Last week, Drew Holden put together a quality thread — full of receipts, of course — comparing and contrasting the media’s treatment of ailing, cognitively impaired Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein with their treatment of ailing, cognitively impaired Democratic Sen. John Fetterman.
Well, wouldn’t you know it? Apparently MSNBC columnist Eric Garcia got wind of Holden’s thread, along with a handful of other “bad faith arguments” from conservatives contending that the media are shrugging off Fetterman’s myriad health problems while painting Feinstein as having one foot in the grave and needing to be sent packing immediately.
Garcia, for what it’s worth, thinks that the circumstances surrounding Fetterman’s issues and the ones surrounding Feinstein’s issues are totally different, and that conservative critics of Fetterman are being willfully obtuse because they just don’t care to understand the nuances of depression and disability.
Contrary to conservatives' bad faith arguments, Fetterman's issues aren't on par with Feinstein's. https://t.co/NwQHoVKCgj
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) May 23, 2023
In order for conservatives to acknowledge the distinctions between Feinstein and Fetterman, they might first have to acknowledge the validity of the ADA and disability rights. However, they have become outright hostile to the ADA in the three decades since Republicans including George H.W. Bush, Bob Dole and John McCain supported it. Acknowledging that Fetterman’s issues aren’t on par with Feinstein’s would also require them to admit that they’ve been acting in bad faith.
For eff’s sake, Eric:
Speaking of "bad faith arguments": "given conservatism’s increasing hostility toward people with disabilities." Give me a break.
— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) May 23, 2023
We wish Eric had given us a break. Alas, he wasn’t finished yet:
Fetterman may have slurred his words when he grilled Silicon Valley Bank’s executive, but the gist and the thrust of his argument could still be understood, as was the case when he spoke with other senators about invoking the 14th Amendment to end the standoff with Republicans over the debt limit. He’s also led the charge in opposing Republicans’ demand that work requirements be added to programs including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more commonly known as food stamps.
We heard what Fetterman said. We listened to it several times, in fact. And, despite the Washington Post’s attempt to translate what he said into intelligible English, the fact remains that Fetterman can barely make it through a single sentence, let alone a speech.
“Senator Fetterman with reasonable accommodations around communication, the speech-to-text-technology that he’s using, is fully able to make a full-throated defense of SNAP on behalf of Pennsylvanians in Americans everywhere,” [Matthew Cortland, a disability rights advocate and former recipient of SNAP who works for Data for Progress] told me.
At the same time, if Feinstein cannot remember that she was out of commission for so long, that would suggest she can no longer carry out the necessary requirements for her job. That would mean she should gracefully retire after a long, notable career of service.
Again, Fetterman’s remarks about SNAP were a jumbled mess.
And while it’s abundantly clear that Feinstein is no longer fit to serve in the U.S. Senate, it’s exceedingly intellectually dishonest — a bad-faith argument, you might say — to contend that Fetterman should remain while Feinstein goes. This from Garcia and other media liberals isn’t about concern for senators’ physical and mental health, because if it were, they’d be calling for Fetterman to resign as well.
Correct. In Feinstein's case, we never had a doctor's letter indicating her condition was no obstacle to serving her constituents in the Senate. In more political terms, the PA Sen's aphasia is no obstacle to judicial confirmations, which is what has lit a fire under the press. https://t.co/7fdyazaAxI
— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) May 23, 2023
This is about Feinstein not being able to physically show up to work to push Democratic policies through the Senate and confirm judges, while Fetterman still has some use as a puppet, albeit a 6’8 puppet. He can still be manipulated as long as he shows up to work in his sweats, even if he doesn’t realize where he is.
The comparison is they are both feeble and should not be Senators.
— Anvilhead64 (@47WillysCJ2) May 23, 2023
They’re both unfit. Don’t split hairs.
— Bercut Blunden (@sknabt) May 23, 2023
Neither has any business in the Senate. https://t.co/FYjy2Kf75c
— Anna James Zeigler (@ajzeigler) May 23, 2023
It’s obvious that both Feinstein and Fetterman belong under a doctor’s care and not in the U.S. Senate. Certainly not in positions of power.
And speaking of unfit people in positions of power:
Ok. What about Biden's? https://t.co/3FXsbeL9mN
— Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) May 23, 2023
What about Biden’s?
So it'd be fair to compare Biden and Feinstein, but not Biden and Fetterman. Did I get that right?
— Dave Kleikamp (@ShaggyKC) May 23, 2023
Yep, you got that right. Eric Garcia et al. are massive hypocrites.
***
Related:
John Fetterman’s performance at Senate hearing is a cry for help, even if he doesn’t realize it
***
