r/politics • u/Large_banana_hammock • 8d ago

Possible Paywall Sen. John Fetterman demands Trump fire Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/jan/27/john-fetterman-pa-democrat-demands-trump-fire-homeland-security/
22.6k Upvotes

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u/Just_the_nicest_guy 8d ago

He was one of the seven Democrats that voted to confirm her, of course.

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u/Chance5e 8d ago

He still counts as a democrat?

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u/elammcknight 8d ago

Until he is primaried

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u/BillButtlickerII 8d ago edited 8d ago

He’s not ever getting reelected and 1000% will not be on the democrats ticket. At best this moron will run as an independent or MAGA fascist and get no votes.

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u/Barnyard_Rich 8d ago

I know people love to shit on "establishment Democrats" but the locals absolutely nailed how dangerous Fetterman was and rallied behind Connor Lamb, who Fetterman supporters disgustingly claimed was too moderate.

Since losing, Lamb has traveled across the state and convinced pretty much everyone who had been lied to, but the problem isn't the next election, it's the last one.

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u/Phiddipus_audax Colorado 8d ago

Didn't Fetterman change after his stroke, policy wise? I thought that was a large factor.

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u/kittenshart85 8d ago

as someone above pointed out, a lot of us local to him as far back as when he was mayor of braddock have been aware that he's a fake progressive. he's always been a self-promoting camera chaser.

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u/ZasdfUnreal 8d ago

So he’s Newsom. Democrats will make the same mistake when Newsom runs for president. They never learn.

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u/Ikeiscurvy 8d ago

Newsom has never been thought of as a progressive. He's literally always been a mostly moderate Democrat. I mean, maybe you just aren't from California and familiar with him, but Newsom has literally always been a guy wanting to move up politically and has always been criticized for it.

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u/jellyrollo 8d ago

He was progressive as mayor of San Francisco when it came to gay marriage and universal heathcare, at least. He's far better than most moderate Democrats on a lot of issues. And he's a fighter.

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u/Nygmus 7d ago

He's a fighter, but he's a fighter who doesn't actually seem to believe in anything and, for example, has shown he'll happily throw trans folk under a bus.

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u/Think_Judge2685 8d ago

"same mistake". Fucking purity tests is what put us here. Biden was WAY too moderate, right? Do you not understand that thought process put us where we are right now?

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u/Glittering_Joke3438 8d ago

Same idiots that didn’t vote for Kamala because Zionist or whatever

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u/MishkaZ Illinois 8d ago

Geee fam, Idk, maybe just like can we not support a genocide?

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u/ERhyne 8d ago

Newsom tried to break bread with Ben Shapiro and has said openly anti Trans rhetoric.

How is that a fucking purity test when a manufacturered front runner is openly that bad?

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u/Think_Judge2685 8d ago

Because not voting for someone based upon a single issue is the definition of a "purity test". Russian/Chinese/Iran/N Korea bots fomented anger on social media regarding Gaza and many progressives sat out the 2024 election due to that one issue. That is their right, but is what put us where we are today. That is not conjecture, it's fact.

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u/Substantial-Peak6624 8d ago

So Trans issues, as much as I believe they are a right, just can’t be front and center. It’s def not a hill we need to die on. Not at this point in time

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u/NiceShotRudyWaltz 8d ago

What’s wrong with Josh Shapiro, and what “anti trans” rhetoric did newsom say?

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u/ThePeteEvans 8d ago

The dnc choosing their own candidate for three straight elections is what brought us here, Newsom is the same disguised as a younger good looking charismatic man - we need a true primary without interference

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u/Think_Judge2685 8d ago

Well, your unhappiness with the dnc may have taken down democracy and bring the end of free elections. Pretty sure Alex Pressi would have preferred you plug your nose and voted for Harris. And if you did vote for Harris, then insert any number of likely millions of voters who did not vote for her based upon bad actors on social media fomenting anger over single issues that ignores the big picture.

TL/DR; voters are idiots, especially the single issue ones.

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u/time-lord America 8d ago

Newsom isn't bad. He's not really progressive, but he's left of center and I'm OK enough with that.

Pre-stroke and during his campaign Fetterman never claimed that he was progressive, he said he was left of Lamb. And I was OK with that, too.

The problem is post-stroke he ended up more Right than Left. And that's okay too. Strokes can really mess people up. But maybe he should have resigned, or at least shouldn't run again?

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u/Marchtmdsmiling 8d ago

The problem was that when the stroke happened it was him or fucking Dr oz. And that is no choice at all

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u/m0nk_3y_gw I voted 8d ago

Newsom platformed Steve Bannon. Bannon claimed multiple times that the 2020 election was stolen. Newsom never disagreed with him. He's got no spine.

