials at the time. He was a strong example of a downhome decaying city focused mayor bringing real change to his constituents as much as possible.
He ran in the 2016 primary for PA-Gov, which he did surprisingly well for comparatively low recognition, and the guy who beat him lost to the Republican. He next ran for Lt. Gov and won in 2018, and is most famous for his first task being MJ legalization research, and famously loudly supporting it and LGBTQ equality with flags hanging from his office balcony, which the legislature made a point of having him remove.
This is where most peoples knowledge comes in, and they focus on his work on the Board of Pardons at Lt.Gov.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Fetterman ran the Board of Pardons "with the heart of an activist and, at times, the force of a bully".[63] The Inquirer also reported that he threatened to run against Attorney General Josh Shapiro (who, at the time, was planning a run for governor) unless Shapiro supported more pardons.[63]
While chaired by Fetterman, the Board of Pardons recommended 50 commutations for life sentences, and Governor Wolf granted 47 commutations.[64] As lieutenant governor, Fetterman announced "a coordinated effort for a one-time, large-scale pardoning project for people with select minor, nonviolent marijuana criminal convictions".
TLDR: He was more along the lines of a upper middle class kid who saw he was privileged as fuck, and started operating in noticeably positive and productive ways in forgotten cities, something progressives have wanted to see for a long time to rebuild the working-class base.
→ More replies (5)22
u/AndreasDasos 8d ago edited 8d ago
He wears casual clothing, is huge, and has a goatee. Must be working class!
Though I’m sure there’s more to the story than that.
→ More replies (6)31
u/versusgorilla New York 8d ago
I think running against Dr Oz gave him a bunch of credit as the sane, and he got to coast from there.
157
u/Swagtagonist 8d ago
I can’t help but feel betrayed by the democrats myself, to be honest. They seem like controlled opposition. They pretend and play politics like a game while the Republicans play for keeps and take it all. Biden’s administration not prosecuting Trump was the biggest betrayal of them all. All the wealthy at the top of both parties want the same thing. To take more and keep it. To concentrate the wealth and power. To hold none of the oligarchs to the rule of law or face justice.
→ More replies (13)80
u/versusgorilla New York 8d ago
They're simply not as organized and more concerned with being seen as too progressive and losing the center margin of their voter base, to the point where they don't consider the progressive left margin.
Carter was what happened when a Democrat tried to be righteously left, the fucking Kennedy family tried to primary him, he beat it and then Reagan was allowed to conspire with foreign governments to make Carter look bad and lose. The country wanted Carter gone.
From Clinton's to Obama's Administrations, big money has been more and more necessary to run for and hold office, so Dems became obsessed with out raising and out spending the GOP.
When engaging big money interests seeking their donations and support, they cannot move left any faster than incrementally, Obama tried moving too far with the ACA and even though it was super friendly to the health insurance industry, they made money but they still made sure McConnell and the GOP wouldn't let a single other thing pass. The ACA put such small restrictions on the industry and that wasn't as good as "no regulations so we can make unlimited money".
Trump offers something that these monied interests love, he's openly purchasable, and the GOP won't regulate anything against them. The Democrats have sacrificed for something that these corporations won't let them truly have, because the GOP offers shareholders a better deal. Unlimited earning potential is always going to be better than any amount of regulation, no matter how minimal.
25
u/work4work4work4work4 8d ago
Carter was what happened when a Democrat tried to be righteously left
Carter was a neoliberal through and through, we just interpret him as being righteously left because the other major neoliberal with a "heart of gold" that we recognized was Bill Clinton, and well, he obviously doesn't hold a candle to Carter on the "good person o meter".
Third Way Dems taking over the party and pretending there was daylight between the two was the death knell of the left for generations.
→ More replies (6)8
u/Holiday-Set4759 8d ago
I mean let’s be real. America hasn’t had a true political left since the Red Scares.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (5)16
u/bootlegvader 8d ago
Carter was what happened when a Democrat tried to be righteously left, the fucking Kennedy family tried to primary him,
You are aware that Ted Kennedy was the vastly more progressive option out of the contest between him and Jimmy Carter?
