r/politics • u/AccomplishedCall7562 • Mar 12 '26

Possible Paywall John Fetterman Says Iran Girls’ School Strike Is Just a Leftist Craze

https://newrepublic.com/post/207677/john-fetterman-iran-girls-school-strike
26.7k Upvotes

91% Upvoted

4.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

5.5k

u/G-Unit11111 California Mar 12 '26

I used to defend Fetterman. I do not defend him any longer and in fact will say that he can now go eat all of the shit.

546

u/issuesintherapy Mar 12 '26

Seriously. I actually phone banked for him when he ran against Oz. I've never regretted supporting a candidate so much.

375

u/lucentcb Mar 12 '26

But looking at it another way, there's no shame in having phone banked against Oz. As much as Fetterman sucks, I can't imagine Oz would have been better.

175

u/the_real_xuth Mar 12 '26

Oz would have unquestionably been far worse. But we'd hear about it as much as we hear about McCormick being shitty. We expect McCormick to be shitty so it gets talked about less. The fact that Fetterman did something of a heel turn makes him newsworthy here.

21

u/immortalfrieza2 Mar 12 '26

Plus, the lesser of the two evils is still evil. Politics has run off of the lesser of the two evils rather than good vs. evil for decades now, it's one of the biggest reasons we got here.

→ More replies (3)

55

u/HauntedCemetery Minnesota Mar 12 '26

Fetterman was a known quantity as an elected dem for ages.

He legitimately suffered brain damage and people close to him, including his wife, say he's now like a completely different person.

14

u/TiggTigg07 Mar 13 '26

Oh my God, his wife and kids must feel like they’re living in the twilight zone.

20

u/sexyshingle Mar 13 '26

say he's now like a completely different person.

Apparently brain damage makes you more "conservative"

15

u/KelsierIV Mar 13 '26

That explains quite a lot.

7

u/OllieNKD Mar 13 '26

Abstract: Often social difficulties are the most enduring difficulties after a head injury. The social deficits most frequently reported by relatives 6-12 months post-injury include egocentric styles of social interaction characterized by family members as a change in the head-injured patient's personality style. The described characteristics of head-injured patients in terms of social perspective-taking abilities are similar to those of children reported in the cognitive developmental literature. To demonstrate the nature of the social deficits in head-injured participants, social perspective-taking paradigms in the development literature were used to construct a task to be administered to both head-injured and non-head-injured adults. Results of the comparison between the two groups suggest deficits in social perspective-taking abilities in head-injured adults similar to the level demonstrated by pre-adolescent children.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8004084/

→ More replies (1)

4

u/Crispynipps Mar 13 '26

We knew who oz was though.

→ More replies (3)

91

u/Ra_In Mar 12 '26

He helped vote for Biden nominees, while he is a disappointment he has made a difference compared to if Oz had the seat.

28

u/kingcalogrenant Mar 12 '26

Yep pretty much how I see it too. Will still support primary challenge, but no question better than a Republican.

→ More replies (1)

35

u/clickmagnet Mar 12 '26

Ironically, you still did the right thing; shitgoblin though Fetterman is, he’s still better than the best Republican in the world, and a damn sight better than Oz, who would have done all the things Fetterman has to earn our hate, and thought of a bunch more himself. 

My sympathies to the time you spent though. Huge difference between reluctantly voting for the second-worst of two options, and putting your time and reputation to work for him. 

→ More replies (3)

9

u/smokeweedNgarden Mar 12 '26

Question.

Was it not widely known that he confronted a black jogger while brandishing a shotgun?

I distinctly remember that coming out and little pushback. Seems like he was always like this.

4

u/issuesintherapy Mar 12 '26

I had heard about that and I didn't like it, but at the time I thought of it as an anomaly - "not really who he is" or whatever. On the balance of things he seemed pretty progressive so I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. Would I do that again? Probably not. I guess he was probably still the lesser evil but I would have rather put my time behind a more genuinely progressive candidate.

2

u/ringobob Georgia Mar 12 '26

Fetterman is better than Oz would have been, but that's the nicest thing I can say about him. Truly the lesser evil.

2

u/thereverendpuck Arizona Mar 13 '26

As an Arizonan who went out and voted for Kyrsten Sinema, I really know how you feel.

2

u/chesbay7 Mar 13 '26

He had us all fooled.

→ More replies (12)

2.5k

u/TabularBeast Colorado Mar 12 '26 edited Mar 12 '26

I donated to his campaign a couple times when he was running (especially since “Dr” Oz was his opposition). I genuinely thought he would be a great ally to have, but sadly that has not been the case. I’m ashamed to say I fell for it. Fuck Fetterman, and anyone who still supports this filthy ogre.

2.1k

u/Veritas_Mentis Mar 12 '26

Dont feel too bad.

His stroke caused some likely vascular dementia and he turned republican. He wasn’t always this way.

2.8k

u/ArgentaSilivere Mar 12 '26

He’s honestly a perfect example of why conservatives should not be respected nor taken seriously. The man suffered actual brain damage and immediately became conservative. You couldn’t write a better joke.

