Pennsylvania Ping!
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Posted on 03/06/2025 5:57:01 PM PST by lightman
WASHINGTON — While many Democrats shouted, booed, walked out or afterward harshly criticized President Donald Trump’s highly adversarial address to Congress on Tuesday, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman a day later took issue with something else: his own party.
Fetterman, D-Pa. has long bucked a progressive label, become one of Capitol Hill’s staunchest supporters of Israel and a strong U.S. border, and touted bipartisanship and open-minded politics so much that he’s felt compelled to deny plans to switch parties.
But he yet again chastised fellow Democrats on Wednesday — this time over their protests of Trump’s nearly 100-minute speech.
Many Democrats held paddle-like signs labeled “False” or “Musk steals,” waving them whenever Trump made a misleading statement or touted his administration’s efforts to slash federal spending under Elon Musk’s direction.
One Democrat, Rep. Al Greene of Texas, was booted by the House sergeant of arms after he stood and waved his cane at Trump, declaring the president did “not have a mandate” after the November election.
“A sad cavalcade of self owns and unhinged petulance,” Fetterman posted on X Wednesday, sharing a screenshot of a Politico headline suggesting the vocal protests in the House chamber fell flat. “It only makes Trump look more presidential and restrained.”
More: What to make of Trump’s ‘rally’ to Congress? A divisive speech to a divided country | John Baer The former Braddock mayor and Pennsylvania lieutenant governor warned that Democrats were “becoming the metaphorical car alarms that nobody pays attention to — and it may not be the winning message.”
His critique of his own party Wednesday mirrored Fetterman’s comments to the “Somebody’s Gotta Win” podcast last month. Consistently bashing conservatives, he said, had helped Democrats lose elections in critical states like Pennsylvania.
“I think their primary currency was shaming and scolding and talking down to people and telling them, ‘Hey, I know better than you,’ or ‘You’re dopes,’ or ‘You’re a bro,’ or ‘You’re ignorant’ or ‘How can you be this dumb?’” he said. “And then, ‘by the way, they’re fascists. How can you vote for that?’”
The senator added that he knew and loved Pennsylvanians who voted for Trump, and that “they’re not fascist.”
“They don’t support insurrection and those things,” he said. “And if you go to an extreme, and you become a boutique kind of proposition, then you’re going to lose the argument. And we have done that.”
More: Democrats issue preemptive rebuke of Trump speech: ‘A disaster for Pa.’ Fetterman said it would be especially challenging for Democrats to bring back more men into the party. He said the party has suggested “men are to blame. Or their masculinity is toxic. Or unless you’re able to conform to our very strict kinds of definition of what we think is appropriate,” that men will find an alternative, “and they’ve done that.”
Earlier this week, Fetterman said he would not join many Democrats' push to threaten a government shutdown over spending plan negotiations with the House and Trump administration. Republicans have embraced Trump’s push to slash federal spending, along with plans to renew and expand Trump tax cuts that research groups say disproportionately benefit the wealthy.
“I’ll never vote to shut our government down,” the senator posted on X on Tuesday. “That’s chaos. Keeping our government open is one of our core responsibilities, and I refuse to burn the village down in order to save it.”
Fetterman, who backed a handful of Trump Cabinet nominees, impressed Trump during a meeting among the two men and their wives. He’s also made public multiple appearances or interviews with Pennsylvania’s Republican Sen. Dave McCormick, and he joined his Republican counterpart in co-sponsoring an immigration bill that makes it easier to detain undocumented migrants charged with theft-related crimes.
But he told ABC’s “The View” a week after Trump’s inauguration that he’s not switching parties, as he’d make a lousy Republican. He noted he’s “pro-choice” and “pro-LGBTQ” — and since then he’s consistently critiqued Trump’s anti-LGBTQ measures.
“I don’t think I would be a good fit,” he said. “So I’m not going to change my party.”
Pennsylvania Ping!
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DEMOCRATS ARE FREAKING OUT!!!
Maybe a stroke would get other Democrats’ minds back to reality.
and yet Fetterman votes with them 99% of the time-no such thing as a Dem moderate now
Amazing. Half his brain works.
Dems: When we get done googling what unhinged petulance means we’ll probably be angry with Fetterman. He can’t hide behind those big words we don’t know.
Ha.
Two women in front show it was true.
Once again John Fetterman surprises on the upside. Some conservatives think it’s all an act, and Fetterman is just playing us.
I strongly disagree. I think he’s is a rare classical liberal - one in the Truman mold.
The big question is will he remain that way, or will he be seduced by DC’s money and power? I wouldn’t bet either way in that.
I really thought when Klinger got out of the Army, he would quit wearing dresses.
Talks sense, votes stupid.
Fetterperson is not to be trusted.
Josh Shapiro - popular center-Left Democratic PA Governor - is also going to run in 2028.
Did Fetterman stand or clap at any point? I think not.
What is that???
What is that???
What is that???
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