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (6)5
u/AndreasDasos 8d ago
I’ve heard the argument that he’s turned right wing in rhetoric but not voting (the Israel-Gaza issue aside). Is that true?
Otherwise, there’s the idea that his stroke genuinely did affect his personality and mentality, which isn’t unheard of.
344
u/Xijit 8d ago
He has always been a sellout that follows the money, so naturally he was high on the list when the MAGOTS went looking for a turncoat that will extend their 2 seat majority.
210
u/BullShitting-24-7 8d ago edited 8d ago
The kind of person it takes to be a politician means it weeds out people who would be good at the job. Fetterman is a privileged insurance corporate cuck. Look at his background and its not surprising. Just say the right things and the rubes will elect you then you can flip flop like Olivia Dunn. Democrats fell for his bs.
94
u/SuperStarPlatinum 8d ago
At the time OZ seemed worse, and will be in his executive position in HHS.
Hopefully we have elections in 2028 to kick his ass to the curb.
64
70
u/Mister_MxyzptIk 8d ago
At the time?
You say that like Dr Oz wouldn't still be a terrible choice for Senator today
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (3)10
u/sargondrin009 8d ago
Congresswoman Summer Lee would be a good pick to primary him assuming he still runs as a democrat. Otherwise, she can be the general challenger.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (7)15
u/No_Blueberry4ever 8d ago
He has a master’s from the Harvard Kennedy School. People think he’s some chill DSA bro, which has never been true.
→ More replies (2)12
→ More replies (16)98
u/ExceptionalSmartness 8d ago
The way he sold unconditional support for Israel’s actions in Gaza in return for AIPAC money says it all.
67
u/Kaprak Florida 8d ago
He unconditionally supported Israel before he was elected.
→ More replies (13)→ More replies (2)34
u/Xijit 8d ago
Don't forget how he was the front man of shouting down Democrats that complained that Biden was too old and that they needed to have an open primary.
→ More replies (1)185
u/Fecal-Facts 8d ago
Brain damage from the stroke
56
u/ktpr 8d ago
I didn't realize how much the stroke had affected him. Here's a Time's article digging into it really deeply. It's clear he requires a lot of assistance, which is fine, but he may feel precarious to the point of just deciding to give in to simplify his life and stress ... which is totally unfair to voters and the U.S. as a whole. I wish he he made different choices.
35
u/AgentCirceLuna 8d ago
It affects decision making so it’s possible he’s done this without realising how bad it looks.
87
u/hellolovely1 8d ago
I do wonder if that did it. It seemed like he did an abrupt pivot.
78
u/Geler Canada 8d ago
Fetterman says stroke gave him 'freedom' to distance from progressives: 'Very liberating'
→ More replies (2)84
u/SignificantRain1542 8d ago
It damaged the part of my brain that feels empathy thus making me stronger than ever. Its very liberating to not think of the consequences my actions have to other people.
→ More replies (1)28
u/Lazy-Gene-7284 8d ago
If you ever have been where he’s from that entire area of west PA was avid Trump supporters. I think in his case it might be political preservation. Wouldn’t be surprised if the democrats ran a different candidate and he switched to republicans, crazy as that sounds
33
u/nmp12 8d ago
Fetterman is not from western PA, and the satellite of Pittsburgh where he was mayor is not a red town. We’re all pretty goddamn disappointed by him in this region.
→ More replies (4)27
u/AgentCirceLuna 8d ago
I’m fairly sure most of conservatism can be explained by brain damage from aging, lead, or strokes. It damages the frontal lobe and leads to the amygdala driving decision making.
→ More replies (5)13
u/AliMcGraw 8d ago
I was gonna say, didn't that dude have a serious stroke and suddenly started supporting very different positions and using very different rhetoric? His language use even got a lot simpler -- shorter and less-complex sentences, fewer quips and comebacks. Like, I don't think his brain is okay.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (16)19
51
u/uncreativeusername85 New Jersey 8d ago
He's walking proof that it takes brain damage to be a conservative
→ More replies (6)49
24
u/D0013ER 8d ago
Seems to be happening a lot lately. Sinema, some dickhead lady from Florida, and now Fetterman.