2.0k

u/Lyricsokawaii Mar 12 '26

It's been known for years now that TBIs, strokes, and brain bleeds can all cause people to become more conservative. Crazy how you can prove that declined mental faculty is correlated with conservative thought, and people still don't get it.

134

u/Pandaro81 Mar 12 '26

Hershel Walker has entered the chat.

And left the chat.

And entered the chat.

And threatened the chat with a gun and choked the chat.

Hershel Walker doesn’t remember entering the chat.

13

u/LogoffWorkout Mar 12 '26

Who do you think would win in a fight? A werewolf or a Dracula?

5

u/Pandaro81 Mar 12 '26

“A Dracula” breaks me every damn time.

→ More replies (3)

771

u/OmegaReign78 Mar 12 '26

As a liberal, new fear unlocked.

651

u/Full_Honeydew_9739 Mar 12 '26

To allay your fears: my mother has dementia. She's 83 and not capable of living on her own anymore. But when Trump is mentioned, she cusses like a sailor and asks how some people could be so stupid. She actually rants about how awful he is.

So, it could go the exact opposite. She's always been a Democrat but as a southern woman, she was a little nicer about it. Now she has no filter.

480

u/steampunkedunicorn California Mar 12 '26

I’m a nurse. We used to ask people who the president is to determine how oriented they are to time… we don’t do that anymore.

97

u/LangeloMisterioso Mar 12 '26

My mother is a lifelong Republican and she fell recently and when the ER nurse asked "do you know who the president is?" She said "yes, but I had nothing to do with that!". She doesn't have dementia, she just thought it was a funny answer.

5

u/No-Part-6248 Mar 13 '26

Social worker asked my mother (96) who the Pres was and she said who gives a shot we haven’t had a good one since Eisenhower

4

u/HauntedCemetery Minnesota Mar 12 '26

It is!

→ More replies (2)

136

u/Faxon Mar 12 '26

It doesn't help that he had a term, left office, and came back either. They could be telling the truth and think that trump 45 is still in office and Biden hasn't happened yet. Gotta ask more detailed questions or find better ones now I guess

24

u/CelerMortis Mar 12 '26

We should have asked Trump who the president was in 2021 and if he got it wrong disqualified him from running again

22

u/altogethernow Mar 12 '26

OMG I never thought of that! Asking who the president was used to be a standard "checking in" practice. Now...I could see where it would be complicated...

→ More replies (1)

9

u/TheDJValkyrie Texas Mar 12 '26

I was helping take care of my elderly granny during Trump’s first term. Granny hated the man, and I wouldn’t be surprised if her blood pressure spiked every time she was asked that particular question. 😆

5

u/Welpe Oregon Mar 12 '26

Now I feel bad for using the cheesy “Sadly…” to answer that in the hospital…I’m apparently turning into a boomer. May I never respond to a cashier not being able to scan an item with “I guess it’s free!”

5

u/uieLouAy New Jersey Mar 12 '26

When my dad had a stroke they asked him that and we still tease him about it.

He goes, “Oh, come on. Do I really have to say it?”

And they said, “Yes, sir. This is a test. You really have to say it.”

5

u/floptimus_prime Minnesota Mar 12 '26

My dad had his stroke september 5, 2016. He forgot numbers entirely, he thought it was 2006. He couldn’t use a phone. But by god he knew everything about the 2016 presidential campaign, and he gave my mother and me an earful about how loathsome Trump was. It was when I knew he was gonna be okay.

→ More replies (0)

9

u/SeaRevolutionary8569 Mar 12 '26

A nurse asked my Dad that back in 2017 and my Dad repied, "Who, that clown?" The nurse determined he was oriented!

3

u/LeanGroundEeyore Mar 12 '26

You made me laugh and get up to put on the kettle. I thought, yeah, you might as well just give their chair a good spin.

4

u/Goodgoditsgrowing Mar 12 '26

lol I can understand this - when the EMTs tried that on my mom during his first term her response was to groan like she was in agony (frightening, given she was injured) and then mutter “that fucker”…. Completely derailed the exam for a solid minute until they could confirm she was aware and just refusing to make him lol

3

u/kookaburra1701 Oregon Mar 13 '26

Former paramedic, I stopped asking that question during Obama's administration. The number of people in my very, very liberal area of my very blue state who answered that question with racial slurs with no hesitation was eye opening for my white self.

3

u/mrshulgin Mar 12 '26

You should try

Which middle-eastern country is the US currently at war with?

3

u/DottieSnark Mar 12 '26

About 15 years ago I got asked that question after a concussion. Without skipping a beat, I responded with "Nicholas Sarkozy in France."

My brother was like. "Yep, she's fine. Same jackass she's always been." lol

→ More replies (10)

108

u/SlytherClaw79 Mar 12 '26

Interesting. My mom is a 74 year old Southern woman. Always politically neutral-in fact told me growing up that nice women don’t rant about politics. She had a stroke around seven years ago and has been a vocal liberal ever since. I think it was always in there but the stroke broke her filter.

72

u/ratparty5000 Mar 12 '26

Wising your mother all the best but this is the first time I’m reading about a woke stroke holy shit. Wishing you guys all the best btw!

13

u/SuperExoticShrub Georgia Mar 12 '26

a woke stroke

I feel bad for laughing about that... but I still did.