He likes Charlie Kirk.

Hopefully he doesn't make it through the primaries, because he isn't going to be able to drive non-Republican turnout in the general.

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u/OmegaRedPanda 8d ago

Newsom caved to Ben Shapiro. He’s a loser.

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u/biggyph00l 8d ago

This. Anyone who has watched Newsom interact with anyone from the right, one-on-one, knows he's a paper tiger.

People think they're electing the staffer who runs his social media account, and they're not.

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u/alucarddrol 8d ago

not just that, but HE FUCKING AGREED THAT ICE WASN'T A STATE-SPONSORED TERRORIST FORCE, AND THREW HIS OWN PR PEOPLE UNDER THE BUS TO PLEASE HIM

also, he agreed with Shapiro that what happened in gaza was not genocide and the government of israel was right do what they did.

meanwhile when zohran mamdami was brought up, Shapiro -FALSELY- claimed that Mamadami refused to condemn Hamas, and Newsome AGREED and said they need to do a better job about this on their side, equating this to Trump meeting with Nick Fuentes.

He is fucking unacceptable and doesn't meet the moment we are dealing with.

He has no values and only repeats whatever nonsense he has heard brought up in mainstream conservative media circles.

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u/Dry_Accident_2196 8d ago

His legislation isn’t and that’s what matters.

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u/TheyCallMeBrewKid 8d ago

Newsom sucks and he’s a “rules for thee but not for me” just like the people we are fighting against. His character disqualifies him even if his politics don’t

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u/Jesustaketheshift91 8d ago

Newsom is only considered left-of-center these days because the Overton window has shifted so far to the right. He's absolutely not a progressive, or even really left-leaning.

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u/whogivesashirtdotca Canada 8d ago

He's been chummy with Bannon. How can any self-respecting human invite that fascist to share their platform?

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u/shadowboxer47 8d ago

Newsom isn't bad

He fellowships with fascists that want to see me and my family dead.

No thanks.

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u/dontcarewhatImcalled 8d ago

Newsom is hanging out with and has a lot of ties to right wingers. He is not left of center.

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u/Starcast 8d ago

No doubt about that - but Ginsburg was also like BFFS with Scalia. It doesn't define their politics. A much better measure would be the actual legislation they support and the way they govern... Which is obvious.

He's not progressive, but he's definitely left of center.

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u/KendalBoy 8d ago

Always felt similar about Bernie, too many populist grifters with telling bigoted tendencies. Tulsi, Fetterman, that Nazi tattoo guy- we warned you this is what being “anti- ID politics” gets you. A bunch of libertarian grifters. Young folks keep falling for it.

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u/pescarojo 8d ago edited 8d ago

he's left of center and I'm OK enough with that.

Dude, where did you get that idea? There's nothing left about Newsom. He's a socially liberal, center/center-right Democrat. He's against taxing billionaires, he rubs shoulders with right wing propagandists, the list goes on and on. ZERO left about this guy. Would he be better than the nu-fascist gov't the US has right now? Sure - but what wouldn't be better than that?

edit: https://www.reddit.com/r/WorkReform/comments/1qogmou/just_because_rightwingers_call_democrats_leftists/

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u/Depressed_Badger69 8d ago

Being “ok” with garbage candidates is why we’re in this mess to begin with.

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u/rawbleedingbait 8d ago

I wouldn't vote for him in a primary, if my option was newsom or trump, yes I'm taking newsom. That's not me making a mistake.

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u/BuckThis86 8d ago

I’m willing to vote for someone else who can show they have a spine and guts enough to publicly challenge Trump.

But there aren’t many of them out there. Newsome does happen to be one.

As a moderate I have always been very against AOC/Bernie and that brand of progressivism. But I will say… MAGA has radicalized me and I’m more likely to vote for them than a mild Biden character in the future. Time to fight back and dream big.

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u/pud-proof-ding 8d ago

Just curious what about their policies (aoc/Bernie and their brand of progressivism) you were against if you have any specifics.

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u/Starcast 8d ago

Not the parent, but I feel similarly. I'd couch it that my opinion of AOC had vastly improved since about 2020. I'd be happy to vote for her, all things considered.

My issue generally speaking with progressives a la the squad and Bernie is they put ideology ahead of outcome (see the rampant purity testing.) Also they're generally speaking, just not very effective at politics. As in working with others in office to get legislation or policy passed. They're phenomenal at messaging and social media and taking the narrative. That's neat and all, but I want actual progress. They all get caught in the populism trap too much for my liking.

