September 5, 2022

Trump accused Fetterman of drug use!

"Fetterman supports taxpayer funded drug dens and the complete decriminalization of illegal drugs —  including heroin, cocaine, crystal meth, and ultra lethal fentanyl — and by the way, he takes them himself..."

Here's the transcript. I missed that as I blogged the very long transcript last night. It was a 2-hour speech that he gave in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday night, and I didn't read every word. This morning, I was listening to a part of it on YouTube — here's the section — and I noticed the shocking accusation thrown in so quickly and casually:


Trump called Fetterman "a raging lunatic hell bent on springing hardened criminals out of jail in the middle of the worst crime wave in Pennsylvania history" and "a defund-the-police Marxist." He called him "a spoiled and entitled socialist loser." We're told he "leeched off his parents’ money" — "You know he lives on the parents’ money until he was 49 years old."

But here's how the drug-use charge pops out:
Fetterman supports setting loose one out of every three inmates in your prisons, and he bragged that his goal is to get as many criminals out onto the street as quickly as possible. Fetterman supports taxpayer funded drug dens and the complete decriminalization of illegal drugs, including heroin, cocaine, crystal meth, and ultra lethal fentanyl — and by the way, he takes them himself— which would mean death and despair for every community in Pennsylvania and every community in the United States of America....

Why did Trump say that? There are many possibilities:

1. Trump is an out-of-control blurter, who might say anything, for virtually no reason at all.

2. Trump has some evidence that Fetterman is a user of illegal drugs.

3. Trump is guessing that Fetterman is a user, and he's putting drug use in issue to see what happens. Will Fetterman deny it? Then people will fact check him, informants may come forward. Why wouldn't they? There's so much at stake. He remembers what happened to Brett Kavanaugh. Why not attract some of that kind of action?

4. He was riffing, stirring up a cloud of fear of crime and disorder and drug use and putting Fetterman in the center of that chaos: Fetterman is wearing a dirty sweatsuit! Fetterman leeches off his parents! Fetterman is a socialist loser! Fetterman uses drugs! It sticks in the mind. That's how you do political rhetoric... if you're Trump.

127 comments:

gilbar said...

well, as our well known commenter Igna said, in her well known comment:
Can You PROVE, that it DIDN'T Happen?

Robert Cook said...

America should decriminalize all drugs, and provide addicts with access to health programs that will help them manage or cease their drug use. It would be cheaper and more humane.

Sebastian said...

Maybe a few nice women will think it's not nice to do drugs. Maybe a few nice women will think it's not nice to accuse someone of using drugs "without evidence."

But for most Dems it won't matter. After all, they're fine with Joe. If an incoherent disabled stroke victim votes the right way, and drugs help him get through the day, more power to him.

And after the Passion of St. George, does anyone still care about "illegal drugs"?

Achilles said...

Fetterman has all the hallmarks of a rich white drug user.

I don't really have a problem with Fetterman's drug use.

He should be jailed or exiled or executed for his Marxism though.

Dave Begley said...

Well, Fettermsn is a public figure. And think of the things the Dems have accused Trump of.

Robert Marshall said...

If Fetterman does NOT use illegal drugs from the list recited, should he sue Trump for slander and defamation?

Admittedly, such claims have a high bar with a public figure (which Trump certain is): the false statement (slander) was said knowing it is false, or with reckless disregard of its truth.

Still, what will people say if he fails to sue Trump? That he doesn't sue because it is true?

And if he does sue, what does that do to his campaign? There's not enough time left in the campaign for the lawsuit to shake out definitively, unless there is a whistleblower out there who rats out Fetterman.

Did Trump say something that will make things harder for Fetterman? Tough choices to make?

RideSpaceMountain said...

Nothing would surprise me about that slingblade looking sob. And considering how much of a disaster his election would be for PA and the rest of the country, that should. E the least of people's worries.

D.D. Driver said...

After crudité thing, why attack people wearing sweat suits? It's full on snobs versus slobs. I've watched enough eighties movies to know the slobs always win.

Sally327 said...

Illegal drugs can cover a lot of ground. Maybe Fetterman smokes marijuana without a prescription.

Big Mike said...

Number 3, with a little bit of number 4.

@Althouse, like me, you went to a large college during the sixties, and you were in New York City in the 1970s. Look at pictures of Fetterman. Do you not recognize a druggie when you see one?

Ann Althouse said...

"America should decriminalize all drugs, and provide addicts with access to health programs that will help them manage or cease their drug use. It would be cheaper and more humane."

I think Trump laid out an invitation to be picked up exactly like you just did.

It's a trick.

Spiros said...

Fentanyl use is characterized by decreases in food consumption and a tremendous decrease in body weight. Fetterman isn't a skeletal junky. He is obese.

mikee said...

As said by an acquaintance about a hot, steaming pile of a messed up, drug-abusing college student I knew way back when, "If he behaves that way because he's high on drugs, it makes me more sympathetic to him than if he's like that while clean and sober."

Fetterman needs an excuse for his behavior. Really, really needs an excuse for it.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

After every vile lie tossed at Trump - so what?

Fetterman is a white left skinhead - and he probably does do drugs in his mommy's basement.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Cook - In my formerly safe down - drug zombies and drug transient bike thieves roam the streets at will.

No treatment anywhere to be found. We have empty beds at the local shelter - because needles and meth, and fentynal are not allowed.

Yet as our taxes go up - and the dems promise more for the druggies - the rest of us are facing record property theft and increased bouts of violence. In fact an elderly woman was attacked in daylight by one of these drug transients.


Ann Althouse said...

"Well, Fettermsn is a public figure."

I considered discussing the defamation question, but decided not to because it's pretty obvious Trump doesn't care.

In answering my question, why did Trump say it, where would you put this factor of a possible defamation lawsuit? It strikes me as so unlikely to be filed that the only issue is whether anyone count the failure to sue as a reason to believe the accusation. I don't think they should, because I can't imagine F trying to prove that it's false, which he would have to do.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Hilarious - The entire collective left concocted a fake Russian collusion story...(nexus Hillary - the real Russian asset) The enite collective left ignore Bobulinski - who has proof that Biden belongs in prison.

the collective left lie non-stop about anything they want to lie about... including


Trump accuses a white left skinhead in a hoodie of drug use. oh no!
who cares.

