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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsJohn Fetterman Single-Handedly Tanks Effort to Rein Trump in on Iran
It was the first time the Senate has voted on a measure to end the war in Iran since the conflict crossed the 60-day deadline. After that point, the War Powers Act requires the president to withdraw his forces unless Congress declares war or approves an extension. The motion failed by a single vote, at 4950.
Three RepublicansSenators Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, and Rand Paulbroke with party leadership to support the measure.
It should come as no surprise that Fetterman was the sole Democrat to vote against the measure, as hes expressed outspoken support for acting against Iran, which he called the real enemy, the real threat, the real danger. But in siding with Republicans (and Israel), Fetterman is acting against not only the will of his party but the wills of his constituents. A March poll found that Pennsylvania voters held a -16 net disapproval rating of Americas recent military strikes in Iran.
https://newrepublic.com/post/210380/john-fetterman-tanks-war-powers-donald-trump-iran
ZDU
(1,412 posts)He must go
Pinback
(13,648 posts)Nov. 2026 has to take priority for now, but I wouldnt be surprised to see a primary challenger emerge in the next couple of years.
ZDU
(1,412 posts)oldmanlynn
(843 posts)The man should be shipped to an institution and shunned for life
mountain grammy
(29,202 posts)That sonofabitch!
TheProle
(4,093 posts)We should be engaging in preventative diplomacy, and proactively working with other countries to improve relations -- not just reaching out to them when things go south. We should embrace a foreign policy framework that will not bankrupt future generations and allow us to hit our own domestic priorities. - John Fetterman, April 2016
Celerity
(54,849 posts)HootieMcBoob
(3,831 posts)That and all the AIPAC money.
Celerity
(54,849 posts)https://gizmodo.com/netanyahu-gives-john-fetterman-silver-plated-pager-as-ghoulish-gift-2000578432

Israels prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Sen. John Fetterman on Wednesday. And Bibis gift to the senator from Pennsylvania is likely to raise more than a few eyebrows. Fetterman was presented with a silver-plated pager, apparently in reference to the terror attack orchestrated by Israel that targeted thousands of Hezbollah members in Lebanon late last year using pagers rigged with explosives.
This is a silver-plated beeper. The real beeper is like one-tenth the weight. But it changes history, Netanyahu told Fetterman. Fettermans response to Netanyahu while holding the ghoulish memento was one of tremendous thanks. When that story broke, I was like, Oh, I love it. I love it. And now its like, thank you for this, Fetterman said.
Israels terror attack killed at least 42 people, including an 8-year-old and an 11-year-old, and injured about 3,250 more, including 200 critically. Israel built the pagers themselves in a major operation, producing the devices through a manufacturer in Taiwan and selling them to Hezbollah without any indication they were behind the deal. The attack was denounced by experts at the UN as a violation of international law.
These attacks violate the human right to life, absent any indication that the victims posed an imminent lethal threat to anyone else at the time, the group of experts said in a statement at the time. Such attacks require prompt, independent investigation to establish the truth and enable accountability for the crime of murder. Netanyahu gave President Donald Trump two similar commemorative pagers back in February, one gold and another described as normal. Elon Musk, the billionaire oligarch currently destroying the U.S. federal government, appeared to be pictured near one of the pagers in the Oval Office shortly after it was given to Trump.
snip
AloeVera
(4,398 posts)One of many of course, but this one received such accolades, cheering and was the butt of many jokes. It was heartbreaking as well as horrifying - both the attack and the reactions. That Fetterman found it funny, beaming beside Netanyahu, tells you everything about him.
Celerity
(54,849 posts)spanone
(142,052 posts)allegorical oracle
(6,578 posts)he votes with Dems more than 90 percent of the time. But from what I can see, it's never when I want him to.
dickthegrouch
(4,650 posts)Cheezoholic
(3,902 posts)Nixie
(18,105 posts)Lets hope hes not enabling others to follow this con job.
W_HAMILTON
(10,435 posts)Nixie
(18,105 posts)that the infiltration con isnt a solid tactic. And she didnt have a stroke.
