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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Wednesday Evening Open Thread: Senator Fetterman Is Good At His Job

Wednesday Evening Open Thread: Senator Fetterman Is Good At His Job

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Or: Okay, his social media team is top-notch. So, if nothing else, he knows to hire smart people!

Backstory:

Count on Erik ‘Voice of the GOP Gated Community’ Erikson to have a strong opinion:

Reminder…

Reader Interactions

91Comments

  1. 1.

    WaterGirl

    I want to marry that first tweet!  No many how many times I have seen that today, I always read it again, word for word.  So much joy!

    It truly is a thing of beauty.  He raises the 2 big issues, then mocks them simply by said that he will “save democracy by wearing a suit”.

    If it’s his social media team, they’ve really got his “voice” down.

    I think use of the word jagoff in a tweet might require special permission, even if you were on the media team.

  2. 2.

    Maxim

    They have to be outraged over things that don’t matter, because they have nothing substantive to contribute on the issues that do.

  4. 4.

    Alison Rose

    Good God, the fact that there are people who can look around this country and world and think “the biggest problem humanity faces is one dude wearing casual clothes on the Senate floor” is utterly baffling to me. It’s not like he’s showing up in a Speedo or something. I don’t give a shit if they all walk in wearing jeans and t-shirts, I give a shit how they vote when they get there.

  5. 5.

    Alison Rose

    Suck it, Tatertown:

    The Senate voted on Wednesday to confirm Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. of the Air Force as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, steering around a monthslong blockade of military promotions by Senator Tommy Tuberville, Republican of Alabama, who has held up hundreds of nominees in protest of a Pentagon abortion access policy.

    General Brown, whom the Senate confirmed by a vote of 83 to 11, was one of three high-profile military promotions that Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, called up on the floor Wednesday, in an effort to force votes to confirm their bids to serve on the president’s top military advisory council. The Senate is expected on Thursday to confirm Gen. Eric Smith of the Marine Corps and Gen. Randy George of the Army as the chiefs of staff for their respective services as well.

    I hope Schumer and whoever can make this happen for the rest of them.

  6. 6.

    Doc Sardonic

    I hope his response to Manchin was ‘After next year’s elections it won’t matter. You’ll be lame ducking you way out of here’

  9. 9.

    WaterGirl

    Is the “at war with the english language” phrase in the tweet above in reference to lingering speech issues after the stroke?  If so, i hope that guy spontaneously combusts just from being a total dick.

  11. 11.

    Freemark

    Thank fucking god he is my Senator. It helps make up for Perry being my ‘representative’. Even though it still causes me physical pain every time I remember Perry is my rep.

  13. 13.

    Alison Rose

    @WaterGirl: Yep, and it’s sadly predictable isn’t it? The right for some reason seems to think being ableist is a cool and good thing to do. Of any form of bigotry, it’s the most inane, because literally any single person on Earth can become disabled in one of a thousand ways at any moment.

  15. 15.

    WaterGirl

    @Alison Rose: I simply don’t understand it.

    How many zillion Republicans have a family member who struggles after a stroke.

    How many zillion families have a kid or other family member with addiction issues?

  16. 16.

    bbleh

    Another thing I love about Fetterman (for whom *I* voted, ahem) is that he IS what so many of the precious Republicans want to be (looking at you, Josh “Prancing Boy” Hawley, Definer of Masculinity).  He’s doing his own thing, his constituents love it, it’s unabashedly masculine and simultaneously frankly vulnerable (witness his comments about depression), and the complaints are all from whining poseurs.  I think that’s why they whine so loudly and with so little effect.

    TIFG has the same quality — yeah it’s me, love it or leave it — and his constituents likewise love it, except in Fetterman’s case it’s fully honest while in TIFG’s case it’s almost entirely fake.  (Also, among other differences, Fetterman is smart.)

    I kinda wished Shapiro had gone for Senate and Fetterman for Gov, because that’s how I figured they were better suited (“suited” geddit? hahahahaha), but evidently I was mistaken.

  21. 21.

    A Man for All Seasonings (formerly Geeno)

    I love how Erikerikeriksonsonson thinks that Bison shaman’s attire on Jan. 6 is what we have issues with as opposed to his behavior.