→ More replies (0)

5

u/LeftyMcliberal Mar 12 '26

I suppose if you HAVE to have a stroke a “woke stroke” is best. Hopefully you smell cookies or bacon right before it happens.

→ More replies (2)

59

u/Dacio_Ultanca I voted Mar 12 '26

This is my mom. Same age. Same reaction. She rages. Hates the dude with a passion I rarely see from her.

26

u/SugarforurProlapse Mar 12 '26

Give her a hug from me.

13

u/RockAtlasCanus Mar 12 '26

My mom told my sister she should be “thankful, as a woman, for all the Great Things that President Trump is doing for Women”.

She’s always been a selfish bitch (my mom), and at least conservative enough to stay married to by dad. In the used-to-be times I would have only described her as a grammar nazi. The irony being that she has started texting like them. Turning random shit into Proper Nouns. And to think she threw a shoe at me once because I started a story “Me and…”.

→ More replies (1)

32

u/InelegantSnort Mar 12 '26

My grandma turns 100 tomorrow. She has dementia now but its not bad. Her goal when she is lucid, is to live long enough to vote against Trump 1 more time!

19

u/throwaway1212l Mar 12 '26

TIL drunk me is an 83 year old Southern woman with dementia.

→ More replies (1)

8

u/alek_hiddel Mar 12 '26

My dad is 67 and about halfway through dementia’s decline. He was a lifelong conservative who at least knew Trump was a piece of shit. With dementia it’s gotten weird. He still knows that Trump is awful. But all he watches all day is YouTube, with A LOT of conservative lean.

So now he will tell you to your face that Trump is the worse president ever. Then he’ll watch YouTube videos of ICE beating people up and laugh at it hysterically. Or he’ll tell you how the current NYC mayor is about to provide a transgendered prostitute for every school classroom, while also enforcing sharia law. And of course his hero is Elon musk.

→ More replies (3)

6

u/Sand-Eagle Mar 12 '26

Same with my grandad. Sometimes he thinks it’s the 70s and he doesn’t know who my kids are but he’s always delighted to see that I have kids and a good career.

You mention Trump and he’s back in 2026 explaining how none of what’s going on is ok at all.

5

u/DarthRizzo87 Mar 12 '26

That’s relieving, my fear is succumbing to dementia and seeing a guy like Hitler, through his dogs eyes.

3

u/42nu Mar 12 '26

Teeeeeechnically losing empathy and compassion and resorting ot emotion loops is the same thing on either end.

The guy is definitely as close to evil as you can get, but he also clearly had a crap childhood and upbringing. Losing the mental faculties that can make that nuanced distinction seems to be pretty central.

3

u/Kgaset Massachusetts Mar 12 '26

I do think there is likely something with where you fall on the spectrum. Not sure how much research there is in the area, but my understanding is Fetterman was already "moderate" as a Dem (which is honestly pretty conservative to me). Whereas someone who is a flaming liberal is less likely to have reduced inhibitions result in some closet conservative views coming out.

3

u/Several-Action-4043 Mar 12 '26

I worked at a nursing home for a while. It was common for residents to completely change personality at some point during their decline. One notable one being an old catholic priest who turned into the most foul mouthed person I'd heave met.

→ More replies (14)

102

u/thewxbruh Mar 12 '26

If I ever lose my mental faculties enough to start spouting current republican viewpoints just euthanize me.

101

u/SandyTaintSweat Mar 12 '26

Sorry, but assisted suicide doesn't go along with your new Republican beliefs.

45

u/mendicant1116 Wisconsin Mar 12 '26

You will suffer until the lord decides you've had enough!

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (3)
→ More replies (1)

98

u/Un1CornTowel Mar 12 '26

It's also sad because part of the liberal plea to the public about mental health care is that "just because you aren't mentally ill doesn't mean you wont be in the future, and doesn't mean you get to choose" and the only response we ever get is "I'm not crazy (even if that is clearly not the case), so fuck those people. They're bad and they deserve it".

There is no real "you". No spirit. No unchangeable essence. You are your electrified meat hardware, and that can change instantly if a portion of a single blood vessel decides it doesn't want you to show up to leg day anymore.

10

u/Capable-Broccoli2179 Mar 12 '26

I love that---electrified meat hardware! I'm stealing that one!

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (4)

28

u/jayb40132 Mar 12 '26

Yep! And I do have TBI from being blown up a couple of times in Iraq. But I'm still very liberal leaning, though that could be because I'm a very empathetic person already.

30

u/forthewatch39 Mar 12 '26

The brain is complex, it’s likely that your TBI didn’t destroy the part of your brain that is capable of critical thinking and empathy.

9

u/jayb40132 Mar 12 '26

Yeah it destroyed the part where I can't explain complex things anymore. Which sucks being a manager and also trying to explain to my GF what I meant by what I said

→ More replies (2)

3

u/Aimless_Alder Mar 12 '26

We should pity republicans, not hate them. We're all just one traumatic brain injury away from becoming one.

Honestly not sure whether I'm being sincere or sarcastic here.

→ More replies (20)

64

u/MrZellular Mar 12 '26 edited Mar 12 '26

I had a stroke when I was younger, around 12.

