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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Excellent Links / Open Thread: Sen. Fetterman Knows His Own Style

Open Thread: Sen. Fetterman Knows His Own Style

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Fetterman - STOCKPILE

(Jack Ohman via GoComics.com)

 
You ask me, we need a lot more Fettermans in the Senate, and a lot fewer Rand Pauls — even if Paul is ‘impeccably’ dressed for business:

Even the NYTimes is gingerly positing that, just possibly, the rising generation of politicians may not have the same reverence for 1950s-approved sartorial attire. Apart from being as much a ‘personal brand’ as Ted Cruz’s cowboy boots, let’s be honest: When he’s dressed up in a proper suit, Sen. Fetterman looks less like a Bond villain than a bodyguard for the politician(s) standing next to him:

Bit of a doc-dump here: Some very good interviews I didn’t get a chance to post when they came out…



(Unpaywalled NYTimes gift link)

And more recent stories, mostly about his wife & family:

(Update: Sherrod Brown has also called for Menendez’s resignation)

Reader Interactions

118Comments

  1. 1.

    Annie

    I really dislike referring to Senator Fetterman as”broken” because of the depression.  He knew he was ill and got help for his depression.  That’s not broken.  In pain, yes.  Having a serious problem, sure.  Broken?  No.

  4. 4.

    CaseyL

    Fetterman’s preference in clothing is of long standing; it’s not like he suddenly decided to go hoodie-and-shorts after he was elected.

    I frankly could not care less what he – or anyone else in Congress – wears to work, as long as they serve their constituents and the country honorably and well.

    In other news: the actor David McCallum has died at age 90.  He was my First Crush Ever as Ilya on The Man From UNCLE, and an absolute treat to watch as Ducky on NCIS.  90 is a very good age to reach, but I still feel sad.

  5. 5.

    Anne Laurie

    @Annie: I really dislike referring to Senator Fetterman as”broken” because of the depression. He knew he was ill and got help for his depression. That’s not broken.

    I see your point, but that’s a word Fetterman himself frequently uses in the interviews:

    For so many years, we have demanded our politicians be perfect—free of scandal, perfectly groomed, never a hair or a word out of place. To admit to being broken was to admit to being ­deficient. But Fetterman was never the kind of pol who put much stock in seeming perfect. And so he embarked on a high-stakes trust fall with the electorate of his diverse swing state, gambling that they would see him not as dangerously unstable but as recognizably human. It turned out that many people loved their broken Senator—not in spite of his brokenness but ­because of it.

    To quote Leonard Cohen: There is a crack in everything — that’s how the light gets in.

  6. 6.

    NotMax

    Open thread? Wowsers.

    In First, Rooftop Solar Alone provides 101% of South Australia’s Electricity Demand
    [snip]
    This milestone is important, since it was reached entirely with rooftop solar on residential and business edifices rather than with industrial-scale solar farms, of which South Australia has some 300 MW worth.…

    South Australia at one point supplied 114% of its electricity consumption on Saturday, such that some power inputs had to be switched off or the excess exported, or stored in the state’s 150 megawatt mega-battery. Source

  7. 7.

    Ten Bears

    We use Otter because one of us is deaf. Works great, but I wouldn’t depend on it to backup a quote

    There are times when it can be really rather humorous, and not at all what was said …

  8. 8.

    TaMara

    Stephanie’s AI creations are amazing. Loved each and every one of them.

    The Fetterman’s are rock stars, who know how to get shit done, and that terrifies their enemies. So they attack his clothing and struggles. Fuck ’em. Carry on!

  9. 9.

    Elizabelle

    John Fetterman is authentic.

    And I love that xeet (?) by Charles Pierce.  Compare Fetterman to the niftily tailored Josh Hawley, running man.

    Last, getting lectured about standards by a woman who was displaying photos of the president’s son’s dick in public:  they do not hear themselves.

    All that said, I kinda wish he’d wear long pants and a nice dress shirt.  Just to dial back the issue.  But it’s up to Fetterman.

  12. 12.

