1y ago

Fetterman has to be one of the biggest disappointments for the left in recent memory

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/john-fetterman-tells-maher-that-near-death-experience-freed-him-to-speak-out-says-progressivism-left-me/ar-BB1nS49V

From the article:

The liberal comedian then asked Fetterman whether his shift in various policies had anything to do with his recovery from his 2022 stroke, asking if his near-death experience had given him a "freedom."

"Absolutely," Fetterman responded. "There's a line from the first 'Batman,' Joker's like ‘I’ve been dead once already. It's very liberating.'"

"It's freeing in a way. And I just think after beating all of that, I just really [want to] be able to say the things that I have to really believe in and not be afraid of if there's any kind of blowback."

So basically yes, the stroke made him a Republican. Pathetic and disappointing, but all too predictable.

90 comments

I told my inlaws about that "it takes brain damage to be a republican"
Then proceeded to ask would they vote for him now that you agree with his positions. Both of them said no "because he's a democrat"
- Of course they wouldn't vote for him. It's like a sports game to many Republican voters where they just vote for their team regardless of their position.
  I'd bet that if a literal socialist ran for office as a Republican, many Republican voters would be on board.
  
  I’d bet that if a literal socialist ran for office as a Republican, many Republican voters would be on board.
  Check this out: https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/09/17/aria-dimezzo-sheriff/
- Distrust runs deeper than reason. I've experienced this with my political preferences too
- tbf what if he has another near-death experience that switches him back?
This just in: Brain damage leads to conservative values. Conservative votes still matter as much or more than yours. More at 11.
"There's a line from the first 'Batman,' Joker's like ‘I’ve been dead once already. It's very liberating.'"
You... you get that the Joker was the bad guy right? Who went on to kill a bunch of people? I guess it makes sense that this is your reasoning for becoming a republican but what a weird quote choice.
- Dude didn't even pick a quote from the 1 movie that attempts to cast the Joker as a sympathetic character. I swear...
  
  ah yes, "You ever dance with the devil in the pale moon light?"
Ahh Bill Maher is not a liberal comedian. He's really not either of these things.
- His jokes and his ideas suck
If that brain damaged asshole had any integrity he'd resign because he's no longer capable of doing the job he was elected to do.
- He's literally not representing the people who elected him anymore. It's practically political malpractice.
  
  shit, this bitch from NC ran as a democrat, got elected, and then immediately switched parties to be a republican.
  It's OK, because Nicole Sidman is going to take back the seat in November.
  Cotham rose to prominence with a speech on the statehouse floor about her own abortion that drew national attention in 2015.
  She ran for her seat, which was heavily Democratic and included east Charlotte before redistricting, as a Democrat and strong supporter of abortion rights. But she switched parties in April 2023, giving the Republican-led General Assembly a supermajority in both houses. That allowed Republicans to override Gov. Roy Cooper's vetoes at will and pass laws they had long sought, such as a stricter abortion limit that lowered the cutoff in most cases to 12 weeks of pregnancy.
  Cotham ran on protecting Roe V. Wade, then switched parties to help dismantle it. She's a true bottom feeder.
  
