Tipsheet

Can We Talk About How John Fetterman Can’t String a Sentence Together?

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  August 17, 2022 9:00 AM

Before everyone gets in an uproar, let me first say that I'm glad Mr. Fetterman survived his stroke and is recovering. It also might have been too soon for him to do public events because his return on the stump in Erie, Pennsylvania, was challenging to understand. He promised to eliminate the filibuster but then rambles about giving up the lieutenant governor's office to the governor or something and then says he will do things for the American people. 

He's not okay. These ramblings are something to expect from Joe Biden and Kamala Harris at public speaking events, especially Harris, whose penchant for tossing up word salads has reached near mythical levels. 

Fetterman's stumbling tops off what the Pennsylvania Senate race has become in recent weeks: a complete and total trainwreck. 

For Democrats, it's slightly different because they're probably going to win the seat vacated by the retiring Republican incumbent Sen. Pat Toomey. Let's be honest for a second here, Republicans—when Toomey made that announcement, who thought we had a chance of keeping that seat? The Pennsylvania suburbs, where Keystone races are decided, makes for fraught political ground for anyone running statewide. Toomey only retained his seat because he did well in Bucks County. Yet, the issues for the state GOP are downstream. Like a football team rebuilding, there is no depth on the roster. 

It seems forever since Republicans in this state were able to draft a slate of statewide candidates who weren't atrocious. That lack of depth is how we got Dr. Mehmet Oz, who apparently doesn't even live in the state and has been frolicking in Florida and absconded to Ireland instead of campaigning. Please remind the television doctor that winning Trump's endorsement doesn't guarantee a general election victory. 

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For Democrats, Fetterman's stroke recovery could muddy whether his brand of left-leaning populism is a winning strategy that can be replicated outside of their coastal and urban bastions. 

And no, I was not pro-Dave McCormick either. Everyone sort of sucks in this race. The GOP candidate would rather be in Florida and catch rays, and the other can't really speak right now.