John Fetterman, the 53-year-old lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, stands six feet nine inches tall and once weighed 400 pounds. Therefore, when Fetterman suffered a stroke in May, it complicated Democratic efforts to appoint a liberal Democrat to succeed Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Penn.), potentially delaying GOP hopes of regaining the Senate in the next midterm elections. Mehmet Oz, a 62-year-old former cardiothoracic surgeon who is now a multimillionaire celebrity talk show host, is Fetterman’s opponent in the race for the Senate. Fetterman is defending himself against claims made by Oz’s campaign that Fetterman is unfit to represent Pennsylvanians after having a stroke. Democrats claim that Fetterman’s severe hearing loss and expressive aphasia following his stroke are of little significance. Fetterman attempted to attribute Oz’s vicious assault on him to his post-stroke medical condition, which ought to be off-limits during the campaign.
While avoiding media attention, Fetterman’s campaign describes Oz’s attacks as horrific coming from someone with a disability as a result of his stroke. The Fetterman campaign, meanwhile, continues to claim that Oz actually comes from New Jersey and has no business being in office in Pennsylvania because of this. According to Fetterman’s campaign, he has “no physical constraints” following his stroke and does not suffer from memory loss or poor language understanding. In post-stroke instances, neurologists distinguish between Wernicke’s aphasia, which affects comprehension, and Broca’s aphasia [expressive], which affects speaking. According to Fetterman’s support group, he is currently collaborating with a speech therapist to address his speech difficulties. The campaign for Fetterman claims that because the American with Disabilities Act [ADA] protects his stroke, it would be unfair to point up any of his deficiencies.
Oz has been denigrated by Fetterman for months as a confederate from New Jersey who moved to Pennsylvania and is a real Carpetbagger. This week, Fetterman’s spokesman claimed, “Anyone who’s seen John speak knows that while he’s still healing, he’s more capable for fighting for Pennsylvania than Dr. Ox will ever be. Sen. Pat Toomey stated, “It’s just not feasible to be a successful senator if you can’t communicate” (R-Penn.). “John Fetterman can’t do this job; plain and simple. Former senator Rick Santorum claimed that the man was hiding in his basement and was unable to speak or think clearly (R-Penn.). The degree of Fetterman’s post-stroke deficiencies are unknown because his handlers forbid him from speaking to the public frequently. The Pittsburgh Post Gazette criticized the state’s lieutenant general for failing to fulfill his civic duty during a fiercely contested campaign when Fetterman’s team said they would not debate Oz.
Knives were drawn when Fetterman’s campaign declined Pittsburgh’s KDKA’s invitation to take part in a debate. In a press conference with Toomey, Oz stated, “John Fetterman is either healthy and he is avoiding the debates because he does not want to answer for his radical left beliefs, or he’s too sick to participate in the debate.” Finally, Fetterman consented to debate Oz, but only once, and only under his terms. He also requested closed captioning so he could see the questions. According to Fetterman, “we’re going to be able to sort things out. I was just simply one ever been about addressing some of the lasting concerns of the stroke, the auditory processing.” In stark contrast to hearing loss, Fetterman acknowledged having “auditory processing” issues. Therefore, voters are unaware of how much Fetterman’s stroke-related handicap still affects his capacity to perform his duties as a U.S. senator.
John Krakauer, head of the Johns Hopkins Center for the Study of Motor Learning, insisted on partisan neurologists defining the full scope of Fetterman’s condition and stating that linguistic issues and cognitive abnormalities should not be confused. In order to restore Fetterman’s reputation, specialists who support him are now using experts who support Democrats. “That’s simply being cruel. It is not supported by science. According to Krakauer, that would be like arguing that someone who stutters has cognitive difficulties. The attempt to avoid acknowledging Fetterman’s expressive aphasia and “auditory processing” issues as a result of his May stroke is made by getting technical. Fetterman must stop blaming post-stroke deficiencies on atrial fibrillation, whether or not it was the cause of the stroke. The fact that Fetterman struggles with speaking and hearing after his stroke cannot be disputed by any partisan expert, yet it is untrue.
Pennsylvania voters have gotten so partisanized that they are unable to recognize the actual dangers of electing a senator who has had a stroke to Capitol Hill. To remark that someone has post-stroke deficiencies and needs rehab and time to fully recover, if at all, is neither cruel nor politically incorrect. It’s OK to alert voters to actual shortfalls that might interfere with their ability to do their jobs, particularly in the U.S. Senate. Oz was painted by Fetterman’s campaign as a cold-hearted star who was only out to win votes. However, why does the Fetterman campaign claim that Oz has no business running in Pennsylvania because he was born and raised in New Jersey? According to Dr. Leah Croll of Temple University, “everyone who has a stroke will have their own unique healing path, therefore the only individuals who can determine fitness to work are the individual’s physicians.” So why not allow physicians to choose candidates for elective office?
Source: John M. Curtis – Rephrased by InfoArmed
John M. Curtis analyzes political impartial comments on local, national, and international events. He is the editor of OnlineColumnist.com and the writer of Operation Charisma and Dodging The Bullet.