  I don't know if I'd go quite that far. There's an old saying about Pennsylvania. It's basically Pittsburgh and Philadelphia with Alabama in between.
I have personally worked with Fetterman a number of times while I was working for Allegheny county. He had some moderate stances on things like Israeli support, but not like this. Also, he spent his entire time as mayor of Braddock pushing a lot of very progressive things. He actively turned down opportunities to not be living in his office, and get highly paid, in order to fight a large amount of resistance he faced, even among the people he directly worked with in Braddock. He had a provable, positive, long term, impact on Braddock. He demonstrated that a lot of progressive ideas works, because Braddock implemented them, and it worked. This had a impact on how Pittsburgh, and Allegheny county in general, looked at the future, and how to best design it.
He has demonstrated he is staunchly pro-labor and, in the past, has demonstrated so via sacrificing political payola to do that, among many other progressive things. So I am very conflicted at this serious increase in, what was previously a relatively moderate, stance on Israel. I have to wonder if it was the stroke, or did he strike a deal with AIPAC.
- I think most people that were adults when 9/11 happened dont expect peace to ever be possible between the arabs and the west, and see hamas and all the other extremists as suicidially determined genocidal crusaders.
  Especially so since Hamas knew they had no chance of winning any conflict they started with the Oct 7th attack but did it anyway, and maintain popular support in gaza even now.
  It's not that older Americans necessarily want to see Palestinians slaughtered but don't see any peaceful alternative to ending the conflict, and see it more as a 'fuck around and find out' situation, so long as Israel doesnt start putting people in ovens (for some even if they do).
  As an aside, geopolitically, thats kinda the point of (funding and arming and training and informing) Hamas. To make peace impossible, because peace benefits the west.
  For the sake of spreading their ideology and increasing their support, their backers want a forever war.
  
  Ok. What if I break into your house, lock you up in the toilet and regularly beat you and your family up? Worse, the Police is actively supporting it. Would you fight back any way you can? Would your actions be called "terrorism" or "extremism"? Would you not fight back even when you know the odds are against you? Fuck off, Zionist.
  
  I was an adult when 9/11 happened. From my personal experience it didn't push people to believe this. It simply drew those thoughts out of them. I didn't know a single person who decided to hate muslims when it happened, those people already hated people who look different, and have different cultures/religions. 9/11 just gave them an opportunity to run their mouths about their bigotry. Also, everything you just said about peace among arabs has also been applied to africans, and was also said about europe until after WW2, regardless of their culture/religion, and was a common line of BS well before it.
  The only thing it may have done is make previously ignorant bigots aware of arabs. The one thing I have noticed that changed, is knowledge of just how much "the west" has intentionally done to destabilize anyone who wont bend to their economic empires, has become mainstream. People living in the west are far less generously minded about their own countries' current affairs, and histories, than they were 30 years ago. It has actually become a societal issue, in that a significant portion of the population just can't handle how shitty the reality of their birth place is, and is now one of the major talking points of the alt-right. Backlash to this has also been a growing sentiment to more than just the far right too.
  europeans vs arabs is an old, old, thing. The talking points of how the arab world can never know peace is just as old.
  
  The answer is Israel leaves and goes back to make a state in Germany where it should have been made in the first place.
This is beyond disappointing.
This was actively campaigning, taking money as, and presenting oneself as a progressive.
This goes way beyond disappointed.
- This made me smile.
  Edit: your comment made me smile. The way it is phrased, each sentence begins with "This". That's why my comment started with "This"...
  
  Is this another Joker quote?
i can't imagine anything more embarrassing than someone who seems to hold political views opposite mine having a stroke and suffering brain damage, only to come out the other end saying now with this freshly scrambled brain he thinks that I'm right.
it's a lucky coincidence that conservatives don't have to go through that because they have no shame.
"Republican plays the game in a liberal area then drops the act once he 'makes it'"
- What has he done that's Republican?
Still beats Dr. Oz, but sucks he decided to become more of an asshole.
- The only way that he beats Oz is that he caucuses with the Democrats. And I HATE when games make me do stupid things because of their dumb mechanics.
  
  Good metaphor, and I agree. But I'm practical above all else, so votes blue no matter who.
  It's nice when there are two Democrats running here in California so I can actually vote based on policy instead of party affiliation.
Damn, Fetterman. What happened? You used to be cool.
- I'm wondering what Giselle thinks of all of this. I haven't heard a peep from her since he became a senator, and I feel like she was a good influence on him.
  