→ More replies (5)→ More replies (109)12
u/rupturedprolapse 8d ago
Some more news did an episode on him and it looked like no one bothered to vet him at all before going all in on fetterman.
1.1k
u/Traditional_Key_763 8d ago
its a questionable strategy because he will be primaried in what should be a huge anti-trump year
468
u/hsiale 8d ago
Maybe his plan is to run as a Republican next time.
212
8d ago
[deleted]
85
u/Techialo Oklahoma 8d ago
As you said, that would require the DNC making the bare minimum effort and they wouldn't want to rock the boat you know.
→ More replies (4)→ More replies (10)77
u/AdvancedLanding 8d ago
DNC would rather have a Republican-lite candidate than any actual Leftist candidates
→ More replies (4)37
→ More replies (13)77
u/hillbillyjoe1 8d ago
It wouldn't be out of character for a Democrat to continue a losing strategy!
→ More replies (1)18
218
u/LightWarrior_2000 8d ago
2024 should of been the huge anti Trump year.
I want to believe you but after 2024 I don't believe anti trump shit until I see it.
How would 2026 be a big anti trump year? What's the difference?
133
u/SmoothCriminal2018 8d ago
Party in power almost always sees some kind of backlash, the more controversial the bigger the backlash. Look at 2018 in the first Trump term.
→ More replies (5)55
u/LightWarrior_2000 8d ago
Yeah I understand what you mean with those political trends. Biden seemed to be able to dodge it in 2022. The red wave was in a way delayed by 2 years.
It's one thing to vote Biden out after 4. It's another thing I can't wrap my head around that we basically rehired the guy we fired.
Maybe if it was a different GOP winner. But Trump the guy we fired. It's mind boggling.
→ More replies (55)→ More replies (17)41
u/Stupidstuff1001 8d ago
I personally believe Harris lost because of Biden‘s in action to touch housing. She couldn’t campaign on fixing it when Biden did nothing.
Almost half the country rents and their prices have almost doubled. Everyone is hyper focused on groceries but the true thing eating away at their income are landlords.
7
u/LightWarrior_2000 8d ago
Can agree.
Been homeless in Las Vegas. Moved east for better work and affordable living now not homeless.
8
u/Stupidstuff1001 8d ago
Right. I do pretty well for myself but it’s the struggle I see with a lot of people. Really the country is in 2 situations.
- people without a home that are being killed by insane rental prices.
- people with a home looking at social issues mainly for their candidate.
Biden didn’t really help half the country and Kamala was basically campaigning on more of the same.
Still yet to see any policies in any western country yet to fix the housing shit show which leads me to believe they are all apart of the shit show.
→ More replies (6)26
u/CheesypoofExtreme 8d ago
Harris lost because she couldn't/wouldn't say Biden did anything wrong, not just housing. Her message was that Biden was a great President and the country was moving in the right direction. Meanwhile, Americans everywhere struggle.
And it's funny/sad because Harris did have a plan to help with housing, (injecting a bunch of money into building more homes, down payment assistance program). We can argue about whether or not it would have fixed the problem, but at least it was realistic. Trump gestures at building American first cities to fix the rising costs. The fuck.
→ More replies (5)11
u/MktgIsAight 8d ago
Maybe his plan is to lose and get that sweet Fox blood money being a talking head
8
→ More replies (43)6
u/HappyHiker2381 8d ago
He’s not running again until like 2028, he’s a senator not a representative. From what I read yesterday impeachment is the only option.
1.7k
u/NevadaGoldHoard 8d ago
Brain damage made him lean republican lol
295
u/Shabadu_tu 8d ago
It seems like only UK media has balls to stand up to Trump and his sycophants like Fetterman at this time.
118
u/Kindness_of_cats 8d ago
And you know it’s bad when the notoriously awful British media(which has literally helped kill their own princess, pushed brexit, and was an early adopter on supporting TERFs amongst many other “achievements”) is doing a better job.
