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What's Going on With John Fetterman?

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  Dec 05, 2023
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

This election was probably the most stinging defeat of the 2022 cycle for Republicans: a man who had not recovered fully from a near-fatal stroke won a US Senate race. John Fetterman suffered his medical episode that spring and may have suffered permanent brain damage. Instead of withdrawing and taking time to recover, as the Democrat clearly wasn't healthy enough to represent the people of Pennsylvania, he stayed in the race. Grounded suspicions quickly arose that his wife, Giselle, forced him to continue his campaign.

Fetterman's first few months in office were a shambles, marked with opening remarks in committee that were barely coherent. He was then hospitalized again for an extended stay, dealing with mental health issues and depression. But now, following Hamas' brutal and genocidal terrorist attack against Israel, Fetterman has become one of the Jewish state's most vocal allies on the Hill, much to the irritation of the leftists who voted him into office. To many conservatives' surprise and leftists' dismay, the senator has had other moments, too. 

To those on the left, you're learning a lesson many have been subjected to in politics: never fall in love with politicians. They will always disappoint, and both parties' bases are guilty of this: no one bats 1.000. The difference is that Republicans, more often than not, can overlook flaws in their candidates. We admit a lot of Republicans suck. Alabama, one of the reddest states in the country, has a penchant for picking/nominating the worst people to represent the party. During the 2008 election, we might not have liked John McCain all that much, but he was better than Barack Obama. In 2012, the Tea Party movement was not enamored at all by Mitt Romney but got behind him anyway. 

With Democrats, one issue can land you in the gulag. With Fetterman, it's Israel. 

His office is reportedly plastered with the missing poster signs of the Israelis that were kidnapped on October 7. He waved an Israeli flag as pro-terrorist activists were being arrested on Capitol Grounds. To some degree, he's come to the defense of now-ousted Rep. George Santos (R-NY), saying that what Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) has allegedly done regarding his corruption and bribery charges was much more severe.  

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Politics leads to strange bedfellows. Fetterman is no exception. 

For now, the man is widely entertaining while shooting inside the ship, and he's one of the few Democrats who are openly pro-Israel. For now, Fetterman has emerged as quite a surprise amid these dark times. 

I'm sure weeks from now, we'll be hating him, but maybe the man has been functional all this time because some of the stunts he's pulled have been hilarious.