Major newspapers are more likely to endorse Democrats. It’s almost as predictable that Joe Biden likes ice cream or Donald Trump posting to social media.
One Sunday article in The Philadelphia Inquirer caught the attention. While it was not surprising that they endorsed Lt. Gov. who is mentally and physically incapacitated, we were intrigued by it. John Fetterman (D-Senate) was not the issue, but how ironically they claimed that Fetterman’s opponent, Republican Mehmet Oz is the “wholly unprepared person” to assume office.
The subhead was funny: “The Republican nominee Mehmet Oz is wholly unprepared for being the commonwealth’s U.S. Senator.”
There’s more to it than the “As Seen on TV” commercials. The headline says it all: “By many means, the first two-years of the Biden administration were fruitful for Pennsylvania.”
It would be funny if the economy was not so difficult with high grocery store prices, high gas prices and shorter paychecks. It isn’t.
What examples did The Inquirer give? “Prescription drugs,” money to “highways and bridges” and “clean-energy investment.” We aren’t experts on this, but it doesn’t seem like it addresses rising crime, food and energy prices, or rent.
The editorial board went on to explain “Why it is crucial for Pennsylvania voters that John Fetterman be elected to the U.S. Senate” citing the need to “protect abortion rights and restore the enhanced child tax credit, who has reduced hunger and poverty in our state as well as across the country.”
They didn’t say that the last two years were fruitful.
Two paragraphs in the middle of the article were dedicated to his stroke. The paper dismissed the concerns and argued that it “shouldn’t be inherently disqualifying” because Ben Ray Lujan (NM), and Chris Van Hollen(MD) had recently suffered strokes.
“Ffetterman can still function effectively after his stroke. Fetterman stated that one of the most difficult challenges in his recovery is auditory processing. This condition causes Fetterman to have difficulty understanding certain words and phrases, they said.
The left-wing rag said that it took him just a few seconds to understand a questioner correctly and then a few more to gather his thoughts and find the right words.
The Inquirer painted Oz as the one who is unable to take care himself. Their reasons for loathing Oz are not related to the economy, gas prices or inflation (i.e. These are the issues that matter most to voters.
Instead, they lied about Oz “refusing to commit to opposing an abortion ban” (even if he has said it should be left to the states) as well as suggesting that he was a far right conspiracy theorist regarding Donald Trump’s January 6, 2021 (despite knowing that he would have certified the 2020 election results).
Add to that their complaints about his positions on welfare and health care, and it was clear that this had nothing to do the top concerns of voters.
The Inquirer concluded with a Obama-like gush for Fetterman. He was described as having “an abundance of the kind values and priorities that are necessary to move the nation forward” who “would bring to Washington an understanding of the challenges facing Pennsylvanians.”
