Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) has done it again: he’s infuriated the Left over an issue that’s become red meat for Republicans. Fetterman said that members of his party need to get over their fear of talking about immigration, along with any anxiety they might have regarding blowback from the lefty activists if they speak about it.
The southern border is an absolute wreck, with hundreds of thousands of illegals pouring across the border. Border Patrol’s daily encounters with these people have surpassed 10,000 on some days, and that’s a soft number. Fetterman said that this isn’t some whacko right-wing issue (via Politico):
Fetterman on border via @hollyotterbein
— Ursula Perano (@UrsulaPerano) December 7, 2023
"I hope Democrats can understand that it isn’t xenophobic to be concerned about the border...It’s a reasonable conversation, and Democrats should engage" - Fettermanhttps://t.co/UMQs1XiA3r
As stalled immigration negotiations imperil U.S. aid to Ukraine and Israel, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is blaming not only Republicans but also members of his own party for what he described as a reflexive political resistance to a border security deal.
“I hope Democrats can understand that it isn’t xenophobic to be concerned about the border,” Fetterman said in an interview. “It’s a reasonable conversation, and Democrats should engage.”
Fetterman, a progressive favorite, urged Democrats to acknowledge the large numbers of migrants streaming across the southern border. He cited the nearly 270,000 border encounters that U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported in September.
“Honestly, it’s astonishing. And this isn’t a Fox News kind of statistic. This is the government’s,” he said. “You essentially have Pittsburgh showing up there at the border.”
His remarks come as Democrats increasingly stiff-arm the border talks for skewing too far toward GOP demands — and they're even more striking given his status as a longtime vocal advocate for immigrants. His wife, Gisele Fetterman, was a so-called “Dreamer” who came to the U.S. from Brazil when she was seven years old, a story he highlighted in a video during his 2022 Senate primary. (She became a citizen in 2009.)
The senator’s comments also demonstrate the degree to which he has positioned himself as a staunch ally to Israel during its war in Gaza, an outlook that has deeply frustrated his progressive allies. Fetterman, whose office is adorned with the Israeli flag and a “We Stand With Ukraine” poster, said he is “appalled” that Congress is considering “fucking over” the two countries.
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Who is this man, and what has he done with John Fetterman? When he was elected, it was a source of embarrassment for Republicans, as they couldn’t knock off a man who was visibly unfit to be a US Senator. Fetterman suffered a severe stroke in 2022 and might have permanent brain damage since he didn’t take the time to recover properly.
And yet, he’s emerged as one of the few voices of reason in the Democratic Party. He’s pro-Israel, which has already put him at odds with the Democratic Base. He’s also said that Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) has committed worse offenses than now-expelled Rep. George Santos (R-NY). For now, Fetterman is talking sense, though I’m sure we’ll go back to hating him in a few weeks.
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