    Gvg

    Meh, It’s past time for the men’s fashion to change anyway. Look back at the portraits of Congress, Presidents and other important people even further back. Fashion changes. George Washington didn’t dress like Lincoln who didn’t dress like either Roosevelt. The current style was sort of around in the 50’s and pretty set in stone by the 70’s. It has actually been oddly resistant to change for longer than past trends. We are over due for something different.
    Granted, that will only be a different conventional, but there really is not a forever fashion rule. It’s all pretty dumb to fuss over.

  13. 13.

    john (not mccain)

    I absolutely cannot get enough of Adultress Greene whining about the importance of rules and decorum.

  14. 14.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    I mean if the bar hadn’t been lowered MTG never would have gotten elected… Oh, she meant the dress code!

  15. 15.

    NotMax

    Hoocuddanode? Everybodycuddanode.

    [Cassidy] Hutchinson has a new book coming out and, as The New York Times reported, the former White House aide has some additional insights on this part of her experiences:

    It was, by her telling, an administration awash in paranoia, with Mr. Meadows and others refusing to dispose of daily litter in “burn bags” for fear that someone from the “deep state” might intercept the contents. Instead, she writes, Mr. Meadows burned so many documents in his fireplace in the final days of the Trump presidency that his wife complained to Ms. Hutchinson about how expensive it had become to dry-clean the “bonfire” aroma from his suits.

    Source

  16. 16.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @CaseyL:

    I am sad to hear that. I adored him as Ilya Kuryakin (sp?), but equally memorable was his role as the ex-husband of a very weird and tightly-wrapped Diana Rigg in the PBS Mystery! miniseries Mother Love. Just a wonderfully creepy story with some fine acting. May he rest in peace.

  18. 18.

    Snarki, child of Loki

    The “current style” was around in the 1890’s, and likely a couple of decades before that.

    With minor changes: suspenders/belt, vest or not, narrow/wide.

    If your g’grandfather’s suit fits and is in good shape, it’s probably acceptable fashion.

     

    Just about as durable a fashion as “toga”.

  19. 19.

    lowtechcyclist

    I like that you’re broken, broken like me
    Maybe that makes me a fool…
    Life is not a love song, but we can try
    to fix our broken pieces, one at a time
    …
    -lovelytheband, “broken”

    We all have ’em.

  21. 21.

    Ruckus

    @Annie:

    THIS.

    Absolutely, this.

    I was a mental health counselor for years long ago. The concept that people that have an issue degrades them as a human would make a lot more sense if every conservative politician didn’t think that everything was supposed to go into their pockets and nothing into their brains. If they spent a tenth of their time learning what being a human is actually all about the world would be a far better place. Of course they might need a lobotomy to get there….. Not to remove anything but to add an actual brain into their empty cavities.

  22. 22.

    japa21

    @Gvg: ​
      I’ll take Fetterman’s honest hoodie and shorts over Gym Jordan’s faux macho coatless, shirtsleeves look any day.

  24. 24.

    Dan B

    @CaseyL: I had a bit of a crush on him as well.  He was a pretty man and also handsome.  It certainly helped that he had an impish sense of humor.  He had a good long run.

  26. 26.

    Searcher

    If we’re going to insist on a special sartorial set for our highest level of government, I’ll be damned if I settle for something you can buy at on sale at Macy’s.

    Let’s at least insist on full morning coats, if not colonial breeches and powdered wigs, or, fuck it, goddamn wizard robes and pointy hats.

  27. 27.

    SpaceUnit

    If you think Republicans in Congress are a shitshow now just wait until they start competing to see who can show up at the Capitol wearing the most offensive tee shirt.

    I’m going to start rolling my eyes now just to get ahead of things.

  33. 33.

    wjca

    @Gvg: The current style was sort of around in the 50’s and pretty set in stone by the 70’s. It has actually been oddly resistant to change for longer than past trends. We are over due for something different.

    The biggest change seems to be that neckties are now optional for all but the most formal occasions.  Not much, but it’s a start.

    Waiting for Zelensky-chic to move us towards t-shirts as formal wear….

  39. 39.