  25. 25.

    bbleh

    @WaterGirl: @Alison Rose: it’s the same BS as using the lingering effects of Biden’s childhood stutter to say he’s mentally incompetent.  It’s pure schoolyard.  And it works for a big chunk of their constituents because that’s how they are.

  26. 26.

    Alison Rose

    @bbleh: It’s just so repugnant. Especially considering plenty of them might have kids who have a stutter or visual processing disorders or any number of other issues. I hate to think of a child growing up with a parent who thinks it’s fine and hilarious to mock people for the issues their own kids deal with.

  28. 28.

    SpaceUnit

    Fetterman is from PA so he has license to use the word jagoff whenever he pleases

     

    ETA:  Now that I think about it I don’t believe I’ve heard that word used by anyone who isn’t from Pennsylvania.  Pretty sure it’s mostly a Pittsburgh thing.

  29. 29.

    bbleh

    @Alison Rose: oh but their child is maybe perhaps a little different but not like those children.  Oh well my niece has just been going through a difficult spell, and after that awful man left her she needs that TANF money but it’s just for a little while.  Oh I guess my nephew says he’s gay, but it’s probably just a phase, and of course he’s not like those filthy perverts and their parades!

    Their hypocrisy is as bottomless as their inhumanity.

    See also Cheney, Mary.

  31. 31.

    Ken

    If tradition in Senatorial dress is so important, they should all be in ruffled shirts, knee britches, skirted coats, and powdered wigs.

  35. 35.

    WaterGirl

    @SpaceUnit: It was also a Chicago thing when I was growing up.

    Also a Michigan thing.  My niece came home from school when she was about 7 years old, asking “what’s a Jaguar?”

    Turns out one of the kids at school called a classmate a “Jaguar” and she wondered what that meant.  It was jagoff, of course, but we got a big laugh out of it.

  37. 37.

    Suzanne

    If professional appearance is so important, a lot of those assholes in the Senate need to take better care of their skin.

  38. 38.

    brantl

    I’m waiting for Fettermen to tell the MAGAts to pound hot sand up their asses with sharp knives. I know he’s got it in him. I’m waiting for him to say it in front of MTG, Graets and Boobert.

  41. 41.

    Kayla Rudbek

    Good, a open thread, so a question for the jackal community: anyone ever used self-adhesive vinyl tiles as backsplash for a kitchen wall? If so, do you have any brand recommendations or suggestions? I have a space 16 inches high and 130 inches wide, so I am looking at 4×4 inches tiles on Amazon. Something to coordinate with blue/gray marbled Formica is preferable.

  42. 42.

    WaterGirl

    @Kayla Rudbek: Two things.

    One, your comment went into moderation, but I don’t see a typo or anything.  Are you on a new device?

    Two, I just put up a new open thread 7 minutes ago, so you might have better luck posting your comment on the newer one?  Just a thought.  Obviously makes no difference to me.

    I do admire the way you jump into these projects!

  44. 44.

    mrmoshpotato

    @SpaceUnit:

    Fetterman is from PA so he has license to use the word jagoff whenever he pleases

    ETA: Now that I think about it I don’t believe I’ve heard that word used by anyone who isn’t from Pennsylvania. Pretty sure it’s mostly a Pittsburgh thing.

    I believe we Chicagoans have joint custody.

  45. 45.

    RedDirtGirl

     

    @Kayla Rudbek: don’t know if you have a Washington Post subscription, but they had an article today about adhesive tiles. I didn’t read it, but it might have some worthwhile info.

  46. 46.

    mrmoshpotato

    @WaterGirl:

    Also a Michigan thing. My niece came home from school when she was about 7 years old, asking “what’s a Jaguar?” 

    LMAO!  That’s adorable! :)

  48. 48.

    Matt McIrvin

    @bbleh: I don’t think we can assume these people aren’t just as cruel to their own families. God knows a lot of kids get kicked out in the street and left to die because they were gay or trans or didn’t behave the way their parents wanted. And in the Good Old Days they long for, people with too-visible disabilities got locked away where they couldn’t disturb the normals.

  49. 49.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Suzanne:

    Do Chicagoans say “needs fixed” or “needs washed”? This is an unexpected culture shock for me. 