Big Mike said...

It strikes me as so unlikely to be filed that the only issue is whether anyone count the failure to sue as a reason to believe the accusation.

Not to mention discovery and leaks to the New York Post.

gilbar said...

including heroin, cocaine, crystal meth, and ultra lethal fentanyl

If you think that Fetterman hasn't used cocaine... You're REALLY stupid
I'm basing this on the fact, that he's a wealthy white male in america

Big Mike said...

I've watched enough eighties movies to know the slobs always win.

Only in the movies, son. Only in the movies.

Humperdink said...

PA liberals couldn't care less about Festerman's drug use. It's rampant inflation for these illegal drugs that are of deep concern for PA Dems.

Richard Aubrey said...

Most of the negatives for drug users result from the illegality. The illegality markup is a financial burden. The possibility of being arrested is a burden. The possibility of a bad dose is always overhead. A conflation of several of these can mess up your loved ones.
The cumulative effect of drug use absent the preceding burdens is a separate issue.
When the negatives are taken away by legalization and regulation and generously-funded targeted health care, that leaves only the up sides. That is the "rush" or the equivalent without withdrawal symptoms from inability to procure more drugs, or another effort to break free.
No reason not to expect additional, long-term drug use.
Whether this is better or worse for society than the externalities of illegality will be seen, I suppose. But it won't disappear, just change form.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

I'm sick of Trump - but after every lie tossed out by the corrupt left - From the FBI to the Merrick Revenge Klan Society - I really do not give a crap about any democrat running for office.
they are all part of the problem.

While Left skinhead hoodie Fetterman is yet another leftist puppet - who may very well be installed even though his stroke has thus far ruined his ability to speak. (btw- if a Republican had a stroke - wouldn't they be out by now? ) )) Who needs to speak and communicate in the Senate on team D - when all you are there for is a loyal vote for Team Merrick Revenge Society/ Biden Potemkin Crook Party.

Bob Boyd said...

Fetterman could say, "When I was in Philly I experimented with heroin, cocaine, crystal meth, and ultra lethal fentanyl a time or two and I didn't like it and didn't inject and never tried it again."

Mr Wibble said...

It's hardly the first time a politician has been accused of some sort of awful behavior by his opponents. And it's a pretty tame accusation.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

What if it is true?

btw- EVERYTHING on the LEFT is "YOU HAVE NO PROOF!"

Amazing how that works. every. single. time.

J Melcher said...

Among the issues that I hate to see ignored, I prioritize the failure of our prisons to accomplish ANY of the missions for which they were supposedly designed. Trump claims Fetterman opposes lifelong custody without the possibility of parole. So, is the alternative releasing incorrigible prisoners, or restoring capital punishment? I've seen stats purporting to show that the majority of those who've been sent prison twice (or more) were convicted of more serious crimes and received longer sentences for their second (or higher) stint in custody. The CLINTON-era policy gave us "three-strikes" sentencing guidelines under "Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994". So prisons have filled up (over-filled) with prisoners increasingly likely to offend if released.

Now what?

Trump raises the problem but doesn't propose solutions. Not yet, anyway.

Carol said...

"and provide addicts with access to health programs"

What if they don't want your bloody "program"? What if they'd rather buy another legal 8-ball and get high?

SF is offering all sorts of help and the addicts just take the free cookies and needles and say thanks no thanks.

The big issue now is over mandatory treatment.

Spiros said...

Oh my God, the liberals are going to demand "independent" fact checkers for political speech. We're Americans! The people are the ultimate arbiters of political truth. Let the people of Pennsylvania decide if Fetterman is a junky scumbag.

Carol said...

The problem with out-and-proud potheads is that they ultimately experiment with mushrooms, Ayahuasca and who knows what and that muddies the water considerably for a jury.

Just going by what Scott Adams sez.

Humperdink said...

Why are there so many homeless on the streets? Drug use. This is not arguable. Fetterman would be homeless without his wealthy liberal family providing him a place to live. Ergo, Fetterman is a doper. That was easy.

Carol said...

"Most of the negatives for drug users result from the illegality."

San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle would have a word with you.

jim5301 said...

Extra Extra, Hold the Presses - Donald Trump accuses without evidence political opponent of breaking the law!!

Rusty said...

Althouse said,
"In answering my question, why did Trump say it, where would you put this factor of a possible defamation lawsuit?
Not much of a factor. Trump knows as do you. You can call just about anybody running for office, especially a democrat, a liar and a thief and not fear getting sued. Most middle class men and women of a certain age have taken drugs as well. With Fetterman, a man who spent much of his adulthood with no job and living in his parents basement, it's a pretty good guess that he was getting high and not inventing stuff.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

https://triblive.com/news/health-now/gisele-fetterman-gets-personal-about-her-medical-marijuana-use/

Two years ago the Fetterman’s were open about Giselle’s use of “medical marijuana,” but he currently denies being a user. Few of these vociferous “Legalize it!” fanatics are NOT users in my SoCal experience. Very few. That being said I’ve read he was “a stoner living on his parents couch playing video games until he was 50.” Quick search today only yielded articles confirming his wife still uses, but given Big Tech weighting all results in Democrats’ favor that means nothing. You really think he gave it up to run for Senate? Not enough data to make a call but fair game for Trump given Festerman’s many favorable (I’d say pie in the sky type) statements about weed. Not one state met the revenue goals they promised pre-legalization. Not one.

M Jordan said...

The world I grew up in, its virtues, its taboos, no longer exists. Porn is fine, riots (of the right kind) are good, Christianity is white supremacy, drug use is hip, tattoos are beautiful, gambling is cool, fast food is evil, boys are girls, dogs are children, oil is criminal, the earth is boiling, premarital sex is mandatory, America is inherently evil, Biden isn’t a complete dickhead, the FBI is rotten … and on and on. The only constant: Russia remains the heart of darkness though for different reasons.