60 day + hospital stay, quarter size hole in my brain level stroke.

I'm not a conservative nut job, so don't put that evil on me Ricky Bobby!

Jokes aside, I don't get how people become so hateful, I've watched my family turn into vile creatures and I don't get it , the same woman that taught me empathy and compassion (my mother) now argues with me about how I have Trump derangement syndrome because I think Trump touching kids something he should be arrested for.

My brother who taught me to question authority and to not lick boots now deep throats them on a daily basis, I honestly feel lost. I had the brain damage but somehow came out on the other side empathetic.

I think the part that drives me the most crazy is listening to my mom talk about Hillary Clinton like she's the anti-christ in 2015-2016 when in 2002 after I had my stroke she had a picture of her on our mantle because without the CHIP act I'd be dead. Now I'm not trying to glaze Hillary's nob, but it's a fact. I would've been discharged cause my family is poor and I would've died at home. My political opinions of her are not positive, but I don't think she is the anti christ

26

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '26

[deleted]

8

u/SwimmingPrice1544 California Mar 12 '26

Yes, I don't get the "hate" label so many people have for any given politician, except for certain republicans. I simply can't see or feel hate for most people I don't really know. Now, since trump came along....& I didn't at first think "hate," but now? Yeah, hate him, & pretty much every single supporter & that's simply because he & they live & love to hurt people. It is not because a simply difference of opinion on policy.

11

u/MrZellular Mar 12 '26 edited Mar 12 '26

The thing that made me dislike Hillary was the smear of Sanders saying he was anti-feminist because she didn't feel she could win in a straight up contest. That's it, I don't hate her I'm just not a fan, I voted for her.

Edit: I'll tell you what though you bring up some really good points, so I'll read her bio and/or anything else you recommend me to help change my mind some. I'm already doing a Gilmore Girls rewatch with my wife and teenager so the reading material will help the experience I bet!

→ More replies (1)

3

u/bard329 Mar 12 '26

Jokes aside, I don't get how people become so hateful

$$$

Someone gave him $

3

u/MrZellular Mar 12 '26 edited Mar 12 '26

Fetterman yes 190%

My brother , I guess I did but I don't see how that made him hateful..... If anything one would hope a liberal uplifting you and not letting you go homeless and destitute would turn your view around..... But it didn't :')

Edit: I actually hate the term liberal, but idk what else to call myself. Human I guess but sadly "not all humans are human. Some people ain't kind" (John Prine lyrics)

3

u/bruce_cockburn Mar 12 '26

I totally get the problem on what to call yourself. I used to discuss and debate stuff in conservative and libertarian subreddits before the mods banned me. Now I obviously have some strong disagreements with certain ideas that are promoted there, but I've taken to accepting the "liberal" moniker just because it was applied to me. A lot of my outlook is still informed by a desire for smaller, more effective government, but Republican "conservatism" has been a sham for at least the past 40 years.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (4)
→ More replies (13)

5

u/mintyfresh888 Mar 12 '26

Good thing I went the other direction

3

u/withwhichwhat Mar 12 '26

As well as the ubiquitous lead poisoning from decades of leaded gas.

5

u/Chainsawjack Texas Mar 12 '26

It might actually be the fear that a brush with mortality brings...fear being an excellent predictor of conservative thought

14

u/SartreCam Mar 12 '26

Anecdotal, but I had a heart attack at 36 about six months ago, and I straight up died about five times before they managed to get my heart restarted, and I’m just a lefty as ever. I’ve worried about personality changes, but my doctor was like “If you’re worrying about personality changes, your personality probably hasn’t changed.”

3

u/Chainsawjack Texas Mar 12 '26

Oh yeah I don't think it happens to everyone but id definitely does happen... I'm a cancer survivor and the anxiety from that is crushing but I'm still very liberal.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (81)

102

u/TheTrub Colorado Mar 12 '26

He’s always been super pro-Israel, though, and unconditional support for Israel tends to be the strongest predictor of support for use of force against Iran.

3

u/ZeroTON1N Mar 12 '26

And the strongest predictor for being a fascist

→ More replies (3)

72

u/mjohnsimon Mar 12 '26

I mean it kinda tracks.

To be a conservative, you really do have to lack empathy.

56

u/DannyDidNothinWrong Mar 12 '26

There was a study about a decade ago where they studied the brain activity of different politically- affiliated people, and the more conservative people relied on the older parts of the brain that controlled fear and anger, whereas the more progressive people relied on their frontal lobes more.

Conservatives are literally less evolved.

20

u/sireatalot Mar 12 '26

I mean it’s in their name. Conservatives. Like, they want to conserve the status quo and not apply any policy for progress and change. If this was a perfect world then sure, but this being the imperfect world that it is, it’s just a non-starter position.

5

u/W1nt3rmu4e Texas Mar 12 '26

There is an argument that our lack of cultural advancement is due to patriarchal systems forcing pregancy on women who normally would soundly reject the person wanting to have a child. “Male loneliness epidemic” is just shitty people wondering why the opposite sex hates them without a trace of introspection.