    Never heard either of those.

  50. 50.

    NotMax

    @Kayla Rudbek

    No recommendation per se but will suggest taking into consideration when settling on a product whether the space is just a wall or if it (or part of it) is a backsplash and/or subject to the heat and fumes (grease) accompanying a stove top.

  53. 53.

    Suzanne

    @mrmoshpotato: It’s the weirdest thing.

    Murray and Simon (2002) describe the rough boundaries as Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio, Northern West Virginia, and Central Indiana. Pockets of speakers may exist in places as far-spread as Kentucky and Illinois. This construction is also attested in Scots English, which might be its historical source.

  55. 55.

    Suzanne

    @WaterGirl: It’s fucken terrible. Mr. Suzanne is a bilingual SLP, with a degree in linguistics, and he is very passionate about language being a living thing that shifts with time and place and culture, the rules of grammar are more like guidelines, blah blah blah. I cannot even stand it. I hear that shit and it takes work to keep my cringing to myself.

  56. 56.

    Anne Laurie

    @Suzanne: Do Chicagoans say “needs fixed” or “needs washed”? This is an unexpected culture shock for me.

    It’s a Midwestern thing — not common in Michigan (except, apparently, the Upper Pennisula), but I heard it often enough from people who grew up in Ohio / Indiana / Wisconsin.

    I was told it was some kind of hold-over from the Scandinavian immigrants who never quite got the hang of English verbs, but never hunted down a fixed reference.

    If you’re hearing it in Pennsyltucky, maybe it’s an Amish Deutsch holdover?

  59. 59.

    Suzanne

    @rekoob: I know a lot of people who think AOC is a bit of a lightweight for this push for better sunscreens, but this is actually a thing I care about a lot. Both my grandfather and my father-in-law had melanoma. And I have sensitive skin and finding sunscreens that I can wear has been difficult and expensive. Knowing that there is better stuff that we can’t access makes me crazy. I wear sunscreen almost every day. It matters.

  62. 62.

    frosty

    @Freemark: ​
     Yeah, I’m very happy he’s my Senator too. Perry was my rep until the redistricting put us in with Schmucker from Lancaster County. I don’t think he’s ever crossed the Susquehanna to meet his new constituents.

    I’ll be donating and working to get Perry out of there. It’s way overdue.

  63. 63.

    Suzanne

    @Anne Laurie: According to that Yale report I linked to earlier:

    Murray and Simon (2002) describe the rough boundaries as Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio, Northern West Virginia, and Central Indiana. Pockets of speakers may exist in places as far-spread as Kentucky and Illinois. This construction is also attested in Scots English, which might be its historical source.

    It sounds super-dumb.

  65. 65.

    WaterGirl

    @Miss Bianca: And Mr. Mashed Potato!  All 3 of us said it, so it must be true.

    edit: oh, wait!  You are saying you are from Chicago and you use that?  I will kibbutz with potato man and we will get back to you on whether you can claim you are from Chicago! :-)

  66. 66.

    frosty

    @bbleh: ​I kinda wished Shapiro had gone for Senate and Fetterman for Gov, because that’s how I figured they were better suited (“suited” geddit? hahahahaha), but evidently I was mistaken.

    I thought the same thing. Fetterman having been a mayor and Lt Gov, I figured he’d much prefer the Executive role to the Legislature. They’re both great where they ended up.

  72. 72.

    frosty

    @Anne Laurie: ​”needs fixed” has at least crossed the Alleghenies from time to time. It’s definitely not Amish though; they’ve got enough weird tweaks to the English language without that one.​
     

    ETA: Suzanne isn’t in Pennsyltucky. She’s not in the “T”. Quoting Carville (again): “Pittsburgh on the left, Philly on the right, Alabama up the middle.”

  74. 74.

    rekoob

    @Suzanne: Not me! I lived in Santa Fe for 11 years and am now in coastal Delaware, and I’m all in favor of better products. Robyn Pennacchia of Wonkette has been banging the drum for years and turned me on to some great South Korean brands. I should use them more often.

    AOC is on the right track. Steven Schiff, who represented southern New Mexico for 10 years, died of skin cancer:

    Steven Schiff (R-NM)

    (That has been a vexing district for a *long* time.)