Me, I’ve decided to go deeper into my investigation of the eternal verities. My Bible has come alive. Shakespeare is wiser than ever.“Look at your fish!” the professor told Samuel Scudder. I’m looking and looking and looking.

Andrew said...

I'm no expert. But from what I've seen of Fetterman actually speaking, I don't buy that his bizarre style is due simply to stroke recovery. Just a hunch, but I thought that his peculiar mannerisms were evidence of drug use before Trump made this accusation.

Owen said...

The solution to the over-incarceration problem is obvious. So is the solution to the over-criminalization of drug use.

In fact it’s the same solution for both; and the same solution at which the British Empire arrived in the 1700’s.

It’s “transportation.” Back then, to America (until we broke away) and then to Australia. (Read “The Fatal Shore,” by Robert Hughes.)

And today, even as we debate here, our modern version is emerging.

Mars awaits.

Lurker21 said...

Trump was riffing, but he I suspect he saw comments somewhere on the internet about Fetterman's probable drug use. I don't think he has any actual evidence, but remember the talk about Trump doing cocaine at Studio 54 in the old days? No evidence there either. Come to think of it, remember Russiagate? Trump is still funny, but still not disciplined. I doubt he could get himself elected again.

"I'm for boring" didn't work out so well. Sooner or later everything and everyone is boring. Even Trump. And "boring" and "back to usual" are just smokescreens concealing the outrages and power grabs of the current regime.

Buckwheathikes said...

"Romney didn't win, did he?" - Former Democrat Senate Majority leader Harry Reid, on whether or not his accusation that Mitt Romney paid no taxes was true or not.

Tit, meet tat.

It doesn't matter whether Fetterman is, or is not, a drug addict. What will matter is whether the accusation works. We shall see.

Incidentally, we didn't write this paybook. The Democrats wrote this playbook. We're just operating by the rules they wrote. Because fuck you.

Howard said...

Trump's Depends bulge has gotten bigger. Leaked Secret Service reports indicate Donald has gone on a comfort food binge and purge ever since the Mara Lago humiliation. Trump is emetophobic so he is forced to purge by overdosing on ExLax.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Here in CO - our AG - Phil Weiser(D) is OK with car theft (which is off the charts ) up to the 3rd or 4th car! Cool if you're a car thief.

Steal one car, get the second free!

Will Cate said...

Two hours? That's nuts. And Oz had to speak after that? That's even more nuts.

Nobody said...

Fetterman supports taxpayer funded drug dens and the complete decriminalization of illegal drugs — including heroin, cocaine, crystal meth, and ultra lethal fentanyl — and by the way, he takes them himself..."

Why did Trump say it? 100% #4 Ms. Althouse! You nailed it with that one: Trump is a true Showman, Master of Ceremonies, and Ringmaster, and his rallies are his favorite type of Circus. People love his brand of poking the overlords in the eye...God knows most career politicians deserve it.

Trumps oratory style, high energy, and truth bombs to power from the perspective of "the little guy" has made politics fun again for us conservative proletariats. Not necessarily productive, but funny at times.

My question to you Ms. Althouse: What's your point? All of your responses were simply alternate criticisms of Trump, w/o any serious reflection on the fact set. Laser focus on these words: taxpayer funded drug dens (clinics) AND complete decriminalization of all deadly drugs.

Did you learn nothing from the Opioid epidemic? Do you know anything about the rates of depression, anxiety and addiction disorders in the USA? Trumps point is valid no matter how bombastic or crude to highly educated minds. Releasing more criminals from prison alongside legal hard drugs and GOV RUN clinics where users can get a fix for Free? Gov sponsored suicide in the end...but how many innocents will those addicts & criminals take along their drug addled journey? Insane policy!!! We need more CONTROL OVER OUR GOVERNMENT, and less gun, body and mind control from them.

I guess this is just a humor post. Perhaps not a serious question. Trump may be outrageous in his delivery to provoke a reaction, but he does make a point. I may have earned a PhD but I came from a poor upbringing amidst substance abuse. Most kids from abusive homes do not succeed in life life I did...many die young and/or in prison.

Yancey Ward said...

Based on visual and auditory inspection of Fetterman, it is all but certain that he uses cannabis- I would say he is a habitual user of long standing at 99% certainty. He reminds me of all the dopeheads I have known in my life, and I have known a good number of such people.

Mark said...

Well known liar spouts another lie, sycophants don't care.

Not sure why it's even worth a blog post.

Iman said...

Fetterman just gettin’ up on the downstroke!

Yancey Ward said...

A hard truth is likely this- the best approach is to legalize all the illegal drugs, including fentanyl and its derivatives, and the bulk of problem would probably take care of itself inside of 2-5 years as people do the George Floyd.

lonejustice said...

This is my concern about the midterm elections. Everything has to be about Trump. All we have to do to win is hammer on the poor economy and high inflation, the rise in crime with the "defund the police" mantra of the Democrats, and more school choice and parental control of education. We do this and we win. Tucker Carlson has also talked about this.

But instead we get Trump, Trump, Trump. Executing drug dealers. Saying your opponent is addicted to drugs. Saying your opponent wears dirty sweatpants. Everything always has to be about Trump.

The Dems do NOT want to run on the economy, crime, or education. They want the midterms to be all about Trump. They are laying a trap, and my fear is that Trump and his more ardent supporters are falling into it.

I voted for Trump twice and will vote for him a third time if he's on the ballot. But the midterms should not be all about Trump.

Douglas B. Levene said...

Raise your hand if you are shocked by Trump lying through his teeth about his political opponents. Me, neither.

hpudding said...

..why did Trump say it..?

Because he’s belligerent, doesn’t live in reality and gets off on being outrageous and testing his followers’ gullibility.. He also said windmills cause cancer. (Before attempting to force utility companies to buy coal at uncompetitive, anti-capitalistic prices).

He pushed the horrible charlatan Oz candidate by identifying with his sleazy Hollywood image and can’t stand to see him that far behind his much more authentic, plain-spoken opponent.

