PA Senate Debate: Dr. Oz Supports State Legislatures' Right To Choose Terrible Abortion Bans
The debate gaffe of the political season.
Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and New Jersey's Dr. Mehmet Oz had their first and only Senate debate Tuesday night. They don't like each other very much. Fetterman acknowledged he had a stroke, which he says Dr. Oz will "never let me forget." Dr. Oz pretended he's a problem-solving centrist instead of a rightwing hack who appears regularly on Fox News and has Donald Trump's stamp of approval.
As an accommodation for Fetterman's known auditory processing issues — did you hear? he had a stroke! — professional typists transcribed the debate and two 70-inch monitors stationed above the moderators showed the text in close to real-time.
Dr. Oz was more comfortable in front of cameras, which would've been true even if Fetterman hadn't had a stroke. (Did you know? A stroke!)
PREVIOUSLY:
John Fetterman Had A Stroke And The Media Is Here To FREAAAK OUUUUT ABOUT IT!
Dr. Oz's Perfect Comeback HAHA, EAT A VEGETABLE, STROKE BOY! Not Going Over So Well, Huh
Dialing down expectations before the debate, Charlotte Alter at Time tweeted, "Fetterman has never been a good debater. Even before the stroke, he has always been a somewhat wooden debater (see: PA primary debate, pre-stroke.) He's not Pete Buttigieg." She explained that Fetterman's "vibe" was "talk like a normal person" and normal people are apparently not very eloquent.
Olivia Nuzzi, Washington correspondent at New York Magazine , remarked during the debate, "There is no amount of empathy for and understanding about Fetterman’s health and recovery that changes the fact that this is absolutely painful to watch."
It wasn't that bad. He had a stroke. There's no getting around that fact. He struggled with words on occasion, but he certainly cleared the low bar Republicans and the media set last week for Herschel Walker in the Georgia Senate debate. (Herschel Walker, to our knowledge, has not had a stroke.) Walker was conscious of his surroundings and didn't wet himself. That was enough for Republicans to claim Walker exceeded expectations and was fit to serve in the Senate with equally competent members such as Marsha Blackburn and Tommy Tuberville.
Erick Erickson whined about how hypocritical it was for Democrats to question Walker's competence while still supporting Fetterman after his debate performance. This is silly, of course, because Fetterman had a command of the issues even if his body betrayed him at times. Walker hooked-on-phonics his way through his debate and flashed a fake sheriff's badge. These are very different candidates.
Dr. Oz was in his element, but he nonetheless came across as a smarmy sleaze bag who sells snake oil, because he is.
SNAKE OIL! Oprah Is Not Responsible For Dr. Oz's Politics, But She Is Responsible For His Nonsense
He also had the major gaffe of the night during a discussion about abortion. He wouldn't directly answer whether he'd vote for Sen. Lindsey Graham's 15-week abortion ban and instead went on about states' rights. He said, "There should not be involvement from the federal government in how states decide their abortion decisions. As a physician, I've been in the room when there's some difficult conversations happening. I don't want the federal government involved with that at all. I want women, doctors, local political leaders letting the democracy that's always allowed our nation to thrive to put the best ideas forward so states can decide for themselves."
“Dr. Oz literally said tonight that he wants "local political leaders" (like his buddy Doug Mastriano) to decide whether or not women have access to safe + legal abortions That is EXTREME These critical decisions should be made between a woman and her doctor. Period.”
— John Fetterman (@John Fetterman) 1666750742
This was apparently a prepared statement. Dr. Oz doesn't want the federal government dictating abortion policy. That's the province of gerrymandered rightwing state legislatures, who've already passed draconian laws without actually consulting women or competent doctors.
PREVIOUSLY:
Georgia's Terrible Abortion Law Is Going On Trial Today
Who Are We Forcing To Give Birth Today? (Everybody, Basically)
Fetterman pounced on Dr. Oz's creepy comments: "If you believe that the choice of your reproductive freedom belongs with Dr. Oz, then you have a choice. But if you believe that the choice for abortion belongs between you and your doctor, that's what I fight for."
Some pundits still insist that Dr. Oz "won" Tuesday's debate and that if he wins, the blame will fall on Fetterman's team for letting him debate in his condition. This suggests that Fetterman could've refused to debate without these same pundits claiming that proved he was brain damaged. Fetterman had to appear on the debate stage, and this was arguably the best possible outcome. Dr. Oz provided a soundbite that's even more tone deaf than Democrat Terry McAuliffe's clunker about education during a Virginia gubernatorial debate. It's so damaging that Democrats can nationalize the remarks against other Republican candidates.
The debate showed that Dr. Oz is a smug creep, and there's no recovery from that particular condition.
[ New York Times ]
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Objective reality doesn't matter if it doesn't match the narrative. The reviews were pre-written.
This cynicsl ploy by Republicans of boldly lying about what they intend to do, just in order to win elections (or get confirmed as Supreme Court justices) needs to be called out more often, rather than this continued media acceptance of their bogus "pivot to the center"