Earlier this week I covered how Democrat John Fetterman has grown increasingly desperate as he runs for the open Senate seat currently held by retiring Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA). This included equating his Republican opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz, with Dr. Nick, the quack doctor on "The Simpsons." Fetterman appears to have ratcheted up his attacks even further, though, and is being bolstered by far-left media outlets.
In this instance, Fetterman shared an article from Susan Rinkunas at Jezebel, showing Dr. Oz giving remarks at a World War II museum, near Hitler's car. "Dr. Oz Stood in Front of One of Hitler's Cars at a Fundraiser and Had Jordan Peterson Call In," the headline read. Again, though, the event took place at the Lyon Air Museum and the car is there as a part of authentic history.
Fetterman's tweet claimed that "if you're asking donors for money in front of Hitler’s literal car, then you shouldn't be running for U.S. Senate."
I don't know who needs to hear this, but if you're asking donors for money in front of Hitler’s literal car, then you shouldn't be running for U.S. Senate https://t.co/68X6ulCPQa
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) October 7, 2022
The museum was founded by Major General William Lyon, a decorated U.S. veteran, and contains authentic pieces of history.
Rinkunas in her piece also goes after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), referring to him as a "sex pest," although the congressman has denied any such claims. Late last month, The Washington Post reported that "Career prosecutors recommend no charges for Gaetz in sex-trafficking probe," though Rinkus does not mention that in her piece.
Rinkunas jumps to further conclusions from there, writing:
We have several theories about how and why this happened. One, Oz’s team is extremely bad at their jobs. Two, they hate their boss. Three, this was an intentional wink to the fascist elements of the Republican party.
The chair of the event, Palmer Luckey, is Gaetz’s brother-in-law and the billionaire founder of Oculus VR. Luckey is a Donald Trump supporter and, in 2017, he was photographed with Steve Bannon and white supremacist Chuck C. Johnson, with both Johnson and Luckey flashing a white power gesture. Luckey claimed on Twitter that the gesture being a hate symbol was “fake news” and that people do it to “playfully mimic Trump.”
Potentially not unrelated to his politics, Luckey is also the head of a military technology company called Anduril that makes surveillance equipment used on the US border and is now making drones. The company has multiple contracts with the Department of Defense and Gaetz, meanwhile, sits on the House Armed Services Committee.
The event had also covered by the similarly far-left HuffPost, by David Moye. "Mehmet Oz Gives Speech Near Hitler's Car And Causes Furor On Twitter," his headline read, though he didn't have anything to add.
Fetterman has been prone to going after Dr. Oz on social media, which may have to do with how he experienced a stroke in May, shortly before winning the primary. He has not had many public campaign events, and those he has had, as well as the similarly few media interviews he's given involve bizarre responses and show he is still experiencing some side effects.
Such posts often--to the point of being obsessive--mention Dr. Oz's ties to New Jersey, as well as to suggest he's not a real doctor and refer to him as someone who "kills puppies" as a way to solicit donations.
These tactics are likely a distraction on Fetterman's soft-on-crime approach as well as his pro-abortion position. Speaking of abortion, one of the few public events that Fetterman has had involved a pro-abortion rally on the 21st anniversary of September 11.
While Fetterman has a +4.3 lead according to RealClearPolitics, tightening polls suggest that Dr. Oz is the one gaining momentum. This is similarly reflected in how also earlier this week, as Spencer covered, Cook Political Report changed their forecast of the race from "Lean Democratic" to "Toss-Up."