Years from now people will look back at these posts and the elaborate theories concocted to deal with much simpler realities - in this one what basically amounts to a narcissistic, power-hungry, slick and desperate liar who will say anything to “win” Pyrrhic victories at all costs fueled by nothing but ego. But the responses of the commenters show that only a complete ignorance of the actual race is common enough to entertain exactly that.

Insulting a decent man like Fetterman will not work, but that’s not the point. Trump feeling more engaged in his belligerence as he activates his equally belligerent, out-of-state, out-of-touch base is the only point. It’s all psychology. A loser psychology.

Aggie said...

But John Fetterman is a known stoner! He used to hang marijuana flags outside of his office balcony when he was Lt. Governor, and he hung them from his office door as well. What kind of a specious argument is this? The guy has a reputation for it, but let's criticize Trump for bringing it up? Shaking my head.

AMDG said...

Just note that Senator Fetterman will. E all on Trump. If he hadn’t endorsed Oz this race will look entirely different.

Between Georgia in 2020 and his endorsements this year it is quite obvious that Trump wants Chuck Schumer to be Senate Majority Leader.

Michael K said...

Still, what will people say if he fails to sue Trump? That he doesn't sue because it is true?

Lyndon Johnson wanted to call his opponent in an election a "pig fucker." His aides were opposed to the tactic and he said, "I just want to hear him deny it."

ConradBibby said...

I would go with the libertarian impulse of decriminalizing drug use if the harm caused by drugs was confined to the individual user. If that were the case, I would look at it like body piercing or something: "Whatever, dude." However, it's a well documented fact that drugs destroys families and ruins neighborhoods. Given the immense ripple effects, there's no reason society should tolerate -- let alone support -- drug use. I have no problem with the government paying for programs to help people get off drugs. But that can't be the only solution, because those programs already exist and yet seem to be only barely effective in solving the overall drug problem in this country.

Kate said...

Fetterman is creepy. He's had a stroke and hides his occupational therapy from the public (and the press lets him). Why not go after him hammer and tongs? Get him to speak honestly about his recovery.

You know, reading Trump's speech and this attack, ah. Love the man. He speaks what we feel but are too afraid to voice.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Our leaders + Soros and mega Drug companies did this

hpudding said...

What if they don't want your bloody "program"? What if they'd rather buy another legal 8-ball and get high?

Free will vs. a will corrupted by subservience or substance abuse must be a heck of a concept for anyone addicted to Trumpism to understand.

gspencer said...

Fetterman, with his tats, menacing face and bald scalp, along with his ghetto-wear style of dressing, is an example sent over from Central Casting to play,
--- a longshoreman of the 1940s
--- a bouncer at a low-end club
--- a serial rapist/killer posing as a vagabond traveling the country
--- a retired prison guard

And just wait until you hear what he thinks, stroke-enhanced, and how government should be involved in more and more of our lives.

And yet, hard to believe, he is on the ballot to become a US Senator!

Unknown said...

Thats how he had a stroke. Notmal 40-something year old men don't have strokes.

Jupiter said...

"America should decriminalize all drugs, and provide addicts with access to health programs that will help them manage or cease their drug use."

Oregon essentially decriminalized most drugs, and a lot of addicts do seem to be managing their drug use. That is, they manage to use drugs. They have to steal a hell of a lot of stuff to do it, but I guess that comes under "access to health programs", right?

Old and slow said...

"Blogger Richard Aubrey said...
Most of the negatives for drug users result from the illegality."

If you really believe this statement to be true, then the best I can say is that you are shockingly uninformed. Truly, you have no clue. I speak from a position of some familiarity with hard drug use. Illegality is the very least of the negatives associated with drug use. In fact, as unpleasant as getting arrested and prosecuted may be, it is often the only thing that can successfully get a person off drugs. Drug users like doing drugs. They do not want to stop. That is why all the free voluntary treatment programs in the world would do little to end addictions. Drug treatment and testing coupled with a real threat of serious prison time can be wonderfully effective at motivating a person to stay clean. I know it saved my life.

Having said all of that, I am philosophically opposed to all drug laws for adults. I just think that drugs and drink are disastrously bad and best avoided.

Narr said...

Fatterman is definitely a druggie. It's obvious.

Unknown said...

A stroke in your 40s is evidence of hard drug abuse

West TX Intermediate Crude said...

J Melcher-
There are no solutions, only trade-offs.
No, I did not come up with that, someone far smarter than I, T. Sowell, did.
We have to learn from experience, and from people who are smarter than we are.
Experience teaches us that Prohibition is counterproductive. We did not pay attention.
Another Sowellism:
We have replaced what works with what sounds good.
Let's start learning from smart people (as opposed to the 27 year old credentialed know-nothings).

John henry said...

St Croix,

Do you have a link about trump not paying for the music?

Nothing about that in the link you posted. It indicated that kieth Richards was mad 33 years ago about a gig trump promoted and how it was billed Donald Trump presents the Rolling Stones.

Seems like that's an issue their manager should have negotiated in the contract. Kr needs to be mad at the manager not trump


Kieth has mellowed, the article says, and now likes to president trump.

Nothing about not paying.

So was your comment misinformation or disinformation?

It was certainly dishonest.

John stop fascism vote republican Henry

West TX Intermediate Crude said...

Unknown:
A stroke in your 40s can be evidence of too many covid boosters.
- every physician 5 years from now.

Drago said...

AMDG: "Between Georgia in 2020 and his endorsements this year it is quite obvious that Trump wants Chuck Schumer to be Senate Majority Leader."

The pathetic excuse mongering on behalf of a thoroughly corrupted Raffensberger, which was on full display for all GA republican voters, and a weak Jeb-like Kemp isn't fooling anyone AMDG.

And the added proof of Raffensberger's corrupt Zuckerburg-funded dem-lite staff going Full Schiff and lying about the phone call with Trump for months and months until the actual transcript was released and exposing the lies speaks for itself.

AMDG is here to fight tooth and nail to support the party of Bush/Cheney/Rove/Ryan/Romney and to cast all blame elsewhere.

It ain't working AMDG. You'll have to come up with something else, and Spoiler: Calling for Nikki Haley isn't "it".

Big Mike said...

