Vetting John Fetterman (Penn: school, college, safe)

[BoraBoraBobby]

Why does John Fetterman deserve to be a US Senator? What expertise or skillset does he have? What has he accomplished that would pertain or translate into him being a successful US Senator? I am really having trouble coming up with any good answers.

[Jessie Mitchell]

He's been a mayor and he's the current Lt. Gov. of PA. He has a graduate degree in public administration from Harvard. Is there some magic essential element he's missing?

[jtab4994]

He is a Left Wing Populist who says he wants us to "Make Stuff in America". He wants us to focus on the opioid crisis that is further devastating already devastated blue collar towns and cities in Pennsylvania.

But he also supports mainstream Left Wing causes like massive illegal immigration and providing "safe spaces" for drug abusers.

The latter two positions don't square with the former two positions in my opinion.

Let's face it, any nimrod in a suit or a hoodie (or a pantsuit or skirt for that matter) can be a U.S. Senator. It all comes down to politics, not brains.

[Jessie Mitchell]

Originally Posted by jtab4994

Let's face it, any nimrod in a suit or a hoodie (or a pantsuit or skirt for that matter) can be a U.S. Senator. It all comes down to politics, not brains.

It's reasonable to ask about someone's professional or educational background if you don't know. If you're looking for a reason to justify not liking someone or not liking their politics, that's a different more subjective process and no one else can really answer that for a person.

But, yeah, there's no essential list of skills or experiences to be a senator. The senate has lots of people from different life and work experiences. The qualification is basically getting the most votes. That's what "elected office" means.

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by BoraBoraBobby

Why does John Fetterman deserve to be a US Senator? What expertise or skillset does he have? What has he accomplished that would pertain or translate into him being a successful US Senator? I am really having trouble coming up with any good answers.

Why the exclusive focus on Fetterman? Are you using confirmation bias to subject Fetterman alone to your questions of qualification?

Dr. Oz is equally deserving of your very same questions.

[Jessie Mitchell]

Originally Posted by Duderino

Why the exclusive focus on Fetterman? Are you using confirmation bias to subject Fetterman alone to your questions of qualification?

Dr. Oz is equally deserving of your very same questions.

I voted for Fetterman because his political perspective is closer to my own than Oz's, but I don't think he's the world's greatest candidate either. My reservations probably all stem, however, from the very things that drive his popularity... so probably best that my own take not be the one that determines who the candidate is.

Elections are choices between options, not dream candidates or perfect candidates or even near perfect candidates.

Fetterman or Oz are my two options as a resident of PA. Fetterman will do more good in my view, Oz will do more damage. So it's not that hard to just mark that ballot and get it in.

[5-all]

Originally Posted by jtab4994

He is a Left Wing Populist who says he wants us to "Make Stuff in America". He wants us to focus on the opioid crisis that is further devastating already devastated blue collar towns and cities in Pennsylvania.

But he also supports mainstream Left Wing causes like massive illegal immigration and providing "safe spaces" for drug abusers.

The latter two positions don't square with the former two positions in my opinion.

Let's face it, any nimrod in a suit or a hoodie (or a pantsuit or skirt for that matter) can be a U.S. Senator. It all comes down to politics, not brains.

Anyone who can get the votes can be elected to office.

Safe spaces for drug addicts provide clean needles so drug users don't spread disease. Plus they offer connections to rehab for those who are ready to quit drugs.

[jtab4994]

Originally Posted by 5-all

Anyone who can get the votes can be elected to office.

Safe spaces for drug addicts provide clean needles so drug users don't spread disease. Plus they offer connections to rehab for those who are ready to quit drugs.

On a Kennedy School term paper, yes. In practice, no.

[jtab4994]

Originally Posted by Jessie Mitchell

It's reasonable to ask about someone's professional or educational background if you don't know. If you're looking for a reason to justify not liking someone or not liking their politics, that's a different more subjective process and no one else can really answer that for a person.

IDK, I guess it's reasonable to ask where a 53-year-old man went to college. But it seems like at a certain level of politics everyone went to an Ivy or two (even you-know-who has a BA from Wharton). There's nothing wrong with that, but we're talking about people in their 50's and 60's, and I put more weight on their politics and how they've applied them in real life, than on their educational achievements from 30 or 40 years ago.

[Jessie Mitchell]

Originally Posted by jtab4994

IDK, I guess it's reasonable to ask where a 53-year-old man went to college. But it seems like at a certain level of politics everyone went to an Ivy or two (even you-know-who has a BA from Wharton). There's nothing wrong with that, but we're talking about people in their 50's and 60's, and I put more weight on their politics and how they've applied them in real life, than on their educational achievements from 30 or 40 years ago.

The original question was about qualifications. We all weigh them differently. I don't much care where someone went to college or grad school, but it's generally part of a summary of qualifications for a job. Most people vote, I think, based on the compatibility of general political outlook or some kind of personal appeal or things like that.