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

[Minnesota Mike]

Honest question, why all the negativity about the Dem candidates in PA and Fetterman in particular? There has been no GE polling I have seen and the little Dem primary polling has Fetterman in the lead. Is there some scandal or gaffe I am missing or is this just the same doom saying for Democrats that is going on for every other race on this site?

[Minnesota Mike]

Honest question, why all the negativity about the Dem candidates in PA and Fetterman in particular? There has been no GE polling I have seen and the little Dem primary polling has Fetterman in the lead. Is there some scandal or gaffe I am missing or is this just the same doom saying for Democrats that is going on for every other race on this site?

The jogger incident is a big dark spot on Fetterman's record. He's also run a very lazy campaign.

Isn't the jogger incident old news?

[Minnesota Mike]

Well, I guess I don't need to strategically vote for Fetterman if he's up by 30 points. If he does win the primary, I hope and pray that he starts taking the campaign more seriously. If he campaigns as hard in the general as Malcolm has in the primary, that would be great.

How bad of a campaign can he be running if he is up 30? Also this month old poll is sponsored by a superpac backing Lamb so it's doubly good for Fetterman.

[Minnesota Mike]

Well, I guess I don't need to strategically vote for Fetterman if he's up by 30 points. If he does win the primary, I hope and pray that he starts taking the campaign more seriously. If he campaigns as hard in the general as Malcolm has in the primary, that would be great.

How bad of a campaign can he be running if he is up 30? Also this month old poll is sponsored by a superpac backing Lamb so it's doubly good for Fetterman.

Name recognition, I guess. Plus people think he's the most "electable" option, maybe. It was the same way with Joe Biden in 2020.

And guess who is President right now.

[Minnesota Mike]

LOL, I am beginning to think Trump is a Democratic Plant.

[Minnesota Mike]

McCormick probably would've been better, but Fetterman vs. McCormick does recreate the working man Dem vs. rich Republican that did not serve Republicans well in most of the country, including PA. Trump is smart to give an endorsement and try to settle the primary now.

OZ is estimated to be worth over $100 mill.

[Minnesota Mike]

I am currently backing Conor Lamb, but I've watched Kenyatta effectively articulate himself and make his case. I could honestly see Lamb come in third. I agree that he really needs to switch this up and differentiate himself in the field. He's giving off too many "generic Dem" vibes and not enough energy brought to the table. I like his calm demeanor and blue-collar sentiment.

However, I could end up voting for Kenyatta if this keeps up. Fetterman, on the other hand, is unapologetic and comes off as callous. He's a terrible debater and can't throw together coherent points. Even still, he's the front-runner and doubt he wins the general. The man is too far left.

Then why is he winning easily? He can't be that bad of a candidate if he is crushing the field.

[Minnesota Mike]

I am currently backing Conor Lamb, but I've watched Kenyatta effectively articulate himself and make his case. I could honestly see Lamb come in third. I agree that he really needs to switch this up and differentiate himself in the field. He's giving off too many "generic Dem" vibes and not enough energy brought to the table. I like his calm demeanor and blue-collar sentiment.

However, I could end up voting for Kenyatta if this keeps up. Fetterman, on the other hand, is unapologetic and comes off as callous. He's a terrible debater and can't throw together coherent points. Even still, he's the front-runner and doubt he wins the general. The man is too far left.

Then why is he winning easily? He can't be that bad of a candidate if he is crushing the field.

Purely name recognition and more funds. Nothing more.

Getting your name out there and raising money are part of what a successful candidate needs to do. Primaries have a purpose, more often than not the strongest candidate wins them. 

[Minnesota Mike]

https://twitter.com/bresreports/status/1525923204912627715

[Minnesota Mike]

LOL. Fetterman for Twitter Troll in Chief.

https://twitter.com/JohnFetterman/status/1547683652791717891

[Minnesota Mike]

https://twitter.com/samstein/status/1547693700288897025

[Minnesota Mike]

Agreed, serious question. Can we consider having one thread for real updates and one thread for posting Fetterman memes every 5 minutes? This is getting beyond the scope of what’s interesting and frankly what’s useful

We need to get past these silly memes and on to the important stuff like what kind of junk the person in the next stall has, how the 2020 election was stolen, and how a wall on the southern border will keep out people who don't know how to use a ladder.

Of course the social media stuff is ridiculous but guess what, most political campaigning has been ridiculous since the country was founded.  DR Oz having recently moved to PA is an issue, raising it  in a memorable way is a legit part of the story of this campaign.

[Minnesota Mike]

Does Fetterman's health matter to voters? Not on a personal level but as to who they want representing them in the senate. If you supported Fetterman before his stroke what would be the logic in switching Oz now? I could see the rational in the primary where you could switch to someone with similar views but in the GE why switch to someone with a very different world view?

[Minnesota Mike]

I was looking at the ads Dr. Oz was coming up with. Things like this were at or near the top of the results.
Most comments are hostile, many reference New Jersey, and some make notice of how he's handled the gun.

Notice too how they cut the clip of him shooting to look like he actually made it lol.

Bragging about an endorsement from Ted Nugent?

[Minnesota Mike]

Bragging about an endorsement from Ted Nugent?

ProgressiveModerate was referencing how they showed the gun being fired.

Yeah, I got that.

[Minnesota Mike]

Honest question, do Fetterman's health issues matter and if they do why? The people of Pennsylvania are hiring someone to represent them in the Senate, not to do construction.

[Minnesota Mike]

On the plus side I now know what "crudité" is. Never to old to learn something new.

[Minnesota Mike]

What scandal?

[Minnesota Mike]

What scandal?

Not really a scandal but the health concerns.

Also the jogger incident.

Neither of those are close to being a late breaking scandal. There is no comparison to NC 2020.

[Minnesota Mike]

I did not watch the debate, I find political debates boring and of very little use, so this is coming from someone who has just seen clips like 99% of the population.

- Fetterman was tough to watch, no getting around that, but honestly people are more understanding than you think. I honestly can't see many people who are predisposed to voting for him abandoning ship. He may even generate some empathy.

- Oz was smooth, in control, and completely unlikeable. The biggest gaff of the night was not Fetterman struggling to find the words it was Oz's "abortion is between a woman, her doctor and local politicians" statement.

Not a good for Fetterman but was it a game changer? I have my doubts.

 

[Minnesota Mike]

Honestly looking at the replies, and who liked the replies, I don't see anybody having changed their mind from who they supported going in. I suspect the same is true of Pennsylvania voters.

[Minnesota Mike]

If Fetterman's health is really that bad and he knows he has a very high chance of death at some point, would he just voluntarily retire, and can Shapiro pretty much appoint anyone he wants without consent of the legislature?

Again, I don't like speculating on people's health we really just don't know as it's a very personal subject. Someone can appear fine on the outside but be very sick and at high risk of death and vise-versa where they seem loopy but are at low risk of death anytime soon.

We all have a very high chance of death at some point.

[Minnesota Mike]

https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1623560970697072640