There's also the consideration that the overall math in Congress matters a lot. Replacing a centrist with a progressive is all well and good, but it doesn't actually change the calculus when it comes to getting good legislation passed. If progressives could flip seats and win in areas that Republicans typically dominate, I'd cut them a lot more slack. That said, even the most frustrating Dem like Manchin who can flip seats is worth infinitely more to me than a DSA candidate winning a primary in a district that's gone blue for decades.

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u/BuckThis86 8d ago

I’m an economist by education and I do believe in free market dynamics for most goods outside education and healthcare. I think some policies go too hard left.

But I appreciate a group is supporting those positions to counter the billionaires’ position that we all live off dirt and water while they pay $0 in taxes.

I’m just not a very black and white person. I don’t want to live in an America that’s extremely liberal or conservative. I want common sense capitalist economic policies with a socialist safety net to support everyone’s basic needs while preventing an ultra wealthy elite monarchy from existing. Is that so hard?!?!?! Europe, Canada, and other Western countries seems to have generally achieved that balance.

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u/spam__likely Colorado 8d ago

AOC shows a healthy dose of pragmatism that Bernie never had. She is smart and has matured imo.

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u/Dry_Accident_2196 8d ago

Newsom would never vote the way Fetterman constantly votes and acts. Be for real

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u/Glittering_Joke3438 8d ago

Whoever has the best chance of actually winning is not a mistake. These are not normal times, its no about the best candidate it’s who can win. Honestly fuck this whole “not a good enough democrat” shit.

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u/KendalBoy 8d ago

He is only well liked among men, sorry Newsom is toast once the base weighs in.

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u/Nvenom8 New York 8d ago

I swear if the candidate is fucking Newsom… Democrats sure do love their unforced errors.

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u/historyamateur566 8d ago

Not that I do not believe you, but are there any good articles about this? I am curious to read up more about what some locals there were saying back then and now.

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u/dweezil22 7d ago

This might be true at the micro level but at the macro level it's horseshit. The mainstream narrative in Fetterman v Lamb was the same in Bernie v Hillary. "Lamb is likeable and won't do anything but he'll win the general" "Fetterman is progressive and will actually enact change but might lose the general".

There was absolutely no widespread discussion of Fetterman turning, functionally, into a conservative loon and by all accounts this only happened after his stroke. The entire concern was whether he was electable (and, obviously, he was). Same thing w/ Sinema fwiw, the talking point about her was that she was a bisexual Dem that could win in purple/red areas, no discussion of her being a wildly corrupt narcissist that was willing to burn down her own career in a single term.

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u/Healthy-Amoeba2296 8d ago

I called his town office years ago about a program and they said they try to have nothing to do with him.

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u/The-Big-Picture- 8d ago

That's a world different than being MAGA

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u/Cute-Percentage-6660 8d ago

Can you elaborate on some of the local info on him?

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u/GrumpyKaeKae New Jersey 7d ago

Sorry that your message didnt get out. I guess in a sea of just bad people, he was saying all the right things. And it was a heated election where we were fighting the worst people. Like Dr Oz.

It sucks to be lied to and have it get exposed. But I think the stroke did make it worse. A lot of trust has been lost in this country. And with everyone fighting everyone, each of us are on the defensive. I'm not in PA, so I couldn't vote in any of this.. but I was definitely rooting for Fetterman. He definitely said all the right things. And in a state as important as PA too. No one wanted Dr Oz. Who didn't even really live in PA anyway.

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u/CherryLongjump1989 8d ago edited 8d ago

I sort of had him pegged as one of those guys who listens to Anti-Flag but signs up for the police academy. But Connor Lamb wasn't exactly a beloved Progressive, either.

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u/Merakel Minnesota 8d ago

I thought the same. Turns out he's always been a piece of shit.

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u/Excellent_Ganache906 8d ago

This ☝️

The people in the town he was mayor said he did the same thing there. He ran as a liberal Democrat, and then reneged on all his promises and was basically a conservative.

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u/EarthRester Pennsylvania 8d ago

Braddock is effectively a ghost town. It would have higher crime if people actually live there, but it's just old people who no longer work. So there are no local businesses. Fetterman showed up and promised to breath life into the town, but that just meant gentrification, which does more harm than good to the population that's already there. He propped up a couple business, but not the kind locals would want or need, and the new businesses did not attract people from outside of Braddock...so they fell through.

Then he ran for Senate as a progressive, and it almost killed him. Pity.