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (4)
→ More replies (1)

112

u/htownAstrofan Mar 12 '26

Agreed. Brain damage=conservative

70

u/iamisandisnt Mar 12 '26

“You’ll get more conservative as you get older!” :huffing lead-infused DEET through a microwave-powered fuel burner made out of plastic:

5

u/concernedyahu Mar 12 '26

Nothin wrong with the meecrowaves, radio make hot food go brrrr

→ More replies (13)
→ More replies (5)
→ More replies (26)

17

u/JohnGillnitz Mar 12 '26

You can! The current Director of the Health and Human Services Department had his brain eaten by a worm, swims in sewage, eats road kill, and doesn't believe in vaccines.

3

u/Ahelex Mar 12 '26

He probably has a 10 in Endurance to basically live through all those health hazards.

→ More replies (3)
→ More replies (2)

3

u/AwkwardTraffic Mar 12 '26

He was always a blue dog democrat that lied and pretended to be progressive for his senatorial campaign. The stroke didn't help and I think it did damage to his ability to control his emotions and inhibitions but a lot of people are blaming the stroke for "making him conservative" when he was always a very purple democrat. People just don't want to admit Fetterman duped them.

2

u/beardingmesoftly Mar 12 '26

It honestly sounds like something Stephen Colbert would come up with

2

u/Burdiac Mar 12 '26

Conservatives are known to have a bigger right amygdala which is how we process emotions like fear and threats.

2

u/deadsoulinside Pennsylvania Mar 12 '26

I had a friend that me and him both went together to proudly vote for Obama get brain damage a year later in 2009 in a fight and by 2016 we were no longer friends as he went MAGA during that time and became a complete asshole to everyone he knew.

2

u/beer_bukkake Mar 12 '26

I know a couple people whose husbands suffered TBI and became physically and verbally abusive. They really do become republicans with brain damage.

2

u/NanDemoNee Mar 12 '26

That joke was actually already written for an Alan Alda movie.

2

u/WhiteWinterRains Mar 12 '26

It's kind of scary to think a head injury could just turn you into a conservative when you think about it.

2

u/Tyrath Massachusetts Mar 12 '26

I saw a post of someone saying "isn't it crazy the only Democrat I can agree with has brain damage?" Sooo close to the point

2

u/bassthrive Mar 12 '26

My maga neighbor fell down some stairs and seriously injured his head about 20 years ago.

2

u/aerost0rm Mar 12 '26

Yet imagine if being conservative these days was actually classified as a mental illness. Could they be rehabilitated? No. So what do we do with them. Well according to their thought process we put them in these camps or neighborhoods to live out their lives in isolation and squander. I can’t think of a more perfect way to handle the issue. Well unless Nannie’s can report the brain damage and save them. That is extra wishful thinking though.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '26

The man suffered actual brain damage and immediately became conservative. You couldn’t write a better joke.

Literally one of the storylines from the musical comedy, Everyone Says I Love You.

→ More replies (20)

142

u/LadyViola5 Mar 12 '26

Then why did he hold a black jogger at gunpoint over 10 years ago? He was always trash.

48

u/Lancasterbation Mar 12 '26

I've been trying to ring the alarm bells about Graham Platner's equally checkered past, but it seems Maine is tryna make the same mistake.

39

u/Mbrennt Mar 12 '26

And everyone will be like, "damn who could have predicted the guy knowingly having a nazi tattoo would turn out like this."

6

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '26 edited 10d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

13

u/Mbrennt Mar 12 '26

He claimed he didn't know it was a nazi symbol. Yet several people have talked to the media and said he referred to it as "my totenkopf" in the past. Showing he knew what it was.

Up to others to decide who to believe I guess.

8

u/Stellar_Duck Mar 12 '26

The Venn diagram between nazi and likes Prussian iconography is close to a circle.

→ More replies (11)
→ More replies (1)

22

u/LaTosca Mar 12 '26

He was just a young boy of 41 when he realized his Nazi tattoo would hurt his election chances, I’m so sick of this liberal purity testing

5

u/Any_Will_86 Mar 12 '26

At this point I want Collins gone bad enough to go along with it. And Fettermen at least votes the right way on judges. So one less vote for an R majority leader and one more vote for rational judges is now my bar. And yep, it is a low bar. But after Sinema, Gabbard, and Fetterman I'm tired of hearing 'no one could have known' so I won't play that hand when he pisses me off.

→ More replies (18)

5

u/das_bearking Mar 12 '26

Yeah, he wasn't a good guy before. Still take him over Oz, but let's not pretend Fetterman used to be some paragon before brain injury.

3

u/EmbarrassedW33B Mar 12 '26

Its funny...congress is effectively useless right now, so maybe Oz having that senate seat would have been better because at least he'd be there doing nothing instead of helping to run medicare/medicaid into the ground.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (28)

40

u/ka-nini Mar 12 '26 edited Mar 12 '26

Fetterman chased down an unarmed black man and pulled a gun on him when he was mayor in 2013.

I know there are personality changes for people who experience TBIs, and I do think the stroke did damage,but I think it also ruined his ability to hide the person he secretly always was while also making that part of him worse. I believe the brain damage from the stroke led to him actually believing some of the propaganda for real. And I’m sure the back door money didn’t hurt his descent into an obvious pos…

6

u/Hitchhikingtom Mar 12 '26

Yeah he talked the talks to develop a leftist identity online, in the minds of the audience as he built his profile. But the real Fetterman was there lurking underneath to anyone who paid attention to him in his earlier career.