Insulting a decent man like Fetterman will not work

Fetterman is decent? Were you drunk when you wrote that?

Drago said...

I will say this for Kemp in GA. Unlike the POS Raffensberger and his bought-by-lefty-billionaire-bucks and pro-dem staff, Kemp played it much smarter.

Kemp recognized the republicans of GA saw the election corruption in real time, were demoralized at the lack of response by elected republican leaders and weren't going to be gaslighted into believing they didn't see what they saw. So, Kemp wisely courted the Trump wing and addressed, belatedly and not enough but at least somewhat, the obvious electoral corruption that Raffensberger and his staff proudly and loudly enabled.

rcocean said...

So, Fetterman is in favor decriminalizing all dangerous narcotics, and letting criminals out on no=bail and defacto open borders and overall 100 percent support for the Schumer agenda.

But, the most important thing is that Trump made an unsupported charge against Fetterman? Maybe Trump should have called Fetterman a traitor, a crook, or a nazi, or racist, or a fascist who wants to destroy American Democracy. Because that seems to be acceptable rhetoric today. When its said against Trump and Republicans.

Anyway, I doubt Fetterman cares about being called a drug addict. Democrats - do - not - care. They are not morally opposed to the use of illegal drugs. And would legalize most drugs tommorrow, if possible. Hell, Fetterman would probably invest in a company that sold legal Heroin. Why not? First legalize MJ for Big $$, then all the others.

WE need to be real. Fetterman - the person - is irrelevant. When he gets in the senate he will do what schumer wants, and vote in lockstep with Schumer 99 percent of the time. Just like 49/50 D Senators do. Vote for Fetterman and you're voting for Schumer. Vote for a D congressman and you're voting for Pelosi. what they say on the campaign trail is meaningless. When they get to DC, they will vote in lockstep.

Like all the D's do.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Fetterman is a known Stoner?

How dare Trump lie!

Birches said...

Very interesting to see all the new commenters here on this post.

realestateacct said...

If rich white skin head with tattoos and odd affect is not a drug user it would be unusual.

Drago said...

hpudding: "Free will vs. a will corrupted by subservience or substance abuse must be a heck of a concept for anyone addicted to Trumpism to understand."

Interesting comment from the party whose leader just told you on national TV that deviation from the approved majority opinion makes you an extremist and and should make you an outcast.

rcocean said...

Fetterman, the person, is a dangerous clown. In a sane country he would never be a US senator. But the Democrat voters don't care. They would vote for Jack the Ripper if he was Democrat. Unlike the R voters, the D's have their eyes on the prize.

Just support the D policies. Suppport Schumer and Biden. You can be drug-addeled stroke victim. you can drive a woman off a bridge and leave her to die. you can steal millions. You can be a complete degerante who laughs at the dumb goobers who vote you. Graft? Who cares!

The D's don't care. Just win, Baby. Just win.

Richard Dillman said...

Let’s see, should we legalize drugs. Let’s look at some of the results. A while back, the state of Oregon decriminalized possession and use of hard drugs. The last I heard, about 10% of the population was now addicted to hard drugs. When I taught at the University of Oregon
in the late 70’s, marijuana was decriminalized, and students routinely smoked it on campus. Consequently, there were clouds of marijuana smoke in the several campus areas. It was common to smell and breath in marijuana smoke while walking by groups of students. Sometimes the effects of marijuana smoking carried over to the classroom. There are too many negative consequences to legalizing hard drugs that leftists are seemingly unable to predict, but I wonder how many of these consequences are intended.

Kate said...

A stroke at 40 in the era of covid no longer means what it used to. Brain blood clots and heart enlargement are the new normal for some. Especially with vaccine use.

Temujin said...

It's the 'I'm not a witch' political attack. Call someone a witch. Repeat it a dozen or so times, until they have to make a speech denying they're a witch and...the election is over.

It's been done using white supremacist, racist, wife beater, drinking problem, doesn't pay his taxes, etc. And each time someone had to at some point either answer the question asked by the media or in some cases, give a speech to deny that thing that didn't exist. To his end Harry Reid patted himself on the back for smearing Romney with the 'doesn't pay taxes' label.

The difference here is the political parties are reversed. The media, which doesn't ask questions about anything, does ask questions when it comes to Democratic smears on Republican candidates. I hardly expect them to ask Fetterman about his known drug use, but that might not matter. All of us know he uses. And with social media and a constant drumbeat, we can prove it. Well...maybe not prove it, but get it wedged into enough peoples minds that someone in the media might get around to asking about it.

Fetterman needs to come clean. We all know he's a witch. I mean, he uses drugs.

Mike Petrik said...

The problem with Cook’s prescription is that it assumes that legalization won’t increase the incidence of abuse and that most abusers will seek the available treatment. Both assumptions are dubious at best.

jim5301 said...

Drago -since you apparently pride yourself on not being an extremist, name a politician or two on the right who is more extreme than you. I won't hold my breath.

hpudding said...

Interesting comment from the party whose leader just told you on national TV that deviation from the approved majority opinion makes you an extremist and and should make you an outcast.

Well, I don’t recall ever defining myself as a party, but that approved majority opinion you cite was directed at the quarter of the country who is so loyal to their leader that he admits he could shoot someone on a busy street and not lose supporters. His chief consigliere has been disbarred, most of his White House attorneys and staff have abandoned him over his role inciting a riot to disrupt ballot counting for deciding the presidency and now over his claim that he can treat top secret material like whatever else he stashes away with his magazine collection in a country club.

So either you agree that he is not above the law or you don’t and the “approved majority opinion” is that he is not.

Most of his party in Congress agrees as well but are just too chicken to say it.

A republic defined by fear and lawlessness (at least for one man) either becomes a tyranny or anarchy.

gilbar said...

Aggie said...
But John Fetterman is a known stoner! He used to hang marijuana flags outside of his office balcony when he was Lt. Governor

Oh Come ON! If this was true, surely there'd be an internet record?
https://www.pennlive.com/news/2020/12/pas-lt-gov-fetterman-continues-to-display-marijuana-flag-from-capitol-office-despite-state-law.html
https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/john-fettermans-flags-fly-in-the-face-of-some-pennsylvania-lawmakers/
Pennsylvania Senate Race Becomes About Weed Legalization
‘I’m For Decriminalizing Across The Board’: John Fetterman Has Repeatedly Nodded

Dagwood said...