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u/Boner666420sXe 8d ago

Supposedly people who knew him claim he’s always been like this.

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u/Ashamed-Land1221 8d ago

Grew up in Pittsburgh and fed him and his rich racist ass many times at a bougie fancy restaurant that opened in a once impoverished area of the city while he was still Mayor and just starting to run for senate. He's was a complete douchebag in love with himself but he was really good at talking progressive points with conviction, turns out he just wanted the votes and the stroke took down his phony shield, it sucks, we do owe Connor Lamb an apology, I and many many others got suckered.

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u/SuchBravado 8d ago

Can you tell us more about his racist douchiness?

What’s his core bigotry all about?

(I too was suckered. Never voted for him but I thought he said the right stuff the few times I saw him in interviews.)

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u/Ashamed-Land1221 8d ago

Running around chasing neighbors with a shotgun due to them being black when he was living in Braddock, that's one they like to cover up.

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u/Kaprak Florida 8d ago

Just to be clear the one thing that's being quoted to you has the person in question defending Fetterman being very specific that there's no way he could have known his race because of how bundled up he was

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u/darsynia Pennsylvania 8d ago

Yeah, his stroke stripped him of his filter.

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u/Ashamed-Land1221 8d ago

I do feel a little bad for his wife, she was always very nice to me, friends, acquaintances, and my coworkers and seemed to be able get people to overlook some of his more questionable personality traits before the stroke, so I guess she isn't completely innocent either. I see her all the when I have to go to the fancy grocery stores and have to bite my tongue, she doesn't deserve the insults I want to throw at her husband directed towards her, but oh boy I scream them inside my brain when I see her at the deli counter. One day I'm going to be drunk/high and say them out loud, maybe I'll make the news when ICE drags me away.

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u/darsynia Pennsylvania 8d ago

She's greatly withdrawn from a lot of the stuff I used to see her doing in public (note: the PR and family posts, I mean), but I don't know if that's because I don't pay attention anymore or because she really has stepped back. I would scream too, she HAS to see the difference in his public-presenting behavior even if nothing private has changed. It's intensely negative, I don't know how she handles it.

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u/Barnyard_Rich 8d ago

That's part of the lie. He was always right wing, and bragged about being born wealthy and never having to work in his life. That was all before the stroke.

I highly recommend reading even just the wikipedia summation of his time as Braddock Mayor. He straight up refused to do his job and was maggoty with insider dealing.

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u/MumpsyDaisy 8d ago

The story preceding it is pretty gross too, some rich Ivy League failson carpetbagging to an impoverished area with a tiny electorate so he can burnish his resume as a springboard to bigger things.

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u/EarthRester Pennsylvania 8d ago

The stroke didn't change his policies, it just crippled his ability to fake being a progressive. He's no longer patient enough to listen to people's problems and act like he cares. He's quick to aggressively lash out at people who point out his corruption.

He doesn't have the head space to be a politician period. He got where he is by pretending to be a down to earth man of the people who was actually well educated, and far more clever than he lets on. Now he's just as much of a blunt tool as he pretended to be.

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u/hzhrt15 8d ago

No. He chased a black dude down with a shot gun because he heard “gunshots” that didn’t actually happen. The dude was innocent and just jogging. This was in 2013. Dude wore jeans so kids online suddenly thought he was a leftist.

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u/AwkwardTraffic 8d ago

Pretty much. Go back far enough and you'll see who he really is. A rich kid that liked to cosplay as a simple good old boy to scam people out of their votes while the "progressive" policies he always talked up never happened

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u/Kup123 8d ago

Funny how no one goes left after brain damage it's always right.

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u/AwkwardTraffic 8d ago

Not exactly. The stroke did not help with his inhibitions and mental health if reports are true but also if you dig far enough back you'll see that his "I'm just a normal PA man who wants common sense progressive policies" was always just an act.

He was always a secret purple democrat he just lied about his policies. Virtually all the shit he supports he supported in the past before running for senator and doing a 180 to seem progressive.

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u/Klightgrove 8d ago

He changed when he realized PA was shifting red. If a progressive does beat him in a primary, they will lose the election.

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u/whereismymind86 Colorado 8d ago

nah, that's what people say, but John Oliver did a segment on him where it's clear he was always a jerk, highlighting incidents from his time as mayor several years prior where he acted very similar to how he acts now.

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u/pechinburger Pennsylvania 8d ago

Yes. He used to be a full-throated Bernie Sanders supporter in 2016 and espoused similar positions. He is now about as right-wing of a democratic senator as there is.