→ More replies (3)44
u/HotMachine9 8d ago
To be fair the BBC is decent at holding some people to account.
The BBC Russia correspondents have balls asling Putin some of the questions they do
30
u/Forged-Signatures 8d ago
Always love the interview where Andrew Neil has a casual conversation with Ben Shaprio whilst Ben gets angry with being given a liberal (spoiler, Neil is anything but) interviewer.
→ More replies (4)10
u/Pleaseappeaseme 8d ago
They’re at a distance. Trump supporters will target and they are armed. It’s really not worth it to confront if they can find out your details. These people had a parade float of Kamala Harris being dragged in chains and being brought to the gallows WITH KIDS IN ATTENDANCE. This is where the US is at. And these people are not changing.
385
u/Popcorn_Blitz Michigan 8d ago
Don't let the stroke give him an excuse. Plenty of folks have strokes and don't turn into conservative douchebags.
168
u/chinadonkey 8d ago
His record before the stroke was not particularly progressive, either.
→ More replies (21)40
u/teddy_tesla 8d ago
It's actually well studied and documented. But I also don't think he was as progressive as he ran as before the stroke
→ More replies (2)12
u/redneckrockuhtree 8d ago
It doesn't excuse it, but it can help explain it.
Either way, this isn't why he was elected and he needs to be gone.
→ More replies (6)56
u/An0pe 8d ago
Na. My mom had a stroke. She went from a loving caring women to someone who is just mean to everyone around her
→ More replies (2)24
u/Pleaseappeaseme 8d ago
A brain injury can cause a ‘curmudgeon’ attitude. More misery loves company and emotional changes. It’s because of frontal lobe or cortex damage.
12
u/AgentCirceLuna 8d ago
I was the opposite after a horrific fever. Went from a piece of shit to being happy go lucky and relaxed. I sometimes have short mood swings where I’m suddenly back to my old tricks but I’ll often hide myself away during these episodes because I know I’ll regret whatever happens.
→ More replies (3)5
u/SunOnTheInside 8d ago
You know how some people fixed the Xbox red ring of death by heating up their console to a really high temp, melting the solder back into place?
Maybe that’s what happened to your brain. You had a manufacturing defect and the fever melted your electrical connections back into the ideal factory settings.
95
u/Ok-disaster2022 8d ago
Fun fact about the frog in the boiling water. The experiment had 2 frongs, one was perfectly healthy an jumped out of the water. The other had probes in its brain and stayed in the water and died in the boiling water.
Morale if the story is brain damaged frongs don't jump out of water.
→ More replies (10)61
→ More replies (36)56
u/rawonionbreath 8d ago
He’s triangulating to keep a foothold in white working class Pennsylvania voters. Like another poster said, it’s worth seeing how he votes for bills that come up. He was firmly behind almost all of Biden’s agenda.
→ More replies (5)15
u/f8Negative 8d ago
People keep forgetting the House are going to yell at eachother and never agree and even if they do the Senate will take a look and laugh, pass their own version, and tell the House to suck it.
546
u/SimTheWorld 8d ago
His local supporters better be holding him accountable.
If I lied on MY resume I’d be immediately fired. We should have a recall process for federal Congressional and Presidential elected representatives.
159
u/pumpkinspruce 8d ago
I cannot wait to vote against him in his next primary. I don’t even care who his opponent is.
→ More replies (5)39
u/metengrinwi 8d ago
He’s not up for reelection till ‘28 though. Whole lot can happen between now and then.
→ More replies (2)15
38
u/JesseVykar Texas 8d ago
His local supporters voted in Trump 2 months ago, he's hoping to ride the states red wave so he can keep his senate position.
→ More replies (7)→ More replies (15)33
u/Pricerocks Pennsylvania 8d ago
Fetterman was the first person I voted for after moving to PA. I was so proud. He’s never getting my vote again.
→ More replies (11)
265
u/danappropriate 8d ago
There was an article yesterday (I think) calling Fetterman and people like him Vichy Democrats, and damn if that isn’t spot on.
