PA-SN 2022 megathread: Shrek vs. The Wizard of Oz

[Dani Rose]

So this isn't good, but I feel like it's being actively counteracted by the fact that Oz...exists. Fetterman is so lucky he got such a blisteringly, transparently unlikable opponent.

[Dani Rose]

I'm watching a live stream where even Dems are conceding that this doesn't look good for John Fetterman.

I seem to recall that the right-wing argument in favor of Herschel Walker's debate performance was, "Nobody watches Senate debates." If I may, what changed?

[Dani Rose]

TV is Oz’s territory, but he’s not doing as badly as I thought he would for a first general election debate

The problem for Oz is that he's meeting exactly the bar people generally seemed to expect: well-spoken, but completely without humanity. Fetterman is struggling, but Oz is not helping himself either.

[Dani Rose]

This will be in an ad.

https://twitter.com/patdennis/status/1585066053230809090?s=20&t=i-wMykRs-y9E...

And there it is. Oz has absolutely no comprehension of the issues or how to frame them so as to make him seem respectable and sympathetic to the people. He's just driving home the titanic negatives people associate with him.

[Dani Rose]

https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1585063201753866241

Uh, quoting the Trumps with regard to a man with a disability is...bold.

[Dani Rose]

Oz is not doing a very stand-up job of convincing people that he's a person.

[Dani Rose]

Looks like the media has decided to give the election to Oz after tonight. As I predicted, Fetterman is held to a significantly higher standard than Walker, who was significantly more incoherent. Will be very hard for Democrats to win this now.

Media bias has yet to convince the average Pennsylvanian that Oz is a human being, and I don't see that changing much after this. People, by now, are extremely aware that Fetterman has a disability of speech and Oz has a disability of soul, and this debate does nothing to change those things.

[Dani Rose]

I predict this does nothing to help Oz. People don't pay attention to Senate debates anyway, but genuinely, this told the average voter nothing new. Fetterman is still disabled, an Oz still has a fathomless void where a soul should be.

[Dani Rose]

The past hour seems to have shifted a little bit on Twitter...acknowledgment that Fetterman was terrible but Oz may have made a major gaffe on the abortion clip.

Knew it. Oz outtalked Fetterman, but he also ended up making a relentlessly negative soundbite of himself in the process.

[Dani Rose]

I'm honestly shocked the Oz "I wasn't speaking clearly enough for you, John" clip isn't making more rounds. That was the most egregious of all.

I'm not surprised it was buried by the abortion gaffe, as horrific as that comment was, given abortion has been the source of every single one of our overperformances all year long. As with most of Oz's baggage, though, look for that one to boomerang back around and nail him too.

[Dani Rose]

I don't know how much focus groups are worth

Not much, in my experience. The fact that Oz gave Fetterman an absolutely horrible soundbite to use against him is going to way outweigh the immediate aftermath.

[Dani Rose]

Having a stroke is absolutely scary and takes time. However, that means in Fetterman's case is that he should relax and rest. He is making some recovery, let him get all of it first before entaking one of the most stressful jobs in the world and potentially harming himself further.
https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1585081667449929730
https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1583154100254179328
A lot of conservatives are starting to get suspicious about his wife. I never really bought this theory but I am starting to consider it now. What if the plan was to get Fetterman in, have him resign, and Shapiro appoint his wife to the seat?

Please run on this ableist, Game of Thrones-level fairytale nonsense. I'm begging you.

[Dani Rose]

Should have been Lamb.

Please, genuinely, explain to me how a disingenuous crypto-Republican would have been a better choice to excite our core voters in Pennsylvania. But if I could add a caveat, please don't use Fetterman's disability as your reason, because we Democrats are supposed to be the ones opposing bigotry.

[Dani Rose]

Graham has about the same emotional maturity as the average blue avatar

https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1585449470271029249

Not to distract from the fact that Lindsay is almost as red as the background behind him, but that clip also highlights the point I've been trying to make since the debate. Fetterman had a hard time, but he obviously understood his surroundings, the issues at hand, and what he was trying to say. Compare that to how - not to be crass - absolutely clueless Herschel Walker looks here and you can plainly see there's no comparison.

[Dani Rose]

If the EV numbers get better for us or at least hold up (hoping for the former), I'm not really very concerned about this final wave of endorsements and partisan polls. Other than a medical emergency out of his control, Fetterman has done basically everything right, Oz is still disliked even by people who are voting for him, and Shapiro has respectable odds of landing a double-digit victory at the top of the ticket.

[Dani Rose]

It's wild... it's like Oz is just straight up not doing public events. I don't expect him to hold big rallies, but he's not doing anything where it's open to the public. He seems to be just doing small curated "discussions"

I can't exactly blame him when he generates a new soundbite every time he opens his mouth.

[Dani Rose]

PA Senate is like the football Lucy holds, I can't wait to see the site get their hopes up only for them to be dashed again.

Do you get joy out of being cruel?

[Dani Rose]

PA Senate is like the football Lucy holds, I can't wait to see the site get their hopes up only for them to be dashed again.

Do you get joy out of being cruel?

I get joy out of watching the same people who attack me for being ridiculous realize I was right the entire time…except half the time they just don’t admit it.

Ah, so you time traveled to November 9th, found out you were right, and came back, then?

Or, alternatively, you just enjoy being cruel.

[Dani Rose]

Clear strategy hear to hit all national TV in the closing days - Fetterman now doing The View today, did CBS News yesterday, CNN the day before

https://twitter.com/TheView/status/1588553809491533826

The View is a publicity platform for Democrats, so I don't think this is going to help Fetterman much aside from his base.

I think it's a solid way for him to assure some shaky suburbanites, like someone said above me. This is the exact thing that appeals to Fetterman's weakest part of the current Democratic base.

[Dani Rose]

Turns out ableism isn't a winning campaign strategy.