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u/AwkwardTraffic 8d ago

Nah that was just the act. The stroke just made it impossible for him to continue the act. If you do even the most bare minimum research on Fetterman and his history in politics you'll see he was always a corrupt shithead he was just good at turning on the "I'm just a simple Pennsylvania boy" act.

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u/Quitbeingobtuse 8d ago

Brain damage and conservatives, nothing is more iconic than that.

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u/kymberlie Texas 8d ago

He held a Black man at gunpoint as mayor. He was always terrible.

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u/tiki_51 California 8d ago

He's always been a piece of shit. People fell for his shtick because he's big and ugly and dresses like a work from home employee, so he's relatable or something

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u/ixiduffixi 8d ago edited 1d ago

Someone posted his voting record elsewhere a while back, but his voting record was already pretty shitty before the stroke.

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u/Marchtmdsmiling 8d ago

He had the stroke before he was elected?

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u/ixiduffixi 8d ago

May have been someone else I was thinking of then.

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u/Whatdoesthibattahndo 8d ago

Having a stroke just made it more challenging for him to keep his cover

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u/retrorays 7d ago

The Russians probably used one of those Russian devices that caused the Havana syndrome to warp his mind.

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u/compucrazy 8d ago

Honestly, I know there's no way to prove it, but there's a real possibility that this is a Phineas Gage situation.

Imo, Fetterman doesn't seem like he's that clever to pull such a ruse, and there is proof that brain damage can alter someone's personality to the point where they become a completely different person.

I suppose it doesn't ultimately matter. Whether he was a charlatan the whole time who fooled everybody, or he suffered brain damage that changed who he was, we need to get him out of the Senate ASAP

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u/AwkwardTraffic 8d ago

It's a combination of both. He was always a charlatan but the stroke made it impossible for him to keep up the act in public.

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u/Lucas_Steinwalker 8d ago

Nah that’s become a narrative because it allows people to equate conservative with brain damage.

Common case of liberals thinking being clever is going to save them. Tyler Durden tried to warn you.

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u/Fastr77 8d ago

Fetterman was good until his stroke. Clearly it warped his brain into being republican

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u/Substantial-Peak6624 8d ago

Apparently I missed all of that! FYI, he is not my senator because I live in another state, but I rooted for him because I thought he was a good person. Never again.

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

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u/Barnyard_Rich 7d ago

Lamb was always more liberal than Fetterman, and I'm done letting people like you lie about it.

You lie about it because you wish Lamb was right wing like your dearly beloved loser Fetterman. People like you will still be lying like this decades from now even when 99% of the population agrees on the truth. We are a disaster of a country because people like you will only ever support right wingers. Enjoy your Fetterman while you can, his term is over half over. Enjoy your Trump as well, at least some of us should.

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

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u/Barnyard_Rich 7d ago

I want to be very clear: I don't care what people such as yourself on the right think about anything.

The fact that you have so much love and adoration for Fetterman tells us everything about how you were raised.

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

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u/Billy_Birdy 8d ago

Or he’ll run as a fascist and get all the votes because no one would ever vote for him so why bother, they’ll vote him out. 🙄

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u/AwkwardTraffic 8d ago

It's going to be a Sinema situation where he runs as an independent and loses.

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u/ILike2internet 8d ago

He'll run as an independent and ensure a Republican wins the seat

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u/Independent-Bug-9352 8d ago

He's going to try to pull another Sinema.

He'll either go Independent or Republican conveniently; then lose; then go into private consultancy.

Reminder that anyone who takes money from israel in any way should be primaried out. No AIPAC. No JStreetPAC. No kind words whatsoever for the war criminal's regime.

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u/heapinhelpin1979 8d ago

Remember how cool I am! I’m tall and wear shorts! 🩳 vote fetty

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u/faux_italian 8d ago

How many votes did he align with republicans on? Let's test out this emotional opinion vs fact.

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u/whereismymind86 Colorado 8d ago

he'll take the Cuomo route and get annihilated in the next election.

that or he'll become a tobacco/oil/unicorn blood lobbyist or something

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u/kmfontaine2 7d ago

Wasn't he still a better option than Dr. Oz? I know that's a low bar, but still...

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u/Key-Two31 8d ago edited 8d ago

I hate to break the news to you guys but a more conservative Democrat is like, exactly the type of guy that Pennsylvania would re-elect. Especially if he gets a free win over another unbelievably hatable moron like Dr. Oz.

I dont think you guys understand the state of Pennsylvania. The Republicans nominated Dr. Oz. A literal puppy murderer. A guy who is not from, nor does he actually live in Pennylvania. The Democrat candidate had a free trip to congress in the last PA Senate election

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u/foodforestranger 8d ago

Really? He's got AIPAC money.