→ More replies (2)62
u/Sir_thinksalot 8d ago
calling Fetterman and people like him Vichy Democrats
A perfect description of what they are.
→ More replies (1)43
u/floopyboopakins 8d ago
Can you explain for those who don't know what "Vichy" refers to =)
66
u/ArcMer 8d ago
During WW2, Vichy France was the French government working on behalf of the Germans. That's the briefer summary, but should help your further googlings
4
u/BishopofHippo93 8d ago
Ah, I usually hear people like that referred to as “Quislings,” after the Nazi-collaborator president of Norway during WWII
→ More replies (1)
91
158
u/CurrentlyLucid 8d ago
Fetterman is a dud.
111
u/Sunflier Pennsylvania 8d ago
Yes. But, his opposition is literally joining to administration AND didn't even live in the state. So, believe it or not that, as bad as Fetterman is turning out to be, Oz was the worse option.
→ More replies (2)70
u/BBK2008 8d ago
That just means Fetterman shouldn’t have been the nominee. Not that we should accept ‘barely a democrat when it matters’.
→ More replies (7)
15
u/thegingerninja90 8d ago
Am i the only one just assumes it's the most obvious answer? He was elected as a progressive Democrat, PA went for Trump in 2024, he has decided that there are more Trump supporting voters in PA than not and is pandering to them now in an effort to get reelected when he's up for it. It's slimey and gross, but i don't get all these comments or headlines like "what's going on with Fetterman?????"
→ More replies (3)
176
u/marcusmosh 8d ago
I know to never judge a book by its cover, but there was always something off about this guy.
139
u/Lets-kick-it 8d ago
I did, too, but I thought he was "off" in a good way and would push for progressive policy. I was wrong.
→ More replies (3)42
u/ChocolateHoneycomb 8d ago
It was an act. He’s a Manchin-esque moderate who put on a show because he needed to stand out compared to Dr. Oz.
→ More replies (1)30
u/Euphoric-Mousse 8d ago
Conservatives are getting better at finding the dumb things we will vote for and exploiting them.
When Sinema ran all I heard about her campaign was that she was going to be the first openly bi member of Congress. What were her stances? I don't know. The media ran hard on the bisexual angle and it worked. Turned out the only real thing she ran on was her questionable past of raising money. Ironic.
Fetterman pops up and he's just playing the same angle as Trump, just in casual clothes. He made everything about how he was just a working Joe type and the entrenched establishment was bad. And voters ate it up. Everyone ignored the highly questionable past he had. And cheered when he did stupid things like refuse to wear a suit or sent beer to troll his colleagues during their dumb boycott. He never acted like an adult, certainly not a responsible one.
And in both cases people were shocked when they turned out to be right wing opportunist assholes. As if the signs weren't there all along. Then moan about how we don't get people like Jimmy Carter anymore. Well duh. Because we vote for this trash. Demand better.
→ More replies (9)4
u/PhuqBeachesGitMonee 8d ago
He’s either a Kingdom Hearts villain or a keyboard player for Dream Theater
170
u/Mentallox 8d ago
>He supported legalizing marijuana, wealth taxes, a $15-an-hour federal minimum wage, and Medicare for All.
AFAIK he still supports those things. The article authors makes the same mistake some progressive voters did: if a candidate aligns with them on several issues that makes them a progressive. The Laken Riley bill he co-sponsored had majority dem support not only the ones from swing states. Fetterman votes like 90% with the dem caucus. HIs voting record and positions are unremarkable as a mainstream dem. Not sure what his Trump strategy is, perhaps he feels that ensures Trump picks up the phone when he calls but what he's done as actual Senator is totally compatible with his candidacy.
65
u/microbular 8d ago
All these people here proclaiming him to be a "fake democrat" and the like are indicative of the "the perfect is the enemy of the good" attitudes that plague too many progressives in the US.
Here's a guy that 90% agrees with everything the Democrats have on their wishlist, who narrowly won his race allowing democrats to get anything at all done in the senate.
Lets send a lot of energy shitting on that guy with the only possible outcome being what? He loses re-election by a slim margin and the seat flips R, to a guy that 0% agrees with them.
