Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) has been pushing back on the hardline stance his fellow Democrats took regarding the federal government shutdown.
Fetterman also called out his party's leadership, trashing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in particular.
The ladies of The View went after Fetterman after he voted to approve the continuing resolution (CR), but the lawmaker was in no mood to take their attacks and came back swinging.
If you are going to block a piece of legislation, you had better have every member of your party on board, or you will fail, and that is what just happened to Schumer and company.
Eight Democrats crossed over to help the GOP pass the CR, leaving Democrats with nothing to show for the longest shutdown in government history.
Fetterman revealed that nobody from leadership ever even reached out to him during the standoff.
When asked directly who is running his party's caucus, he responded, “No one really knows. My values are reflected in my vote and the things that I support here, and if that might put me at odds with parts of my party, I’m okay with that. I mean, we need to be a … big tent party.”
After the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh won key concessions for its union members, Fetterman, who is pro-union, congratulated them on X.
He posted, “FINALLY. This incredible news was long overdue. I’m proud of this Pulitzer-winning crew, their fight for better benefits, and the Union way of life.”
Well, they slapped his hand away after he voted to reopen the government, responding, “We struck to win back -- among other things -- our health care. You just voted to take health care away from thousands of people, many of whom you know will die as a result. You have much more in common w/ the Blocks than us. Keep our name far, far away from your murderous mouth.”
That response is everything that is wrong with the left today. The sensationalism is utterly ridiculous. Then there is the “if you don’t do what we want” threat that is running rampant on both sides of the aisle right now, and that is just not how things are meant to work. If you cannot find common ground with those of the same ilk, you are destined to be destroyed by the other side.
Co-host Sunny Hostin tried to shame Fetterman and the other seven Democrats who voted in favor of reopening the government, stating, “Poll after poll found more Americans on both sides of the aisle blaming Republicans. Even Marjorie Taylor Greene blamed the GOP.”
She continued, “As you mentioned, Democrats had big wins last week, so you had momentum. Why give in now? Why bring a butter knife to a gunfight? Are you willing to gamble that the GOP will negotiate on health care in good faith once the government reopens? Because if that gamble is wrong, half a million Pennsylvanians that you represent, their health care costs will skyrocket if you are wrong. And I believe you are wrong.”
Fetterman fired right back, “Well, first of all, you know, MTG is quite literally the last person in America that I’m going to take advice or to get their kinds of my leadership and values from. And now if Democrats are celebrating crazy pants like that, then that’s on them. And I don’t need a lecture. I don’t need a lecture from whether it’s Bernie or the governor in California, because they are representing very deep blue, blue kinds of populations. And a lot of those things were part of the extreme.”
He continued, “And I would like to, rather than cite MTG, I’m going to cite one of the new governor elects, saying that my election is not a green light to continue the shutdown, because I promise you this isn’t a political game. It is viewed by that by many of us. But the reality is 42 million Americans now not sure where their next meal is going to come from. And because we vote like that, vote like that, or people that haven’t been paid for five weeks now and that kinds of chaos, those workers borrow more than half a billion dollars from their credit union just to pay their bills now.”
I commend him for his response, and honestly, I wish we had more people on both sides who were not treating this as a game. These people are in that congressional seat to represent, not push their own agendas, but many of them forget that. Their first duty is to their constituents, period, and as long as they are doing that, I will support them. I fully expect Democrats to primary Fetterman, if he even runs again. This will give the GOP a golden opportunity to steal that seat back in the Senate.