In Robert Cook's delusional little world, everyone who has a drug dependency problem will right their own ship and seek programs to help them kick the habit.

Dagwood said...

Is Trump trying to help Democrats flip the seat? Reason #1,112 why DeSantis is the saner choice for GOP nominee in 2024.

Lurker21 said...

Experts haven't seen people getting cancer from the noise of wind turbines, but they are concerned about the possible health effects from living in the vicinity of wind farms: headaches, nausea, sleep problems, night terrors, tinnitus, irritability, anxiety, concentration and memory problems, and issues with equilibrium.

Trump misspoke and deserved to be called out. A lot of the criticism looks a bit hollow now as we see what happens when countries try to rely on "safe, clean, renewable energy." The world isn't ready to dump coal and oil and gas and nuclear.

And, please, stop calling politicians "decent" just because you agree with them or because they aren't Trump. We have no idea how "decent" Fetterman is or isn't. Probably like most people, he's a mixture of good and bad, and like most politicians he stresses the good and hides the bad. After Biden, we shouldn't assume that being mentally challenged makes people saintly. The more important question is just how competent Fetterman is to hold high office now.

Achilles said...

ConradBibby said...

I would go with the libertarian impulse of decriminalizing drug use if the harm caused by drugs was confined to the individual user. If that were the case, I would look at it like body piercing or something: "Whatever, dude." However, it's a well documented fact that drugs destroys families and ruins neighborhoods. Given the immense ripple effects, there's no reason society should tolerate -- let alone support -- drug use. I have no problem with the government paying for programs to help people get off drugs. But that can't be the only solution, because those programs already exist and yet seem to be only barely effective in solving the overall drug problem in this country.


Why is it conservatives can only think of one solution to drug problems?

What is wrong with convincing more people to go to church?

I agree that some people need to end up in jail. But most drug users could be saved and would turn out just fine.

The problem with making drugs illegal and using police to suppress drugs is that it shifts criminality from people to the police force.

Our police force is increasingly supported by money and goods they seize from "drug dealers." Much of this is just money they take from poor people and it leads to more drug abuse.

Rollo said...

If you fly a "Don't Tread on Weed" flag, it's not too much of stretch to assume that you are a stoner.

Rabel said...

Fetterman could do a drug screen today and put the issue to rest.

gadfly said...

Unknown said...
A stroke in your 40s is evidence of hard drug abuse

Despite the fact that the non-name "unknown" is not accepted, here it is. Inventing statements must be the reason we are not to read "unknown" comments.

There are two main causes of stroke, neither of which is "hard drug use": a blocked artery (ischemic stroke) or leaking or bursting of a blood vessel (hemorrhagic stroke). The brain doesn't like this uninvited blood.

n.n said...

Can You PROVE, that it DIDN'T Happen?

A novel standard of justice progressed as a plausible burden of truth a la George "fentanyl" Floyd sociopolitical syndrome.

Ann Althouse said...

“ Fetterman could do a drug screen today and put the issue to rest.”

Yes, and it would be highly probative in a defamation suit because Trump spoke in the present tense.

Humperdink said...

Fetterman could do a drug screen today and put the issue to rest.

Nope. Step 1 would be Festerman take a daily drug to prove his innocence. Failing to do so, the FBI should raid his residence and scour all rooms for evidence. They should also subpoena his lawyers for questioning. Oh did I say, tap his phone? After all, the Festerman's opposition has asserted they have seen the evidence. That should be enough.

hpudding said...

"The world isn't ready to dump coal and oil and gas and nuclear.”

A world looking to avoid the fires, floods, famines and excessive heatstroke deaths that were much less prevalent during the 10,000 years civilization’s existed certainly is.

Trump doesn’t misspeak. He misinforms. And he never retracts a single piece of false information he’s made, which are innumerable. That’s how you can gauge his dishonesty. A misstatement is something that a decent person would retract or clarify. If you think the truth of what he says matters more to him than the reaction he can get from it you are naive about human psychology.

Instead, he doubles down. Because the only trait his admirers can praise is his ruthlessness. Decent people have limits.

Trump is authentic, but authentically indecent and dishonest. That’s why his Evangelical supporters were forced to justify his candidacy and presidency by abandoning moral traits as a prerequisite.

Fetterman is authentic, but decent enough to limit his lust for power and admiration to normal boundaries. That’s why Trump wants to brand him as lacking self-control. It won’t work.

walter said...

With his heart condition and weight, probably was multi-jabbed. But..can't go there. Nope.
From WAPOO:
"With five hours left to vote last month, John Fetterman’s Pennsylvania Senate campaign released a confusing primary day statement: He would undergo surgery before polls closed to install a pacemaker with a defibrillator following his recent stroke.
“It should be a short procedure that will help protect his heart and address the underlying cause of his stroke, atrial fibrillation (A-fib), by regulating his heart rate and rhythm,” the unsigned May 17 statement read.
That sentence, which campaign advisers say was approved by the hospital, raised more questions than it answered. Though pacemakers are sometimes used to treat patients with A-fib — an irregular heartbeat caused by the upper chambers of the heart — devices that include defibrillators typically are not.
“You would never use a defibrillator to treat atrial fibrillation,” said Christian Thomas Ruff, a Harvard Medical School associate professor and director of general cardiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. “The defibrillator is used to treat dangerous heart rhythms from the bottom ventricles.”
Advertisement
It would take 17 days for Fetterman’s campaign to explain the inconsistency. A letter from his cardiologist, released Friday, said that the defibrillator had been installed to treat a previously undisclosed cardiomyopathy, first diagnosed in 2017, that decreased the amount of blood his heart could pump.
On May 17, Gisele Barreto Fetterman, wife of Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D), accepted the Democratic nomination for Senate on behalf of her husband.
The fact that Fetterman, 52, and his campaign won the nomination without fully disclosing the extent of his physical maladies has raised concerns among Democrats that there may be more bad news to come, potentially endangering the party’s hopes for retaining Senate control this fall. The politician, whose advisers have pitched him as an “authentic, straight-talking, no-B.S. populist” — sporting a shaved pate, graying goatee and Carhartt sweatshirts — now faces the challenge of explaining the confusion to voters.
Fetterman, currently Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, responded Friday with a more expansive written statement, making clear that he “almost died” from the stroke, was still not fully recovered and had seen the error of not taking prescribed medication to treat his heart condition starting in 2017.
“I didn’t do what the doctor told me,” he wrote. “But I won’t make that mistake again.”
Fetterman says he "almost died" after ignoring heart condition

walter said...