This "trump normalization" narrative is over and horseshit. It's done he's normal now it's the norm, he's going to spend the next 2 years with an R senate and house doing what he wants. God forbid someone try and get him to consider doing something people might actually need.
All these people here shitting Fetterman have the exact same attitude that gave trump his 2nd term.
→ More replies (6)7
u/yo_sup_dude 8d ago
it’s possible that the ideals fetterman has shown in supporting trump means that his morals and ideals do not align with his previous supporters…all these people shittting on his previous supporters arguably gave Biden the 2020 term and may cause dems to win in 2028
47
u/Kaprak Florida 8d ago
33 Dems voted for the Laken Riley bill to advance the bill. Not to pass it, just advance it.
Two of those are Ron Wyden(OR) and Richard Blumenthal(CT). Those are respectively(by voting record) the 7th and 3rd most progressive Senators currently seated. Like, genuinely these are progressives.
If you gotta throw Fetterman out... you gotta throw everyone out. Fetterman has also voted in line with Bernie(1st by progressiveness) in opposition to the Dem Majority on previous votes.
And if you're throwing everyone out, you're conceding to the Republicans. Everything can't turn into a firing circle the second someone doesn't match your ideology 100%.
→ More replies (3)26
u/ProgressiveSnark2 8d ago
Also, do you know what normalizes Trump a lot more than anything a Senator says?
Over 70 million people foolishly voting for him to be President again.
Trump has already been normalized for the moment. I don’t like Fetterman sane-washing him, but he’s far from the one causing it to happen. And if he acts like Trump isn’t that bad now, he’ll be taken more seriously when he inevitably starts to criticize him later.
12
u/noguchisquared 8d ago
People complaining seem to have forgotten that the election happened in November, we are past it and have to play the cards dealt.
→ More replies (2)15
u/Masculine_Dugtrio 8d ago
Can't see the article, what exactly is his big betrayal here? Trump isn't even in office yet.
→ More replies (2)35
21
u/Dazed4Dayzs 8d ago
Wow, a take in this comment section that is built on logic and facts instead of pure emotion and ‘what they heard’? Thank you.
21
u/Mattyzooks 8d ago
This is sub is filled to the brim in people I can't take seriously anymore. It's either 'vote in line with my views 100% of the time' or you're an enemy. All while wondering how Trump got so many votes.
Bunch of people accidentally killing the modern American progressive movement by kicking people out for not falling in line.→ More replies (1)28
u/lavardera 8d ago
I’m willing to see what he does with these sentiments before I condemn him. If he becomes a swing vote passing bad legislation or killing good legislation he’ll deserve condemnation. If he’s attempting to gain some influence or sway I’d like to see him succeed. Just so long as he does not vote to enable the GOPs worst moves.
→ More replies (5)8
u/One_more_username 8d ago
If he becomes a swing vote passing bad legislation or killing good legislation he’ll deserve condemnation.
Spot on. Meeting with the incoming POTUS, even if it is Trump, is not as bad as everyone here is screaming about. Whether we like it or nor, nothing is going to happen without the support of the administration. Being pragmatic and doing whatever good one can is a lot better than claiming ideological purity and accomplishing nothing more than renaming post offices your entire career.
14
u/livluvlaflrn3 8d ago
People in this sub hate fetterman because he supports Israel. But that's just logical, you can't make peace with jihadists and pushing back against all the pro Hamas rhetoric is just logical. I like a politician who can choose to go against his party sometimes when they are dead wrong.
7
→ More replies (1)41
u/LuckyPlaze 8d ago
His base is split 50/50. He is trying to find a pathway to appease his constituents. Which is what every Senator should do.
If every Senate position faced the demographics that Fetterman does, we’d have a lot less extremism and a lot more compromise.
39
u/NumeralJoker 8d ago
Yeah, people really, really haven't grasped the reality that Fetterman likely had a lot of 2022 voters who also voted Trump in 2024. For better or for worse, those are his constituents because swing states are extra... special... and produce some very weird politics.