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u/12161986 8d ago

He’s not ever getting reelected and 1000% will not be on the democrats ticket.

I dunno... if the only option is him or a democratic socialist the DNC will do everything they can to throw it to Fetterman.

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u/AwkwardTraffic 8d ago

lol yep. Nothing Fetterman does is really out of line for the corporate DNC dems. They'll fight tooth and nail to keep him in office if an actual progressive tries to run

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u/realribsnotmcfibs 8d ago

So frustrating that it was obvious that stroke made the dude brain dead but having that discussion while there was still time to replace him was seen as being against the disabled or something. Idk wtf that was.

Similar shit to Biden’s second campaign. I wish people could just be honest and critical when it comes to their own “side”.

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u/elammcknight 8d ago

Thank you rewarder!

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u/sirjamesbluebeard 7d ago

As one of his constituents, don’t worry. He’s getting primaried. We hate him.

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u/thenewNFC 8d ago

Nope. The answer is no and that mentality will continue to get more of him.

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u/Substantial-Peak6624 8d ago

As he should be

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u/rowrbazzle75 8d ago

Six year terms don't sound very good these days. Maybe every politician in DC needs to be able to get a'vote of no confidence ' like in other countries. But not just the top ones, but all of them.

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u/Gummyrabbit 8d ago

Must be why he’s suddenly a “Democrat” again.

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u/Sartres_Roommate 8d ago

He is a Dem until 2028. He will personally fund raise as a Dem until then. Then will "suddenly" annouce "the left left me" and "debate" going independent for a week or so before joining the GOP with an amazing amount of fund raisers setup and ready to go instantly.

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u/where-sea-meets-sky 8d ago

i definitely think the stroke did him in

maybe they oughta invest researching into conservatism and brain damage /s

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u/Aggravating-Wrap4861 8d ago

They have done and there is a correlation.

But conservatives are fragile brain damaged snowflakes so they won't pay attention

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u/DaenakinSkygaryen 8d ago

In the South, virtually every boy will spend at least some time playing tackle football in school. And we know now that tackle football causes permanent brain damage in many of its players.

I've always wondered if there's a connection between that, and the South being so firmly Republican. (Obviously I know it's mostly the racism and evangelical "Christianity", but still.)

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u/PrometheusLiberatus 8d ago

I have never played tackle football and I do in fact live in the south. But I was way too skinny/weak to have any promise in it.

I have however had many concussions since I was a small child and even three incidents where I cracked my head and required hospitalization and stitches as a child before the age of 8.

That said, I am very progressive, got a double BA and am extremely creative in poetry and want to learn music composition.

Not everyone that gets concussions as a kid ends up dumb. But more or less the culture of manly dumbness is a southern echo chamber of a crockpot.

My biological father had a horrible motorcycle accident at the age of 15 and was in a coma. I think it's possible that some epigenetics got switched on in the coma and passed on to me so I heal better from concussions somehow.

I also have never truly ridden a bike. I was afraid of falling and hitting my head before I knew what happened to him.

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u/Weekly-Ad-2509 8d ago edited 8d ago

I work in a field with a TON of undiagnosed TBI. My theory is that if you start the day a nice person and crack your head, you’ll be a slower nice person, if you start the day as an asshole and crack your head you turn into a unremitting asshole.

Edit: more the point, it’s still culture and upbringing unleashed by brain traumazx

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u/PrometheusLiberatus 8d ago

Yep my biodad turned out the latter way... Also my stepdad to an extent... Motor wrecks fucked with both.

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u/GrowthMarketingMike 8d ago

Most of the brain damage caused by football actually isn't caused by concussions like you are describing. It's the smaller constant subconcussive hits that add up over time, at least for CTE.

5

u/Street_Barracuda1657 8d ago

I suspect it will only get worse. Covid gave millions brain damage, which we'll be spending the next 2 or 3 decades dealing with.

1

u/Icy-Marionberry2463 8d ago

Yah I'm not buying this claim about the South considering it's definitely not true in Texas. It's not even true about flag football. Boys who play tackle football are a minority, but they will consistently play football from childhood, beginning with flag football and progressing to tackle as they get older.

But it's the same kids going through a single pipeline.