cont.
His campaign advisers say they have been working to be as transparent as possible. According to one adviser, Fetterman’s campaign only found out about the surgery on the morning of the primary, and doctors never mentioned the separate heart condition at the time. Doctors described the defibrillator as “like an insurance policy,” the adviser said.
Spokespeople for Lancaster General Hospital did not respond Saturday to a request for comment.
“We have no doctors on our campaign team,” said Rebecca Kirszner Katz, a senior adviser for the Fetterman campaign. “We have been learning about these conditions and explaining them in real time.”
The concerns have been magnified by the progress of his stroke recovery after his wife, Gisele, described his situation on election night as “a little hiccup” and predicted her husband would be “back on his feet in no time.” The campaign adviser said the stroke was serious, and that Fetterman had escaped serious effects largely because of his wife’s early intervention and his proximity to the Lancaster hospital, where he received prompt treatment.
His physical well-being has improved since the stroke.
“He is walking a few miles daily,” Katz said.
He has, however, still not appeared in public, and his appearances on video released by the campaign have shown him speaking only a few sentences at a time. His ability to have conversations rapidly has not fully recovered, though he is improving and doctors still predict a full recovery.
Two Democratic political consultants — who like others for this story spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations and a sensitive issue — worried that the campaign’s handling of Fetterman’s health would undermine his image as a straight talker."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/04/inside-john-fettermans-changing-health-scare-story/

Jim at said...

I find the reactions of the leftists on this board highly amusing.

Why, it's almost as if they've been asleep for the last six years.

AMDG said...

Blogger Drago said...
AMDG: "Between Georgia in 2020 and his endorsements this year it is quite obvious that Trump wants Chuck Schumer to be Senate Majority Leader."

The pathetic excuse mongering on behalf of a thoroughly corrupted Raffensberger, which was on full display for all GA republican voters, and a weak Jeb-like Kemp isn't fooling anyone AMDG.

And the added proof of Raffensberger's corrupt Zuckerburg-funded dem-lite staff going Full Schiff and lying about the phone call with Trump for months and months until the actual transcript was released and exposing the lies speaks for itself.

AMDG is here to fight tooth and nail to support the party of Bush/Cheney/Rove/Ryan/Romney and to cast all blame elsewhere.

It ain't working AMDG. You'll have to come up with something else, and Spoiler: Calling for Nikki Haley isn't "it".

9/5/22, 11:02 AM

———————————
1. Notice how Dragqueen refuses to address Trump’s bizarre and destructive endorsements.

2. When it comes to Kemp and Raffensberger all I can say is scoreboard. Georgia Republicans overwhelmingly rejected Trump’s lies in the primary.

3. I clearly stated that while I like Haley I believe DeSantis is the better candidate. I am looking forward to Dragqueen’s screeds labeling DeSantis a RINO. All in service to his lord and master, the Fat Tub of Goo.

walter said...

It might be illustrative if we had both Executive and Legislative branch "pee in a cup" instead of going through metal detectors.
I mean, let's learn what Joementia's Juicers are doing to continue this Weekend At Bernie's bit.

Michael K said...

A republic defined by fear and lawlessness (at least for one man) either becomes a tyranny or anarchy.

Nice to see you agree about Biden and his Reichstag speech.

Michael K said...

Ann Althouse said...

“ Fetterman could do a drug screen today and put the issue to rest.”

Yes, and it would be highly probative in a defamation suit because Trump spoke in the present tense.


Unless it is positive.

Douglas B. Levene said...

Prof. Althouse, Is it true that the per se liability rule does not apply to libel of a public figure? That rule said that some statements were per se libelous and the only defense was to prove they were true. Wouldn't an accusation of illegal drug use be per se libelous? So does NY Times v. Sullivan turn this rule on its head and require the plaintiff to prove the statement was false? That's an impossible burden in a case like this--how could you prove that you never used illegal drugs? You'd need a video recording of every minute of your life.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Gadfly - read Temujin's post at 11:29

gilbar said...

Is Fetterman now denying that he smokes pot?
Will Fetterman deny that he smoke pot?
Does Fetterman think that pot isn't an illegal drug?

iowan2 said...

The first thing I thought

Senator Harry Reid "we won didn't we?"

Drago said...

jim5301: "Drago -since you apparently pride yourself on not being an extremist, name a politician or two on the right who is more extreme than you. I won't hold my breath."

Define "extremist", preferably while holding your breath.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

drug screens are meaningless.

Drago said...

hpudding: "Well, I don’t recall ever defining myself as a party, but that approved majority opinion you cite was directed at the quarter of the country who is so loyal to their leader that he admits he could shoot someone on a busy street and not lose supporters."

Trump "admitted" no such thing. He quoted a tongue in cheek comment from soneone else. So your lies continue apace.

Unexpectedly....

And your moronic and purposeful distortion comes on the heels of a very public New Soviet Democratical, Alec Baldwin, shooting a women point blank in the face in front of dozens of witnesses and walks away perfectly free.

And is cheered by the left.

The New Soviet Democratical projection is non-stop and accelerating.

exhelodrvr1 said...

That's how you do political rhetoric - if you're a Democrat.

Narr said...

Fatterman is a disgusting excuse for a human being, and obviously an abuser of many substances.

I know this because I'm not 14.

Spiros Pappas said...

Trump is not an anonymous online troll. This is not just incendiary rhetoric, it seems right. Mr. Fetterman, a worthless slob, throws off some creepy vibes.