Blue Full Moon
(3,649 posts)No waiting for the end of the term. Too much damage is at stake.
FBaggins
(28,761 posts)More importantly, no state has the ability to recall a US senator.
Removal requires a 2/3 vote of the Senate.
Blue Full Moon
(3,649 posts)FBaggins
(28,761 posts)The constitution does not permit states to undo their selection of senators. The senate itself can remove him (but isn't going to).
Pisces
(6,309 posts)rso
(2,681 posts)It does not take away from Fettermans betrayal, but his was not the crucial vote as a 50-50 tie would have been decided by Vance.
LakeVermilion
(1,641 posts)I believe that if Fetterman changed his vote, the result would be 50-49.
EdmondDantes_
(2,058 posts)Not really single handed. That lets a lot of Republicans off the hook for their votes. Clearly a couple voted for our side.
Yeah Fetterman's vote sucked, but so did 49 other votes.
demmiblue
(39,940 posts)Goonch
(5,576 posts)
Aviation Pro
(15,757 posts)Is this lurch stupid or lobotomized? The real foreign threat has been and always will be Russia.
These people are too stupid to breath.
OGBuzz
(585 posts)JoseBalow
(9,733 posts)
AZProgressive
(29,976 posts)We made it thru the first Trump term without capitulating from the likes of Fetterman and we were able to defeat him because of that strategy.
I think what Fetterman is doing is not helping Democrats or effectively opposing Trump.
Bobstandard
(2,372 posts)a kennedy
(36,339 posts)paleotn
(22,713 posts)58Sunliner
(6,407 posts)Sniveling, spineless coward.
.
krawhitham
(5,087 posts)LuvLoogie
(8,905 posts)So Fetterman absolutely was covering for Collins and Murkowski.
Stroke? Perhaps. I'll chalk it up to narcissism. A Marvel comic character. The Senator.
Bengus81
(10,361 posts)That IS the point here.........
Response to Bengus81 (Reply #35)
Wiz Imp This message was self-deleted by its author.
Blue Owl
(59,610 posts)Joinfortmill
(21,668 posts)no_hypocrisy
(55,362 posts)Specifically, we understand that Republicans, esp. Trump, have no bottom with their evil and corruption.
And with that motivation, it seems to me that they have something, not on Fetterman, but his wife, Gisela.
More specifically, she was born in Brazil, got her green card, and became naturalized.
Fetterman was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[2][3] When she was seven years old, she came to the United States as an undocumented immigrant with her mother and younger brother, taking up residence in a one-room apartment in New York City.[4][2][5] They left Brazil due to violent crime in their community.[2][6] In New York, the family lived in poverty, and furnished their apartment with furniture they found on the street.[4] Fetterman said that her family often depended on food banks and thrift stores.[2] Her mother, who has a PhD degree from a Brazilian university and had worked as a nutritionist and educator, took jobs cleaning hotels and houses, and was often denied pay due to her status as an undocumented immigrant.[2][6]
Fetterman did not speak English when she arrived in the United States, and enrolled in an English as a second language program at her school in Queens.[2] The family later moved to Newark, New Jersey.[6] She studied at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.[7]
Fetterman received her green card in 2004 and became a citizen of the United States in 2009.[8]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gisele_Barreto_Fetterman
My point: Trump and Co. have been targeting naturalized Americans and retracting their citizenship. Gisela Fetterman would be an obvious target and John Fetterman would be susceptible to blackmail.
Mysterian
(6,617 posts)He has truly fucked his life up with his idiotic swing to support the imbecile president.
