At some point, you’ve probably run across the meme, Heartbreaking: The Worst Person You Know Just Made a Great Point. It comes from Clickhole, an Onion parody of Buzzfeed-style sites, back in 2018.
If you’re right-of-center and cynical about some high-profile Democrats, then Pennsylvania’s newer Democratic senator, John Fetterman, has been the giant walking embodiment of that meme lately. First, Fetterman tore into scandal-plagued New Jersey senator Bob Menendez for his indictment on corruption, repeatedly calling for Menendez to be expelled. “We cannot have an alleged foreign agent in the United States Senate. This is not a close call.” There are a lot of Senate Democrats who are quietly embarrassed by the sordid and shameless details in the Menendez indictment, but mostly want to avert their eyes and wait for the story to drop out of the news cycle. Fetterman really wants the Senate to toss Menendez out on his keyster, and he’s not afraid to make noise over it.
As Jeff noted, Fetterman took a forthright stand in support of Israel, held Hamas completely responsible for the ongoing conflict, and rejected calls for a ceasefire or “pause.” He took a shot at the Squad for their premature and erroneous contention that Israel had bombed a hospital. “It’s truly disturbing that Members of Congress rushed to blame Israel for the hospital tragedy in Gaza. Who would take the word of a group that just massacred innocent Israeli civilians over our key ally?”
And Fetterman doesn’t seem to be softening his stance as the conflict wears on:
According to TribLIVE news partner WTAE, just after Fetterman took the stage and holding up an Innamorato poster, the protester shouted, “4,000 plus dead children in Palestine. 9,000 plus dead civilians, get off the stage. … Get off the stage. I don’t care … get off the stage.” He then told Fetterman to “go home.”
Fetterman responded to the protester by saying, “The joke is on you. I had a stroke. I can’t fully understand what you are saying.”
Fetterman’s mind is now apparently sharp enough to joke about his stroke in a way that makes his hecklers look silly.
As if all of that wasn’t enough, Fetterman is teasing California governor Gavin Newsom for not-so-subtly positioning himself as a presidential option for Democrats:
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., on Saturday evening criticized California Gov. Gavin Newsom and accused him of secretly running for president while speaking at an Iowa Democratic Party dinner, even though Newsom has said he fully supports Joe Biden’s re-election bid.
“There are two additional Democrats running for Pennsylvania, excuse me, running for president right now,” said Fetterman, who acknowledged that he still has lingering speech issues after he had a stroke in 2022. “One is a congressman from Minnesota, the other one is the governor of California, but only one has the guts to announce it.”
As Jeff noted, Fetterman’s surprisingly fearless shots at his fellow Democrats when he thinks they’re wrong have all occurred since he started putting on a suit. Maybe something in that controversy made Fetterman reexamine what kind of senator he wants to be, or how the public perceives him. Either way, he continues to give us pleasant surprises, calling out bad behavior from his fellow Democrats. Heartbreakingly, John Fetterman keeps making great points.