Call me mean-spirited if you like but on my list of people who are feeling majorly butt-hurt this morning is Democratic (?) Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. While Democrat’s hopes were high, well into the evening yesterday there was the concern that even if the Party managed to climb the steep hill to a Senate majority and get 51 seats (preventing Vance from being a tie-breaker) it might not matter. Fetterman has sided with Trump and Republicans so often on important votes he’d keep doing so, or worse switch Parties and prevent Democrats from gaining full control. Ten bucks says Fetterman thought he’d be Joe Manchin on steroids and he’d wield outside power and influence. Instead, well before midnight Democrats had flipped so many seats he’d been politically neutered.
Fetterman was being openly courted by the GOP, who had assumed that even if Democrats managed to get to 51 seats they could entice him to switch sides. No one will convince me quiet talks had been taking place about what Fetterman could get in return for officially betraying the voters who propelled him into the Senate in the first place. And yes, as this article from the Associated Press published in September tells us Pennsylvanians feel betrayed. So much so Democratic candidates refused to be seen with him:
Polling captures the shift. Only about 2 in 10 registered Democrats in Pennsylvania have a favorable view of Fetterman, according to a New York Times poll from August. That’s a sharp reversal from 2024, when 74% had a positive view. He’s now seen more favorably by Republican voters in the state, with 73% giving him a positive rating. That’s up from 25% a couple years ago.
A Quinnipiac poll from July similarly found most Republicans approve of how Fetterman is handling his job, while most Democrats do not.
Cindy Durian, a Democrat voting in May’s primary in suburban Harrisburg, said she would never vote for Fetterman again.
“I think he might as well change parties, he might as well change from a D to an R,” she said.
It’s an interesting article written at a key point during the campaign and worth a couple of minutes to read. If Fetterman decides to run for a second term it’s a safe bet he won’t be doing so as a Democrat. While no formal effort has materialized to primary him it’s only a matter of time. Voters 9(and not just in his home state) who rallied to him after his stroke and propelled him to the Senate are angry. Fetterman cast vote after vote for Trump instead of them so Fetterman doesn’t have a snowballs chance in hell of winning a Democratic primary, His true comeuppance is that it’s highly unlikely he’d win a GOP primary either, even if he goes ahead and switches Parties in the weeks ahead!
Serves the smug, self-righteous, too full of himself prick right. If people in Pennsylvania heard something strange last night, it was Ross Perot’s ‘Giant sucking sound’ of Fetterman’s delusions of grandeur being sucked from his ego. He thought he was going to be one of the most important people in DC, a shot-caller on par with with the top few legislative leaders on Capitol Hill. As I said he’s still a big guy when it comes to physical stature. His political self woke up this morning a shriveled husk.
John Fetterman was already on a lot of Democrats sh!t list. Now they have no reason to bother trying to make nice with him. When he returns to Capitol Hill he’s going to be the Democrat’s version of Ted Cruz. If he feels humiliated then good. If he tries to go hat-in-hand to Republicans? Well, since he doesn’t have the power to be a swing vote, someone who can help them ram through something Trump wants he’s of no use to them.
Back during the Revolution Benedict Arnold’s treachery was welcomed by the British, but once the war was done they had no use for him and the comfortable life he’d envisioned there didn’t happen. Arnold came back to the U.S. in shame, and found he wasn’t welcome here either. Fetterman is I think about to get a taste of what Arnold experienced. Again, call me mean but if I see a story now and then about how miserable Fetterman is because no one wants much to do with him I’ll enjoy the hell out of it. I say to anyone reading this don’t feel the least bit of sympathy for him. To Fetterman I say go screw yourself, and when you’re done do it again. And again, and again for the rest of your life.
Fetterman was counting on being a major political player. Now he’s of NO use to either Party. Karma can be cruel and in this case I don’t mind one bit.
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise, among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest working. We’re a group of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