Joinfortmill
(21,668 posts)republianmushroom
(22,684 posts)Wiz Imp
(10,398 posts)If Fetterman had indicated he would vote for it, they would have just waited a couple hours to call the vote until Ricketts was available to vote so it would have been 50-50 with Vance making the tie-breaking vote. In other words, Fetterman didn't single handedly do anything. He made a bad vote, but even if he had voted with all the Democrats, the end result would have been the same.
paleotn
(22,713 posts)groundloop
(13,906 posts)And DAMN, it seems like we've always got that one 'special' Senator who screws things up for us. Previously it was Manchin, and even earlier one of the biggest disappointments was Joe Lieberman who killed Single Payer.
paleotn
(22,713 posts)Wiz Imp
(10,398 posts)Response to paleotn (Reply #40)
Wiz Imp This message was self-deleted by its author.
paleotn
(22,713 posts)In my mind, that's the story.
LuvLoogie
(8,905 posts)for decades. Instead of doing the organic work throughout the country to counter the bigotries the GOPs so expertly leverage, Dems settle for the gavel and committee chairs.
They have been duped into chaining alternate media channels and putting them into control of the very folks who are undermining an egalitarian, justice-focused society. Dems beg for equal time and coverage on MSM and never get it.
Big tent politics doesn't mean compromising justice and fairness for votes. It means getting on the ground in all 50 states and making a real play with the values and resources you have. Either be a champion for democracy and justice or for K Street martinis and MSM guest spots.
WarGamer
(18,855 posts)FBaggins
(28,761 posts)There are currently only four red seats thought to be competitive... and that assumes the three competitive blue seats hold the line.
Having said that - I doubt that he would switch. I think he would rather play the Joe Manchin role in a 51-49 senate.
Celerity
(54,849 posts)In 2026 midterms we have a shot at taking back the Senate. IF we retain all our current seats we are at 47.
The following states can all be potentially flipped from from Rethug to Dem. (FL, KS, KY, and TN are not going to flip, there are no realistic signs (nor great Dem candidates) that I have seen in any of those 4 ruby Red states for a massive upset, and my list below for possible flips is already aggressive as hell):
AK
IA
ME
NE (independent Dan Osborn, who may not caucus with either party)
NC
OH
TX
Sweeping those gets us to 53 seats plus Osborn in Nebraska, IF we sweep all our current Blue-held seats.
Cooper in NC is the only one I would say is very likely to flip Blue. Next most likely are ME and OH and neither of those are locks.
That gets us to 50. IF Osborn wins and refuses to caucus with either Party, we would have control 50 to 49.
We need to win one out of AK, IA, and TX to get to 51 and remove any doubt about Osborn's intentions.
We are in some danger of getting flipped from Blue to Red in the following 3 states:
GA (thank fuck Govenor Brian Kemp did not run)
MI (this is going to be tough no matter which one of the 3 Dems wins our primary, as Rethug Mike Rogers is beating all 3 in the most current polls)
NH (this is the least likely flip IMHO, as we dodged a huge bullet when the extremely popular Rethug Governor Chris Sununu declined to run for the seat, his brother John is running but is a weaker candidate. Chris Sununu was up by almost double digits against any Dem before he declined, John Sununu trails any Dem, and Pappas will now be our Dem nominee).
FBaggins
(28,761 posts)As I hinted above - they're "likely republican". For CookPolitical that's defined as"
These races are not considered competitive at this point but have the potential to become engaged.
Sabato says the same thing. All three are "likely republican"... so does Rothenberg and DDHQ.
Celerity
(54,849 posts)Look at the recent trends for all 3, all are moving towards the Blue and away from the Red.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_Senate_election_in_Nebraska#General_election


GiqueCee
(4,729 posts)... he can be assured that will be among those august personages who have the dubious distinction of being the least admired people in politics.
He makes Benedict Arnold look like a saint.
Groundhawg
(1,233 posts)TheProle
(4,093 posts)Initech
(109,260 posts)Bayard
(30,260 posts)We were all really wrong about him. I will still give him the benefit of the doubt that his stroke may have something to do with current failings. But--he's gotta go.
Seasider
(209 posts)Like they do Governors. Remind me again never to support a candidate Bernie endorsed.
mike_c
(37,132 posts)...when he next comes up for reelection.
no_hypocrisy
(55,362 posts)Fetterman, his wife, or his family. He volunteers opinions too freely.