  75. 75.

    Suzanne

    @rekoob: Funny you mention. I was using a South Korean sunscreen by Purito…. turned out they were lying about the SPF. They claimed 50, but it was 19 when tested. Apparently that’s a common lie in South Korea. I was bummed, because I really liked the feel of the product.

    So I tried the Supergoop sunscreen, and I liked it a lot, too. And then I learned that the new Trader Joe’s facial sunscreen in the tube is similar enough to be considered a dupe.

  77. 77.

    rekoob

    @Suzanne: Well, I recently bought (via that Robyn recommendation) some Eucerin Sun Lotion. I haven’t had it tested, and it was shipped from Portugal, but I’m planning to use it for my next trip to Herring Point at Cape Henlopen State Park.

  79. 79.

    Lyrebird

    @Suzanne: Thanks for the info!

    I tried SuperGoop, and the bottle was so small – but not cheap – I lost it within two weeks.  Will look for the Trader Joe’s, have to make sure they didn’t fragrance it up.

    I don’t know how well you deal with mineral sunscreens, but we have had good luck with Blue Lizard products – no irritation, reef safe.  But maybe not if you have to wear dry clean only office wear a lot.  It vanishes well on my admittedly very pale face, but if I am not careful I can get a smudge on clothes.

  81. 81.

    Suzanne

    @Lyrebird: I have an EltaMD mineral sunscreen that I tried. It’s okay. I liked it enough to keep it as a backup. Usually mineral sunscreens clog my pores, I’ve tried probably ten. The Supergoop and the Trader Joe’s are gels and that seems to freak my skin out less. The TJs is fragrance-free. The downside is that it doesn’t last long if you’re swimming or sweating.

    Remembering the time I tried a Coppertone brand facial sunscreen and I ended up at the doctor with a red bumpy rash and feeling like someone had scrubbed my face with sandpaper. That sucked.

  82. 82.

    Quiltingfool

    @Suzanne: I am so glad you brought up sunscreen for sensitive skin!  I have had a hard time finding a good sunscreen, ones I’ve tried that are for “sensitive” skin turn my face into a red blotchy hell hot landscape.  Shoot, even Aveeno body wash makes my skin red and itchy.  Now I order soap made from goat milk and have had zero problems.

    Too bad they can’t make a sunscreen with goat milk.  Though I suspect the sunscreen chemicals are the culprits, so not a solution.

  84. 84.

    Benno

    @SpaceUnit: my wife is from Philly — Port Richmond, not Society Hill  — and uses it all the time. But yeah, mostly a Pittsburgh thing, but definitely a working class thing

  85. 85.

    Ruckus

    @Alison Rose:

    It’s funny that they have respect for the no longer existing dress code but none for the code of not being a flaming asshole in a suit. Like the suit is what makes one a better person? Didn’t we leave the 17th century a while ago?

  87. 87.

    Ruckus

    @Suzanne:

    I worked outdoors for 11 yrs in pro sports and had to wear a uniform with short sleeve shirts. I tried many brands of sun screen and applied them copiously. I have had so many things burned off my arms that were thought to be skin cancer that I long ago stopped counting. Now I wear long sleeve t-shirts whenever I’m out in the sun. Works far better and haven’t had anything burned off in something like 10 yrs. And if people don’t like how I dress I show them that my fingers still work fine. Even at my age.

  88. 88.

    Anne Laurie

    @Suzanne: Not to insult your scholarly source, but anecdotally, I always heard the ‘needs [whatever]’ combo in relation to some tedious job that had to be done, even if nobody wanted to take the initiative.  The trash wants taking out, or The car needs washed — something inanimate being ‘needy’.

    Personal prejudice, this kind of passive-aggression seemed arguably ‘Scandinavian’ to me; my people are Scots-Irish, and we tend more towards anger directed at the object in question — Effin’ car got itself filthy again!  Where does all this trash come from!

  91. 91.

    Bobby Thomson

    @SpaceUnit:  Now that I think about it I don’t believe I’ve heard that word used by anyone who isn’t from Pennsylvania.  Pretty sure it’s mostly a Pittsburgh thing.

     

    No, it’s a midwestern thing, including Pittsburgh.

    I said what I said.

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