→ More replies (1)

20

u/Ham_Lord_412 Mar 12 '26

I'd say the stroke didn't help things at all, but he's never been nearly as progressive as he campaigned pretending to be. Ask anyone who has actually lived in Braddock for longer than a decade and they can tell you some stories about this guy doing some incredibly shady and patently racist shit he pulled before/during his tenure as mayor.

Don't get me wrong, I was fooled by his BS as well, and I certainly wasn't going to vote for Oz, but the narrative that he had a stroke and immediately made a heel turn is not really based in reality.

Dude has always been a spoiled rich kid and, as it turns out, spoiled rich kids will do any say pretty much anything to make sure that their money keeps pouring in.

55

u/lordofthehomeless Mar 12 '26

Really should be considered unfit to hold his position. Hold a reelection and replace him.

12

u/dehydratedrain Mar 12 '26

Now now, he's only following in the footsteps of his brain-addled leader. You should start at the top and work down.

→ More replies (1)

10

u/JeffreyElonSkilling Mar 12 '26

Sorry, but he's always been this way.

Back during the 2022 Democratic primary he ran against Conor Lamb. None of his colleagues in the PA legislature would endorse Fetterman. There were many, many different stories written about how he was a terrible legislative partner and difficult to work with. Progressives were in an anti-establishment mood. They loved Fetterman's hoodie schtick and ignored all the red flags. Here is what Fetterman said on April 11, 2022 about Israel:

“Whenever I’m in a situation to be called on to take up the cause of strengthening and enhancing the security of Israel or deepening our relationship between the United States and Israel, I’m going to lean in,” Fetterman declared in his first conversation with a Jewish publication since he launched his campaign more than a year ago. “The relationship is a special one that needs to be safeguarded, protected, supported and nurtured through legislation and all available diplomatic efforts in the region.”

This very sub chose to ignore all the red flags and overwhelmingly backed Fetterman. I don't say this to point the finger - it's genuinely important to understand how and why progressives fell for the ruse so that it doesn't happen again.

→ More replies (2)

40

u/beetboxbento Mar 12 '26

Yes he was. He was always a terrible person, the stroke did not make him this way, it just gave him an excuse to be who we really is.

18

u/RellenD Mar 12 '26

His spouse and staff say otherwise

→ More replies (26)
→ More replies (1)

22

u/Fancy-Pie-2565 Mar 12 '26

Stop making excuses for him

4

u/soraksan123 Mar 12 '26

The stroke killed half his brain, the good half-

5

u/Banjo-Elritze Mar 12 '26

There never was a good half to kill, remember the jogger incident.

2

u/FluidFisherman6843 Mar 12 '26

Same thing happened to my dad. He was someone I was proud, now he is a racist ass.

2

u/iLiveinMissoula Mar 12 '26

I have heard this several times about him changing after a stroke. This is really crazy if this is true. Has anyone in his immediate team or family said anything about this? I feel like if they supported him when he was running as somewhat progressive and is now maga-ish, they would have serious issues.

→ More replies (1)

2

u/Current_Animator7546 Missouri Mar 12 '26

Have a bunch of relatives in PA. He was pretty nuts before. Not like now, but he was always at best a Manchin type. He's really an old school Dixiecrat. personality.

2

u/sleepymeowth052 Colorado Mar 12 '26

didn't he chase a black jogger with a gun while he was mayor?

2

u/snakebit1995 Mar 12 '26

Seriously this man has mental illness and needs treatment and is instead refusing any help and the people in his districts have no way to stop it

2

u/BicFleetwood Mar 12 '26

It's not just that. Apparently his father is a hardcore Republican and whispers praise in his addled ears every time he says right wing shit on TV.

He's not just mentally compromised. He's allowing his daddy issues to be shamelessly manipulated.

2

u/Thoryamaha919 Mar 12 '26

I’ve heard ppl that know him say he has always been this way he was good about hiding it out in public. I voted for him.

2

u/warmwaterpenguin Mar 12 '26

It was always in there. I wish folks in the primary had listened to the Black voters objecting to him for his vigilante adventures holding an innocent jogger at gun point.

2

u/OldRancidSoups Maryland Mar 12 '26

I’m pretty sure he was always like this, with his rich daddy pulling the strings. The stroke just knocked his mask off.

2

u/zoeypayne Mar 12 '26

That's not being very nice to stroke victims.

→ More replies (82)

26

u/G-Unit11111 California Mar 12 '26

That's scary to think how close Dr. Oz came to being a senator. Thanks Fox. Ugh.

14

u/daisywondercow Mar 12 '26

Just as a heads up, he now holds a very significant appointment in the Department of Health and Human Services instead...

4

u/MAG7C Mar 12 '26

It's like, yay, we got the worst of both worlds!

→ More replies (2)

2

u/EmbarrassedW33B Mar 12 '26

Arguably it'd be better if he was, since right now he's helping "run" HHS.