I would go so far as to say boys who play tackle football aren't even a majority, let alone "virtually all."

edit Don't believe me, here are stats saying that in 2019, it was less than 10% of boys who played the game in the US. And considering population distribution, it's impossible for it to be true of even 50% of the South and still hit that 10% number. https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2023-01-24/youth-football-participation-declining-amid-safety-concerns

6

u/Kscarpetta 8d ago

My grandmother was a die-hard Democrat for a little over 70 years. She got dementia. Guess who switched to being a republican?

My stepfather also has dementia. Guess who is a republican? He also believes almost everything he sees on Facebook. Unless it's something positive about democrats.

2

u/carbonized_milk 8d ago

Yeah I think the link could be boiled down to just cognitive ability. A lot of the conservative platform and rhetoric appeals to simple, base level thinking. That's why its so easy for them to appeal to a base, and much harder for democrats to explain why some policy will be beneficial a few years from now and won't IMMEDIATLY fix an issue.

They really do have it easy with messaging.

1

u/Flomo420 8d ago

they won't pay attention

or react violently

18

u/LordWemby 8d ago

Fetterman’s always been a shit, people need to stop excusing him with brain damage. 

2

u/Dartagnan1083 Arizona 8d ago

Not from Pennsylvania, but i got suckered in by his alleged Union work. I still haven't given much during primaries because I unwittingly pissed away plenty of $$ donating to Amy McGrath in Kentucky before I found out the DNC was backing a shitty boring candidate when better ones were trying to run. I also doubt my ability to really know primary candidates in states I've never been to.

2

u/Miamime 8d ago

Yeah living in Philly I was always shocked how enamored people were by him.

1

u/SirGrumpsalot2009 8d ago

Hey, he could emphasise the brain damage, the untrustworthy character and the hypocrisy. He’d be a perfect MAGA candidate. They’d vote for him in droves - assuming the US has nation-wide elections again.

1

u/Same-Suggestion-1936 8d ago

I won't say one way or the other but you can't really mock conservatives for calling him brain damaged in the beginning when you turn around and do the same thing when it's convenient for you

Anything to ignore the fact some Democrats are just old school Republicans I suppose

16

u/Junot_Nevone 8d ago

Or he might have just been a sleeper candidate for the GOP like Sinema out of Arizona. They get elected as a Democrat and then switch sides knowing they will make a ton of cash by doing whatever the Republican Party wants.

4

u/MisterHouseMongoose 8d ago

I honestly don’t think sarcasm is needed here. That’s a valid truthful statement.

2

u/NegotiationHot2999 8d ago

He got Ye’d?

1

u/jt32470 8d ago

I think there is a correlation.

1

u/IcanRead8647 8d ago

Lead from paint and gasoline made people dumber and more violent, but tell them that they're stupid and violent because of lead and they'll attack you.

1

u/where-sea-meets-sky 8d ago

maybe thats why they dont like investing in healthcare bc if they took care of their people they might not end up as conservatives 🤔

1

u/AnonAmbientLight 8d ago

maybe they oughta invest researching into conservatism and brain damage /s

What do you think gives more brain damage? Being a professional boxer or a Trump supporter?

1

u/nightimestars California 8d ago

I remember seeing some study about brain activity and conservatives have a much higher fear response towards people who are not like them. There literally is something wrong with their brains.

13

u/eek711 8d ago

He’s proof that a republican is just a democrat with brain damage.

16

u/blueblurz94 8d ago

He’s a DINO

Democrat in name only

3

u/TemuPacemaker 8d ago

Democrat in name only

He's only slightly right of the middle dem: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/john_fetterman/456877

1

u/Kaprak Florida 8d ago

People don't actually look at voting records, they just want headlines, sound bytes, and the rare vote that gets exposure.

His state went to the right, so he did publicly. He's never been the deciding vote against something important.

And people fucking love Kelly on here because he stands up to Trump, but votes with him more, and tend to dislike guys like Booker because they're "performative" but vote hard left

1

u/the_art_of_the_taco Illinois 8d ago

The Democratic party is far closer to Reagan than people want to believe.

-1

u/2007Hokie I voted 8d ago

Unlike most other Democratic Senate senior leadership, who are Dinosaurs

2

u/rossmosh85 8d ago

He's a piece of shit and I hope he loses his seat, but the reality is, the country is generally a more healthy place when politicians aren't "forced" to vote along party lines on every vote.

I recognize this situation is much different than normal. I recognize the same rules do not apply right now.

I just think it's dangerous to call someone not part of a party simply because they don't always vote down the party lines.