  I thought she deleted all her social media or went private a few months back. Haven't investigated further.
- You should've seen it coming. His name isn't Unfetterman smh.
Other than his psychotically unwavering support of Israel what Republican positions has he taken up?
- He’s got some strange agriculture sponsored bills, banning oil sales from the strategic reserve, but most of his sponsored bills are aimed at helping low income people stay in housing, some pro union stuff, and a bit of fuckcars. He literally sponsored a bill to cancel school meal debt at the federal level. Not sure why he’s getting blasted here as a Republican other than idiocy that he’s not a AOC clone by the “Palestine became my only issue in the last 5 months” folks.
  A bill to amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to ensure that striking workers and their households do not become ineligible for benefits under the supplemental nutrition assistance program, and for other purposes.
  Yea… Real Republican stance. /s
  https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/browse?sponsor=456877
  
  Insert "leftists are not liberals" meme
  Fetterman is truly for the left, he stands for the working class against the wealthy.
  Everything else is a distraction, and he realizes this fact. We need more lawmakers like him, not noisemakers like AOC going off about the unimportant issue of the week.
  Seize back control our society from the rich and everything else will follow.
- I guess his refusal to wear a suit while on the house floor could fall into the "fuck your feelings" category.
It's money. Yes to brain damage, but also... Yes to money. It corrupts people. It fucks them up. This guy didn't have much money, go watch the housing show he was on. I bet not many know about that...
- I am unable to find even a hint of what you're talking about about. It's not mentioned on his wiki page, and Google is useless as per usual these days
  
  Google told me he was on a show called Where We Call Home. Specifically on the 8th episode of the 1st season.
Dude is literally not the same dude. The dude was replaced with another dude and this is that other dude.
I fear this is what's gonna be normal. The money gets to them and we get at least 1 new Sinema every election cycle.
- There has been, and always will be, just enough to make sure legislation cannot make it through the Senate.
not gonna lie, i kinda just straight up forgot about his ass.
Unfortunately now i have to remember that he's alive. Maybe that stroke should've taken him out of service...
- I live in Pa and keep forgetting about him until he pops up in the news. Then I'm reminded that he is the biggest disappointment I've experienced in politics. I almost feel like my vote was wasted. Hopefully he at least keeps reproductive rights a thing in this state. I cannot function without my bc because it keeps my endometriosis at bay.
  
  yeah, unfortunately he's a senator so 6 year terms, but you can oust the fucker as soon as that happens, thankfully.
Follow the $$$$$.
- ???
I should have known better than to trust someone from York county.
Also, Fetterman is a perfect example of why I don't bother making friends. They're inevitably disappointing.
I mean, yes, disappointing (and yes this is the leftism community so I get it), but it doesn't look like he's doing a Sinema or a Cotham.
Maher then asked him to explain what he meant what he stated last year "I’m not a progressive, I'm just a regular Democrat" and how he separates himself from progressivism
If you think someone is lefty because they dress like an unemployed teenager then you are the true disappointment
- I thought he was a lefty because he campaigned as one.
  
  There is no such thing as a "leftist" on a campaign trail.
  
  You shouldnt trust what politicians says. Look at what they do
  
  I remember him being pro-union, but that's about it.
- I always got the vibe that he acted like a contrarian, not like a principled guy. Makes sense he'd pivot to the assholes after a stroke lol
"At least he's not Dr. Oz" This is the new way to politic.
- Yup. Just not be the person who will actually abuse other humans and that's all you need. No values or standards. No connection to your voting base... Just not the other.
  Fuckkkkkk I'm so done.
Most of the western Left is a disappointment
- Given the opportunity, this kind of slimeball is ready to lieberman/manchin/sinema it up to tank a critical vote on major legislation.
Was this stroke before or after that whole dress code thing? I remember his antics being amusing when they wanted to do away with the dress code rule that was never technically written down anywhere and he shows up in shorts and they immediately change their minds and codified it.
I did not expect a Fox News article in a leftist community. What else does 2024 have left up its sleeves?
Nope.
If you place any faith in formal politics or the critters that engage in it, you must be one naive excuse of a leftist.
Gritty wants to be transferred out of the district.
I'm kidding of course.
Gritty wants him dead.
Someone's not getting elected again.
I used to donate to him, no more.

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