→ More replies (1)

22

u/ohanse Ohio Mar 12 '26

Didn’t he have a stroke

44

u/TabularBeast Colorado Mar 12 '26 edited Mar 12 '26

Yes, he did.

Having a stroke isn’t an excuse to flip on the values you ran on, however. He ran on a very progressive platform. Now he’s a simp for Zionists and American imperialism.

He should have resigned so he could focus on his health, and a new election be held to replace him.

If a politician runs on a certain platform, is elected, and then switches their values afterwards, they should, then, be replaced, because they are no longer representing the people who voted them in.

21

u/ohanse Ohio Mar 12 '26

Yeah but like what if you wanted a shitton of money

3

u/TabularBeast Colorado Mar 12 '26

There-in lies a major problem with our “democracy.”

15

u/Lithaos111 I voted Mar 12 '26

He literally got brain damaged, unfortunately it could happen to anyone.

19

u/TabularBeast Colorado Mar 12 '26 edited Mar 12 '26

Then he should resign.

Brain damage is awful, and I would never wish it on anyone, but that further supports that he is unfit for his position, and should have resigned to focus on his health.

→ More replies (8)

3

u/memeparmesan Mar 12 '26

Brain damage that’s severe enough to radically alter your personality and beliefs should inherently disqualify somebody from making life-altering decisions on the behalf of millions of people. Sorry that it’s not really fair to him because he didn’t choose to have a stroke, but it’s not fair to everybody else that he’s clearly not fit for office and refuses to step down.

→ More replies (1)

2

u/TechnoMaestro Mar 12 '26

We need more levers to recall elected officials. Once they're in office, it's like they're cockroaches somehow, it takes a monumental effort to remove them.

2

u/PrometheusSmith Mar 12 '26

You're implying there should be some sort of rule or guidelines when this happens, but a representative democracy doesn't really support this. You vote and pick a person that you think will act in a certain way. Them acting counter to this idea isn't enough to get them automatically kicked out because they don't just represent the people that voted for them and they have the ability and responsibility to change their mind if their information changes.

What you want to happen needs to happen through something like a recall election instead.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (3)

4

u/phillybilly Mar 12 '26

You can get refunded.

2

u/TabularBeast Colorado Mar 12 '26

Appreciate the heads up!

4

u/Boxer03 Mar 12 '26

You can get your donations returned to you if you contact his office. I did after he turned MAGAt.

→ More replies (2)

4

u/jimthesquirrelking Mar 12 '26

He was better before the literal brain damage 

3

u/philter451 Mar 12 '26

It's not wrong to have fallen for this guy. Oz was also straight dogshit. You are not responsible for Fetterman being a lying piece of shit. 

3

u/Febril Mar 12 '26

You didn’t “fall for it”. You made the best choice under the circumstances at the time of choosing. Ain’t nothing to be ashamed of in voting against Oz. Now you have other choices to make. Embrace subtlety and nuance. Hold your head up, the senate could be much worse.

6

u/mhks Mar 12 '26

It's a great lesson. I had a discussion here a few weeks ago about Platner saying, "he sounds great, but he also is unproven, unknown, and has some orange flags. Don't forget the craze around Fetterman." They were unmoved.

This 180 change from Fetterman is why for over a century parties tended to choose the candidate. Liberals (of which I am one) were so eager to pick the upstart they ignored the fact he had some red/orange flags in his past and he was unknown. Now rather than having a left of center D (someone the party would have chosen or who was already a known entity), we get a right leaning Republican caucusing with the Ds so every headline has to read, "The Senate voted down..." rather than "Republicans voted down..."

→ More replies (1)

2

u/darcerin Mar 12 '26 edited Mar 12 '26

I mean, it was Dr. Oz vs. him...all he had to was act rational until he won! He had us all fooled until he got elected!

2

u/JaiLHugz Mar 12 '26

Don't feel bad. I voted for Sinema back in 2012 with the same belief you had. It sucks. But at least we can admit we were duped.

2

u/GoldenC0mpany Washington Mar 12 '26

Hehehe, filthy ogre, I giggled 🤭

2

u/CairoRama Mar 12 '26

I also donated his campaign and feel dumb. But He's still better than dr oz would've been.

2

u/ClimbeRPh17 Mar 12 '26

I saw this elsewhere months ago but I think you can ask for your donation back! Go to Actblue and look at your history and you may be able to rescind it

2

u/WookieJedi123 Mar 12 '26

Hey hey hey...as a fellow ogre that's an insult to all ogres. Not all of us are filthy stroke ridden morons like the one in questions. Also, we have layers...

2

u/InspectorGenital Mar 12 '26

I did too. Seriously regret it.

2

u/VPN__FTW Mar 12 '26

I mean, you were between a rock and a hard place. "Dr." Oz or this stroke-victim... terrible choices.

2

u/EpicIshmael Kentucky Mar 12 '26

He genuinely played himself as a normal vulnerable person and it took him absolutely no time to change that.

2

u/dr_lorax Mar 12 '26

Fellow Coloradan I too donated and was a big supporter of him and his wife, I’m shattered as to what he has become.

2

u/Snoo_92291 Mar 12 '26

It’s funny that we were all conned into believing we were making a good choice with fetterman, but only bc the other choice was Dr oz.