Quaestor said...

Robert Cook writes, "It would be cheaper and more humane."

Any vastly more expensive and unjust to the 200 million sober, industrious taxpaying Americans whose livelihoods would be bled white to house, feed, clothe and generally coddle self-obsessed hedonistic parasites like John Fetterman, who would be one of the millions of malodorous criminal derelicts who infest our major cities like lice were it not for the riches his forebears accumulated.

Drago said...

jim5301: "Drago -since you apparently pride yourself on not being an extremist, name a politician or two on the right who is more extreme than you. I won't hold my breath."

There are 2 quite notable self-declared "conservatives" "on the right" (though many do not believe them) named Abraham Cheney (D-DC/Pelosi/Northern Va) and Adam "Tears Of A Clown" Kinzinger who are so extreme they do not believe in 4th amendment protections, Attorney-Client privilege, the ability to confront your accusers nor cross-examination of "witnesses" for their political opponents.

That seems pretty extreme to me.

Rusty said...

Dagwood said...
"In Robert Cook's delusional little world, everyone who has a drug dependency problem will right their own ship and seek programs to help them kick the habit."
I invite comrade Bob to wander around LA. Hell. Orange county for that matter.

Rusty said...

There was that "wagonbox" incident.

donald said...

“America should decriminalize all drugs, and provide addicts with access to health programs that will help them manage or cease their drug use. It would be cheaper and more humane”.

You got semi-close to Cook. Of course legalize all illegal drugs and release everybody from prison who is non violent. But, you get nothing from the taxpayers for treatment unless you sue. I’d find in your favor.

Mason G said...

Ann Althouse said...

“ Fetterman could do a drug screen today and put the issue to rest.”

Yes, and it would be highly probative in a defamation suit because Trump spoke in the present tense.

Unless it is positive.


If you haven't done anything wrong, you've got nothing to be afraid of.

Or so I'm told.

Yancey Ward said...

Dagwood wrote:

"Is Trump trying to help Democrats flip the seat? Reason #1,112 why DeSantis is the saner choice for GOP nominee in 2024."

This seat was lost the moment Pennsylvania moved to unlimited mail-in-voting. The Republicans could have nominated Jesus Christ and Philadelphia County would find enough ballots to defeat him statewide. There is no way the Democrats lose this race, and there never was.

hpudding said...

Let us herald the arrival of Trump’s mind-reader!
Apparently, like Scaramouche it is what he does with his tiny hands that one has to watch, for he governs his reason no better than he governs his tongue!
Every nasty manner of admission, ignorance or belligerence he utters is to be dismissed. (Which rules out pretty much everything he says).
It’s normal for presidents to “joke” about shooting people in Manhattan and getting away with it. (In broad daylight). Ha ha, so funny! You’d have to be as liberal as the founders to not find the funny in that!
Or maybe the point was that his followers *wouldn’t* let him get away with it. Who knows. Pick your own excuse when it comes to this guy.
Anyway, it’s good to see how far backwards Trump’s mind-reading defenders have to bend to basically tell us what everyone already knew: He’s not worth taking seriously. Or what he says is not worth taking seriously.
No crime he commits should be adjudicated, his disbarred consigliere Giuliani declares!
The real political calamity is that Alec Baldwin must somehow have the power of the presidency and summons scores of supporters to take over the government and disregard the courts. Oh, the horror.

Anyway, back to reality.

hpudding said...

First of all, Jesus Christ would be a horrible political leader.
Turning the drinking water into wine and inebriating every homeowner who simply turns on the tap.
Turning the other cheek as guns are indiscriminately proliferated into the hands of every goober with an anger-management issue. (Oh wait, the Republicans are already doing that).
Not fighting for lower taxes and just giving whatever Caesar demands.
Anyway, it’s funny to see a Trumpist complaining about Philadelphia “finding enough ballots.” Who talks like that? I mean, other than the guy who browbeats Georgia’s Secretary of State to “find me 11,780 votes!”)?
But that wouldn’t be enough for Pennsylvania. With the lies Sidney Powell and the Trumpists tell, why not pretend that trillions of votes are at stake?
Haven’t you learned from Trump by now? The bigger the lie, the more believable.
Billions of fraudulent votes! Quadrillions!
Yawn.

Drago said...

Poor hpudding. He/she/xe really had nowhere to go so it was kick up the mud and toss in the kitchen sink time!

Clearly a frustrating day for hpudding and the rest of the New Soviet Democraticals.

Drago said...

hpudding: "With the lies Sidney Powell and the Trumpists tell, why not pretend that trillions of votes are at stake?"

According to the Biden's Earpiece Administration, there have been "ten thousand million" "new" jobs created under Biden's Earpiece "leadership".

Gee, "ten thousand million" sounds like quite a few, eh hpudding?

Drago said...

I believe we now know which Althouse lefty New Soviet Democratical poster has been getting high with Fetterman.

Narr said...

"Yawn."

Indeed.

walter said...

"Anyway, back to reality."
Right. One where our compromised bought and paid for crime family, Inc president has no mind to read and can only read a teleprompter so long as the juice allows.
While you cling to some off the cuff remark from what..2016?
Who the fuck cares about that, you idiot.

hpudding said...

Sure, keep shooting the messenger. Why not?
Your leader is capable of nothing but ad hominem attacks, so apparently that’s the new role model.
Of course, it doesn’t help him in the courts, at the polls, in Congress, with his Vice President, or even the FBI. But everything is someone else’s fault. No responsibility for anything.
A perfect match with his GQP. Irresponsible sheep with an ideology of helplessness following an irresponsible leader.
Nothing to show for any of it but his big mouth. The same mouth spewing sewage about windmill cancer, bleaching the COVID out of your blood vessels, shooting people on Fifth Avenue (only to prove that his followers also have no morals and defend anything he does - tongue in CHEEK!) and anything else.
Not caring about hundreds of thousands of Americans dying, just whether he can “find” 11,780 votes for himself after they vote him out because of it.
And his closest lawyers are either disbarred, ex-cons, indicted or testifying against him.
Some leader. At least for people with no principles, anyway.