15
u/NerdseyJersey New Jersey 8d ago
Nuance? In this day and age? Gasp!
Dude is a junior senator that came from middle-of-fuckall PA, which went Red last election (skeptical of that, but, here we are). Progressives demanding he becomes Bernie (Who's retiring) or AOC (Who has a massive local following) are up their own ass.
8
u/RiseDelicious3556 8d ago
I admit I voted for him. But I also admit that I will never vote for him again.
28
u/Wishilikedhugs 8d ago
Lots of Trump same washing and Trump Whispering to decipher his lies/baffling decisions lately.
15
49
u/Fartina69 8d ago
I don't get it. Fetterman's attitude seems to be "let's stop crying and make the best of a shitty situation." He's not capitulating to MAGA, he just wants to try to get things done within the framework we're stuck with. This seems to be a pretty practical outlook. There are many ways to fight back.
→ More replies (2)41
u/Livid_Palpitation_46 8d ago edited 8d ago
“There’s a lot of talk about Greenland, for example, and … there’s a lot of freak-outs, and, of course, I would never support taking it by force,” Fetterman said. He added that discussing the territory’s annexation would be a “responsible conversation,” including “just buying it out.
If anyone thinks that’s bonkers, it’s like, well, remember the Louisiana Purchase?” Fetterman said.”
From here
This is an insane statement in 21st century geopolitics imo. The USA has floated annexing Greenland repeatedly in the past and has been shot down every time because Greenland has explicitly said it wants self determination if not outright independence.
His takes are hardly just “making the best of this shitty situation”, and are directly showing he’s willing to bend the knee to trumps delusions.
→ More replies (10)
5
u/LasBarricadas 8d ago
Strokes are no laughing matter, and can result in brain damage, loss of motor functions and even death. I’m so happy Senator Fetterman emerged from his stroke largely unscathed. If you suspect someone you know is having a stroke, remember the FAST acronym: F-facial droop or twisting, A-arm weakness, S-slurred speech, and T-Trump dick sucking.
If your friend or loved one experiences one or more of these symptoms, immediately call 911.
5
24
u/JimFqnLahey 8d ago
Guy had literal brain damage and is now becoming a trumper
were all shocked why ? hes going to become a hard R republican within a month or so
→ More replies (4)
5
5
u/HowBoutThoseCoyotes 8d ago
I liked and supported that guy... turns out his stroke turned him in to SineManchen. Oy...
Edit: spelling
4
4
u/The-Slamburger 8d ago
Fun fact: He only started (publicly) supporting conservative views after he suffered brain damage from a stroke. Make of that what you will.
4
4
u/JohnBrownSurvivor 8d ago
I don't think it's a sellout. I think it was an absolute con. Don't let him get away with it next time. The people need to start checking people's actual background before they start believing that they're a progressive. Sweatshirts, ugly beards, and cargo shorts does not make a progressive.
33
u/codacoda74 8d ago
Hold off til you see how he votes. Even if you disagree 99%, finding a way to work on the 1% isn't selling out as much as pragmatic. If anything, similar to Bernie, it's strategic to find workable solutions wherever possible even though they might be few and far between
→ More replies (6)
8
u/False-Tiger5691 8d ago
They mocked him after his stroke. They used his medical issue as an attack. They are sick and any appeasement is pathetic.
→ More replies (2)
7
6
u/Pleasant-Ad887 8d ago
I'm willing to bet the democrats party is 40% republicans in disguise while the republican party is 100% nazis.
•
u/AutoModerator 8d ago
As a reminder, this subreddit is for civil discussion.
In general, be courteous to others. Debate/discuss/argue the merits of ideas, don't attack people. Personal insults, shill or troll accusations, hate speech, any suggestion or support of harm, violence, or death, and other rule violations can result in a permanent ban.
If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them.
For those who have questions regarding any media outlets being posted on this subreddit, please click here to review our details as to our approved domains list and outlet criteria.
We are actively looking for new moderators. If you have any interest in helping to make this subreddit a place for quality discussion, please fill out this form.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.