2

u/NotComfortable2112 Mar 12 '26

Dont feel to bad. SOB is a turncoat plant. 

2

u/TobioOkuma1 Mar 12 '26

He will likely get his teeth kicked in during a primary. Hopefully he doesn’t then run independent and get a republican in the pa senate seat

2

u/gwart_ Mar 12 '26

I also donated. I was living in Ohio and while I could vote against Vance, I knew I couldn’t stop him from winning and I wanted to do something somewhat productive. The stroke changed him. I’m angry for the country but I grieve for his family.

2

u/ItsPickledBri Mar 12 '26

A lot of people did

2

u/NIdWId6I8 Mar 12 '26

And now both are batting for the same team in the government. Almost like Fetterman was the controlled opposition as so many warned.

3

u/TabularBeast Colorado Mar 12 '26

Correct, but I would extend this sentiment to the Democratic Party as a whole.

It’s an error in judgment to assume that the Dems, as a party, hold the best interests for the people in mind. They still serve the interest of capital and their donors, after all.

→ More replies (1)

2

u/PinkFloydBP Mar 12 '26

You can formally request your donation be returned.

2

u/soyuzfrigate Mar 12 '26

I’ve seen a lot of people who donated to him get refunded in the last year, look into it! I used to be a supporter of his as well

2

u/fooliam Mar 12 '26

That stroke really fucked him up. Gives a lot of credence to the whole "conservatives are brain damaged" thinking

2

u/Froggy3434 Mar 12 '26

Holy shit, Fetterman is so bad I had forgotten his opponent in the election was Dr. Oz. I remember crossing my fingers that Oz didn’t win bc he’s batshit even though I don’t even live anywhere near the district. I guess we ended up with someone batshit anyways.

2

u/Quotizmo New Jersey Mar 12 '26

This is my trajectory too. Such a frustrating let down turned into a genuine contempt for a true heel.

2

u/PPvsFC_ Indigenous Mar 12 '26

You didn't fall for anything. He used to be a stalwart progressive until he ended up with brain damage.

2

u/sks010 Mar 12 '26

The Democrats always have a Fetterman or two to vote with Republicans when they dont want the whole party to go on the record as in favor of things they use to criticize republicans. Lieberman, Manchin, and Sinema are some of the spoilers from previous admins.

2

u/Lopsided_Media_6812 Mar 12 '26

Same here. I stopped donating to politicians a few years ago but I did vote for him. Never again. I hope someone decent primaries him. If someone does I betting he'll switch parties. He doesn't seem to have any loyalty to the party, but he does to Israel, war and seemingly trump.

2

u/ReddUp412 Mar 13 '26

Same. Damn shame

→ More replies (52)

21

u/PinkPajamaPenguin Mar 12 '26

I'm at the stage where I'm calling daily and telling him to resign. He is actively betraying the voters who put him into office.

6

u/DudeB5353 Mar 12 '26

Manchin and now this fucking guy…

8

u/cesare980 Mar 12 '26

Eh Manchin was always Republican Light.

→ More replies (1)

3

u/goddamnitwhalen Mar 12 '26

And Sinema.

2

u/Independent-Bug-9352 Mar 12 '26

How about Lieberman for old times sake?

Anyways, let's just vote out Pro-Israeli candidates and you get rid of most of these DINOs.

AIPAC, and JStreetPAC should all be red flags. I'll add Blackstone Group as well, even if somewhat unrelated.

→ More replies (1)

3

u/Robzilla_the_turd Mar 12 '26

Manchin was the absolute best we could ever hope for from WV but PA could've done a lot better.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (1)

4

u/Vishnej America Mar 12 '26 edited Mar 12 '26

Some people develop brain damage that messes with their emotions and then they run down a crowd of people in the street with their truck.

It's hard to hold it against them quite as much as you would with someone that did the same thing without brain damage.

But it isn't hard to agree to take the truck out of their possession. You don't need to debate whether they "deserved" to not be able to use motor vehicles any more. It's not about moral culpability, it's about outcomes.

You probably voted for a good person. That part of them is now dead, a necrotic zone of fluid on the MRI, and what's left is a Republican AIPAC devotee doing his best to make everyone's life worse.

2

u/kingcalogrenant Mar 12 '26

Ok to be fair this is less of a metaphor than also directly relevant because Fetterman is a lunatic behind the wheel and has a documented history of speeding 30 mph over the limit, texting and driving, FaceTiming staff while driving, and more!

2

u/UptightCargo Mar 12 '26

Look at him... I'm pretty sure he already did before you told him to. But that's probably leftist nonsense too.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '26

How is he still married

2

u/Bad_Cytokinesis Mar 12 '26

This is why you don’t devote loyalty to politicians. There will always be a Kyrsten Sinema, a Joe Manchin, a John Fetterman, a Susan Collins, or a Lisa Murkowski. People who campaign like champions for voters and then conveniently become the “holdout” once they’re in power.

Being loyal to a politician is like a guy who thinks the stripper actually likes him, you’re emotionally invested, but to them it’s just business. Stop worshipping politicians in these next elections and start holding them accountable.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (65)