Having barely survived a heart attack followed by a struggle through clinical depression, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) has become the source of much controversy.
Not because of his various maladies but because of his unique choice of dress. Specifically, Fetterman’s obsession with dressing in shorts, a hoodie, and muddy, old tennis shoes or crocs.
The response and vitriol the far-left senator has received has reached a crescendo. In fact, Fetterman’s, shall we say, unique dress code got the divided members of the United States Senate to do the very thing it has struggled to do for decades: agree with each other and unite in a common cause. So, in that way, we should be eternally grateful to Sen. Fetterman for having united the fractious Senate and getting them to pass something without much bickering.
Sadly, however, the Senate acted decisively not in response to the ongoing War in Ukraine, inflation, or border security. No, they’re still divided on how to respond to those very severe problems facing the United States. Instead, they united to pass a rule that prevented Sen. John Fetterman from dressing as a bum.
Who says bipartisanship is dead?
Concern is Warranted on John Fetterman
Fetterman is clearly unwell.
He has worn a suit before (though, admittedly, it did not look very good on him). But he insists on wearing his signature hoodie to work, despite the rules. It might be because the senator struggles with severe clinical depression.
Rather than make rules banning Fetterman’s bizarre dress, perhaps the Senate should make stricter rules about its members struggling with a mood-altering disease from even taking part in the Chamber’s proceedings. After all, Fetterman’s lack of appropriate dress is far from the biggest issue he poses to the institution.
What happens if, in a fit of depression, Fetterman votes in a way inimical to the voters? Or if he says something out-of-turn in public that could jeopardize U.S. national security?
Politicians love to lecture Americans on the need for greater mental health, especially after tragedies. Yet, they’ve done little to check in with their colleagues, such as Sen. Fetterman, who is clearly unwell. The dress code violations might be some kind of a plea for help.
Further, Fetterman’s family should be much more willing to sit the recently elected senator down and have a real “Come to Jesus” moment wherein they encourage him to take a break from his job.
Preferably, they’d encourage him to step down.
Fetterman has been nothing but a distraction for his colleagues and for the general public. His dress code violations have become an obsession of the Right as well as the Left. When senators should have been negotiating legislation that would help the American people, they were instead passing rules to ban the style of dress that Fetterman chose to wear. The longer that the Senate and our other institutions fixate on these trivial affairs rather than on addressing the crises of our time, the more likely it is that those crises will take this country down.
It’s time for Sen. John Fetterman to step down for health reasons and let the Senate handle real problems rather than these made-up ones.
A 19FortyFive Senior Editor and an energy analyst at the The-Pipeline, Brandon J. Weichert is a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst who is a contributor at The Washington Times, as well as at the Asia Times. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower (Republic Book Publishers), Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life (Encounter Books), and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy (July 23). Weichert occasionally serves as a Subject Matter Expert for various organizations, including the Department of Defense. He can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
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