    JPL

    @zhena gogolia: From Variety.com

    “After returning from the hospital to their apartment, I asked my mother if she was OK before she went to sleep. Her answer was simply, “Yes. But I do wish we had had a chance to grow old together.” She is 79, and dad just turned 90. The honesty in that emotion shows how vibrant their beautiful relationship and daily lives were, and that somehow, even at 90, Daddy never grew old.

    LINK

  43. 43.

    peter

    @SiubhanDuinne: There’s a wonderful 1978 Granada TV version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped with David McCallum as Alan Breck Stewart. He’s terrific: easily the best film version of that memorable character.

  44. 44.

    NotMax

    @Jackie

    What can i say? No such stricture on my machine. Selected excerpts below.

    In an open letter to the “health care payer community” on Sept. 22, Xavier Becerra, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, asks health care providers to honor their “legal obligations for coverage of the vaccines.”

    Three years after the start of the pandemic, fall 2023 marks the first season COVID-19 vaccines are being distributed through what Becerra called “traditional health care distribution channels.”

    Previously, the federal government bought and then distributed the vaccines and boosters for free, but now the distribution is up to the commercial market, including pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens.
    [snip]
    Why are people being denied COVID boosters?

    Within a week of the new booster’s approval, many people across the country tried to make an appointment only to be told it would not be covered by their insurance.

    Becerra wrote in his letter that providers had been alerted to their required coverage by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services back in July, but when HHS started receiving reports of shot denials, he reached out to providers again on Sept. 20.

    “Since that time, I know my team – including CMS – has been in close contact with you, now on a daily basis,” Becerra wrote. “I also know that parts of these challenges are beyond your control. We will continue to be in daily communication with pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers until these problems are resolved.”

    Despite the repeated reminders, Becerra said claim rejections are in the “thousands each day.”

  45. 45.

    bbleh

    Ok I know it’s mostly just another right-wing faux-trage, but it seems like some of them are really bothered by it.  I think it’s because he’s Breaking The Rules, and Others simply are not supposed to do that.  (It’s ok for Us though; eg, TIFG.  It’s bold and daring.  Move fast and break things, etc.)  I think it really shakes some of them.  “This can’t be happening.  It violates the Natural Order Of Things!”

  46. 46.

    bbleh

    Aw, that’s too bad about Ilya / Ducky.  But talk about a good run! And yeah, he always seemed to be having a good time.

  47. 47.

    Alison Rose

    I continue to love Fetterman and want him to wear whatever he God damn pleases.

    OT: Really nice article about Megan Rapinoe’s last USWNT match, with a great video when she was subbed off. Hugs all around, long ovation. She’s a legend. Added bonus was all the angry pissy little manbabies in FB comments. WHY PEOPLE CELEBRATE LADY I HATE??? Fucking tools.

  50. 50.

    wjca

    @bbleh:  it seems like some of them are really bothered by it.

    In the Golden everything-was-perfect-back-then Age, i.e. the 1950s, men only wore shorts when swimming and/or at the beach.

  52. 52.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    Honestly I think Fetterman has no issues with wearing a suit but when it caused a kerfuffle when he wore the hoodie and shorts once, he realized the trolling value. So he’s trolling those dorks and I’m here for it, even though I’m the kind of guy who occasionally wears a suit even when it’s optional.

  53. 53.

    wjca

    @bbleh: talk about a good run! And yeah, he always seemed to be having a good time.

    Since he was cast as Ducky when he was already 70 (and stayed active for a couple decades), he must have loved what he did.  In addition to being very good at it.

  54. 54.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @Jackie: The only issue I’ve been aware of so far is if the insurance isn’t contracted with the pharmacy. I’ve seen one claim rejected for that reason out of maybe 40 I’ve seen submitted.

    Although I, myself, was able to go to my preferred pharmacy instead insurance’s preference.

  55. 55.

    RSA

    Someone who puts a V after their name (Frank Thorpe V) ought to know better than this:

    Sen Fetterman says of his presiding over the Senate just now in shorts and short-sleeved button down with no tie…

    Fetterman is wearing a “button-up shirt,” a term used to distinguish men’s shirts with buttons from T-shirts, jerseys, sweatshirts etc.  The “button-down” part of a button-down shirt is about buttons on the tips of the collar, to keep them in place. This is Men’s Clothing 101 vocabulary.

