Sen. John Fetterman, given his wardrobe and trash talking vocabulary, may appear different, but unfortunately he has proven to fit right in when it comes to those in Congress, who have become a class unto themselves when it comes to pay and benefits.
Despite what I see as the rampant corruption and misdoings of President Trump, he has done less than nothing, complaining about the minimal requirements of the job of senator, which simply entails showing up.
Moreover, he mastered the congressional art of speaking out of both sides of his mouth. For the moment, let’s forget about his forsaking the positions that led voters to get him his Senate position in the first place.
Let’s focus on the U.S. Steel issue instead. Always professing allegiance to the almighty union, he was first in favor of Cleveland-Cliffs’ proposed acquisition and opposed to the Nippon proposal. Never mind that Cleveland-Cliffs would have eviscerated U.S. Steel’s Western Pennsylvania presence, transferring operations to Ohio. Maybe Fetterman forgot the fact that he represented Pennsylvania instead of Ohio. Now, in a recent forum, he admitted opposing President Biden’s proposal and commending Trump, saying that the now-sweetened deal wouldn’t have happened under Biden. Clearly, he added nothing to what eventuated. So much for candor or representing Pennsylvanians. This is only one example.
Yes, despite his outfits and street jargon, he fits right in, doing as little as possible, complaining about the little he has to do and leveraging his position for profit. Medical and mental history aside, he knows very well what he is doing.
Mark D. Schwartz
Bryn Mawr