What’s the Fuss About Fetterman?

Observing John Fetterman since he rose to national prominence three years ago is like watching an old rerun of To Tell the Truth, a game show that was popular in the 1960s and 1970s, but which aired in different variations from 1956 to 2022. On the program, three contestants – two “pretenders” and one “the real deal” – would answer questions posed by the panelists, who would then try to determine which person was telling the truth.

So, which John Fetterman is “the real deal”?

Is it the young man who switched career paths after the tragic death of his best friend, leaving his father’s insurance business to join Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and later, the newly established AmeriCorps? Or is he a cold and calculating political operative who graduated from the John F. Kennedy School of Public Policy and Government at Harvard University before moving to Braddock, PA to start a program helping teenagers earn a GED… before running for mayor five years later and winning by a single vote thanks to the support of the town’s young people?

(Editor's Note: Like his socialist hero, Bernie Sanders, Fetterman relied on as much as $54,000 in annual support from his dad while pursuing his political ambitions because his position as mayor paid a paltry $1,500/month.)

After serving four tumultuous terms as Braddock’s mayor, Fetterman surprised everyone but himself by announcing his candidacy for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania. In short order, the 6’8” Fetterman – who resembles a cross between Lurch and Uncle Fester from the Addams Family – earned the endorsements of Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a socialist icon, as well as Pittsburgh mayor Ed Peduto and former Pennsylvania governor and Philadelphia mayor Ed Rendell.

That quickly, the mayor of a town of 1,721 people had become the second most powerful person in a commonwealth of more than 13 million people. And whereas Braddock occupies less than one square mile, Pennsylvania stretches for more than 46,000 square miles.

You talk about coming out of nowhere!

And yet, Fetterman wasn’t close to being done. Having lost his first senate bid in 2016, Fetterman decided to try again when incumbent Sen. Pat Toomey announced he was retiring at the end of his term in 2022. Fetterman won the Democratic primary in a landslide but was unable to deliver his victory speech, having suffered a stroke just days before the election.

Fetterman’s health became a major issue in the fall campaign against Republican Mehmet “Dr.” Oz of TV fame. Despite not being able to actively stump until the waning days of the campaign, Fetterman succeeded in portraying Oz as a carpetbagger who had only recently moved to Pennsylvania from New Jersey. Fetterman faltered badly in their one and only debate but it didn’t seem to matter to voters, who gave the former Braddock mayor a five-point victory.

Since arriving in Washington, Fetterman has made one headline after another, some good and some not so much. Initially, his senate desk and the chambers themselves had to be equipped with closed captioning so Fetterman could follow the floor proceedings. Then, less than six weeks after taking office, he was hospitalized twice: the first time for two days for syncope and the second time for two months for major depression.

Thankfully, Fetterman seems to have regained his health while maintaining both a positive attitude and a dry sense of humor.

These days, Fetterman can be seen patrolling the senate corridors wearing his trademark shorts and hoodie, breaking senate dress code rules and causing Emily Post to roll over in her grave. Fetterman even donned his hoodie and shorts for President Trump’s inauguration, but managed to locate a jacket and tie for their recent tete-a-tete at Mar-a-Lago, a meeting for which he was roundly criticized by members of his own party.

Guess what? Fetterman couldn’t have cared less, which I guess is part of the guy’s charm. He supports legalizing marijuana across the board, which I vigorously oppose, but is a stalwart defender of Israel… as am I. He also told reporters – and I suppose Chuck Schumer and company – that any president, including Donald Trump, deserved to pick his own cabinet. True to his word, Fetterman has so far voted to confirm nine of President Trump’s 16 nominees while voting no on four and not voting on three.

In case you’re counting, that’s only one more “No” vote than Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the former Republican Senate Majority Leader.

So, who is the real John Fetterman? Stay tuned, folks, because I’m not sure even he knows the answer.