  56. 56.

    Geminid

    @JustRuss: I’ve seen John Fetterman in blue jeans and I thought he looked really sharp. But I don’t let other people tell me what to wear and use my own judgement in this area..

    John Fetterman has greater responsibilities than me, but I think the only people entitled to advise him on his dress are his Pennsylvania constituents. If enough of them ask him to wear a suit and a tie I expect he will. At least, some of the time.

  57. 57.

    schrodingers_cat

    Thought experiment if a woman of any color or a non-white man showed up in the senate like Sen. Fetterman. Would people be as forgiving?

    Hillary was pilloried for pantsuits and Obama for his tan suit. So the answer is probably not.

  58. 58.

    Ironcity

    @SiubhanDuinne:   MSM and anyone else getting so worried about the dress code….what a bunch of jagoffs.  House needs to red-up  chamber.

    My screenname is not random and the “Pittsburgheese” is refreshing/makes one homesick, havent lived there in…awhile.

  60. 60.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @schrodingers_cat: If you’re asking how the people here would feel, I imagine answers would be unchanged. I think requiring suits is dumb regardless of who is personally affected.

  62. 62.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Ruckus: ​
     

    And the only time I can remember it actually snowing here in LA county was in 1969

    I got you beat: I remember, as a 3 year old, it snowing in Los Angeles. This would have been the 1957-58 winter. We lived on Woodrow Wilson Drive, overlooking Laurel Canyon, and our father made sure my sister and I saw the snow falling, because who knew when we’d get the chance to see it again? (He didn’t yet know that his employer would relocate him to the DC area the following summer, and we’d see snow frequently from then on.) It didn’t stick, of course, but no surprise there.

  64. 64.

    The Thin Black Duke

    If you can find it, there’s a recording of David McCullum reading H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Rats in the Walls.”

  65. 65.

    mrmoshpotato

    Apart from being as much a ‘personal brand’ as Ted Cruz’s cowboy boots

    Are you saying Shithead Ted wears cowboy boots in the Senate?

    What’s “yee haw” in Spanish, Cancun Cruz?

  67. 67.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @Ruckus: HSM?

    I’ve never personally owned a suit jacket. My dad made me borrow his for his retirement party and that’s the one time I’ve worn one.

    I’ve done buttoned shirt and slacks for certain jobs; though a recent one, where the others who held my job dressed that way, I opted for hospital scrubs. I spent my whole day working among people in scrubs, it seemed to make more sense to me.

    Plus, I hate separating myself in that way. (Edited)

  68. 68.

    Ruckus

    @lowtechcyclist:

    It actually snowed a few times here in SoCal. The most snow I’ve seen pictures of was in January 1949 ones I posted above. So just before my time – I mean I existed but not in breathing form yet.

    There have been a few times of snow in SoCal since the 1949 event but it is of course rare. It also helps if you live in the hills/base of the San Gabriel mountain range.

  69. 69.

    zhena gogolia

    @JPL: Very nice. I’d love to see this:

    starred opposite Joanna Lumley in ITV sci-fi series “Sapphire & Steele,” which ran for six seasons beginning in 1979.

  75. 75.

    mrmoshpotato

    Charles P. Pierce

    @CharlesPPierce

    Josh Hawley wore a finely tailored suit when he was inciting the mob and it held up well when he was running away from the same mob.

    🎶Unbrave traitorous shitstain Joshy ran away🎶

  78. 78.

    mrmoshpotato

    Senator Tina Smith

    @SenTinaSmith

    Seriously? You’re bitching about Senate dress code when House Republicans are about to drive the Federal Government off a cliff? Again?

    Talk about disgraceful.

    So much restraint to not respond to Majorly Trashy Girl starting with, “Dear Trump Trash Mean Girl,”

  81. 81.

    Jackie

    @schrodingers_cat: It’s interesting; Hillary revealed that she started wearing pantsuits after a camera angle inadvertently caught a glimpse of her underwear while she was sitting.

    Now, of course, when congresswomen wear slacks or a pantsuit, it’s never questioned.