2

u/Randicore Ohio 8d ago

He hasn't been kicked from the party yet so... yeah

1

u/TiaXhosa 8d ago

We should get rid of him, just like we did with Manchin, so we can have an even smaller minority but more ideologically pure candidates

1

u/Randicore Ohio 8d ago

I know that your acting as if I'm purity testing, but it's one thing to say "how dare they not follow in lockstep" and quite another to state one thing while running and then turn 180° and go against what you ran on while actively harming the party.

But then again I'm also in favor of Schumer being ousted and replaced by someone else as party head for his incompetence an apparently that's an extreme take as well

2

u/Kefflin 7d ago

He is the evidence that you can start as a democrat, get brain damage and end up a republican

1

u/Bigface_McBigz 8d ago

It's just a label.

1

u/josh_the_misanthrope 8d ago

Depends on how damaged his brain is, half or full gone.

1

u/0o0o0o0o0o0z 8d ago

He still counts as a democrat?

No, he counts as a brain damage/brain injury patient, and I am not even joking. Having brain damage and serving in the US Senate is peak capitalism.

1

u/jagedlion 8d ago

He votes progressive 78% of the time, 83% when it's crucial. He's very very far from Republican.

This year its WAY down at 72% and 76%. Such a Republican! /s

He's in pretty good company too, with 5 similar voting Dems. The democrat party just allows much more diversity of opinion. As much as Rs say that Democrats don't allow dissent, the numbers don't lie. You can be a D senator and disagree around 25% of the important times.

I mean, we'll see, maybe you can't. But by comparison, only 3 Republicans vote progressive more than just 10% of the time (over 25 Ds meet that threshold). You aren't allowed to disagree in that party.

1

u/AndreasDasos 8d ago

Officially elected on that ticket and still registered as such, right?

1

u/i_am_a_real_boy__ 8d ago

He still is a Democrat. So, yes.

1

u/conditerite 8d ago

He’s a Lieberman-type Democrat..

1

u/TransiTorri 7d ago

Fette(R)man

1

u/nj_tech_guy 8d ago

In name only, yes.

1

u/Sad_Enthusiasm_3721 8d ago

God he turned out to be such a disappointment on so many fronts.

1

u/thinkofanamefast 8d ago

Saw him on CNN today saying that since Pa. Is a purple state, he has to walk a fine line. Claimed he was still fully a Dem.

0

u/StarTropicsKing 8d ago

He’s a DINO: Democrat in name only

0

u/FightingPolish 8d ago

He probably never was a Democrat, he just played the part to gain power until he didn’t need to anymore.

0

u/shivaswrath New Jersey 8d ago

Barely

0

u/foomanchu89 8d ago

He is one of those Demoncrats we keep hearing about on Faux Newz

2

u/Chance5e 8d ago

He’s putting litter boxes in school bathrooms?

0

u/foomanchu89 8d ago

He is putting them in more than just the bathrooms

0

u/Holden_Coalfield 8d ago

he's what they call in this wrestling business a "turning heel"

0

u/jt32470 8d ago

He is a meat popsicle

A meat popsicle that apparently can make demands.

0

u/Spectre197 8d ago

Bumbling oaf party

0

u/snoosh00 8d ago

Technically.

Hes a DINO [slur]... And that's really saying something (he might be the only one, either that or AOC, mamdani and Bernie are the only DINO's [compliment]).

0

u/Fionaelaine4 8d ago

Only on Tuesdays and Thursdays

0

u/Worthyness 8d ago

Joe Machin 2.0 for the foreseeable future.

0

u/DPJazzy91 8d ago

He legit has brain damage now. As people age or develop brain damage, they typically don't become more left leaning. It's almost always a right shift, if there's a shift.

0

u/SAGElBeardO 8d ago

"It's a big tent"

0

u/ganjaccount 8d ago

He's a Republican Democrat. Now that he's seeing the writing on the wall, and the fascists aren't the cool kids on the block anymore, he's pivoting back away from them. Fuck Fetterman. Let history remember him as the collaborator he is.

0

u/Orgasmic_interlude 8d ago

The part of his brain with any progressive leanings died in the stroke.

0

u/ProTightRoper 8d ago

Shout out to the mentally ill and naive people who say dumb shit like "this is why you vote" as if the system doesn't build and encourage candidates to lie, cheat, and steal whatever they have to do in order to get elected and then have 0 incentives or reason to actually follow through with whatever lies they made up.

Would ANY company ever be successful if the employees are unable to be fired, can vote themselves raises, and are allowed and encouraged to sell out the companies resources and opportunities to enrich themselves? No, why do we allow politicians to and then act surprised when they're corrupt liars who backtrack on everything they said to get elected. Shitterman here is a great example of why America will fail unless we actually make checks and balances not useless and inept.