  83. 83.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @CaseyL:

    That’s too bad. Still, 90 years is a long life for sure.

    I remember David McCallum narrated at least one documentary I can’t remember the name of. He had a good voice for a narrator

  84. 84.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @Ruckus: Thanks, I checked them out. None for me, though, thanks.

    @NotMax: That is hilarious and a way I might actually love to be able to sepate myself, as long as i could maintain control of all the pieces.

  87. 87.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Soprano2:

    OT:

    I recall you mentioning owning a restaurant in your past comments. Got any good “I know the owner, give me free crap!” stories, if you feel comfortable?

    I got on a kick a few months ago reading such stories online, and the best ones were when the customer tried that with the actual owners of the restaurant/business

    A few that stick out were when the restaurant/business was named after a pet and a customer would claim to know the owner lol

    ETA: if anybody else has such stories, they’re free to share too

  88. 88.

    sab

    @john (not mccain): They changed the dress code of both houses so that MTG and Sinema could run around in the ridiculous outfits they wear. And before that they changed the dress code to allow women to wear pantsuits.

    I remember watching a co-worker sent home for wearing a very nice pantsuit to work in a big eight accounting firm in San Francisco. In my last job in Cleveland we all wore business casual most of the time. Most of the women wore sweaters or tunics over leggings. Times have changed.

  91. 91.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @NotMax:

    Looks bizarrely interesting and would love to know the context in that scene. Was reading the comments on that video and one of them said that they were the Mulder and Scully of their day

  96. 96.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @WaterGirl:

    Sinema has sure worn some crazy shit and gotten away with it.

    I recall somebody mentioning on this blog that the way she dresses happens sometimes with ex-Mormons; that she’s making up for lost time by dressing like a teenager

  98. 98.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Jackie:

    MTG wore the white furry hooded thing at the SOTU to mimic the Chinese balloon. If that’s what you’re referring to?

    That is so fucking weird. Imagine telling someone a few decades ago a sitting Congresswoman would be doing stuff like this

  105. 105.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Jackie:

    Sinema would only wear sweats if she didn’t want to be noticed. Her outfits are MEANT to draw attention.

    To be honest, I think women have even less room than men to get away with that

  110. 110.

    Jackie

    Has anything been mentioned about the Glock TIFG may have purchased today? And if he did, it was illegal as an indicted person!

    Donald Trump is on video saying he wants to purchase a Glock pistol in South Carolina.

    However, if he actually went through with the purchase it would be a crime because he’s under felony indictment.

  112. 112.

    Soprano2

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Those sound funny. That’s never happened to me, and if it happened to our staff they never shared. You can’t believe how many people think they want to own a bar but have no idea what it entails. I think they want a place where they can drink for free. That’s a bad idea.

  114. 114.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @WaterGirl:

    I don’t think what she wears is appropriate attire at all and no one said a thing.

    A lot of people mock her clothes, and if you google “Sinema denim vest”, at least one outfit made quite a few people say quite a few things, from twitter to the Arizona Republic to New York Magazine

    once again, I’m out of step with the majority of BJ. What others see as a sign of “authenticity” I see as a self-indulgent and schtick-y affectation, much like Michael Moore’s sport-coat-over-a-sweatshirt, or pretending he lives in Flint and not the Upper (I believe) West Side. Save that shit for the campaign trail. But Fettermania has always been like an unknown foreign language to me, and seems to me the kind of over-the-top fandom that often has unfortunate results.

  115. 115.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Soprano2:

    You can’t believe how many people think they want to own a bar but have no idea what it entails. I think they want a place where they can drink for free. That’s a bad idea.

    I can definitely believe that. Ever watched Bar Rescue?

  116. 116.

    wjca

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: What others see as a sign of “authenticity” I see as a self-indulgent and schtick-y affectation

    Seems like there is a pretty straightforward, objective way to distinguish between the two: What did this individual wear before starting their run for office?

  118. 118.

    Paul in KY

    @Gvg: It has basically been business/lawyer outfits since the 1890s. Glad that Sen. Fetterman can wear what he wants on floor. Long overdue, IMO.

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