A Little More About that Senate Dress Code

I voted for Mehmet Oz, not John Fetterman, in last year's race for the US Senate. I voted by mail, before the fateful debate in which Fetterman stumbled badly. But it was after I watched an interview with NBC. His cognitive ability and his extreme views bothered me. Not his attire. I frankly don't pay much attention to what's on the outside. It's what's inside that matters. Several of you are embracing this dress code as just another way to bash Fetterman. But I can tell you about two previous Pa politicians who preferred ordinary clothing to the required uniform of elitists. 

It's hard to drive through any county without stumbling across at least one school named after the 15th President of the United States. That's James Buchanan, a Franklin County native. He preferred the simple clothing worn in his agrarian community, and rejected what he called a "peacock parade" in which the United States had started to adorn its foreign ministers with military coats adorned with gold lace, a chapeau and a small sword. They called it the "livery of the American people." He  called it "ridiculous." 

When he himself was sent to the court of St. James, he refused to deck himself out with all the frills that elitists were wearing at the time. He offended many English bastard by dressing in the "simple, unpretending garb of the American citizen."  

I'll bet he even though those little American flag pins that everyone inside the Beltway wants to show off these days was never once worn by Buchanan. 

In addition to James Buchanan, we can look to one of our founding fathers who lived most of his life in Pennsylvania. Instead of decking himself in a powdered wig and frilly jacket, Benjamin Franklin preferred a simple dark purple jacket with a fur hat. His goal was to show American self-sufficiency and it actually caught on. 

So when you mock Fetterman's simple attire, you should know he is just following the lead of fellow Pennsylvanians James Buchanan and Ben Franklin. 

Biekenstocks Backtrack on Fetterman

On Monday, I told you that Lehigh University's Birkenstocks, who call themselves the South Side Initiative, were improperly using university resources to tacitly endorse John Fetterman's campaign for the US Senate.This is a clear violation of an IRS ban on political activity by 501c3 nonprofits. Given that most of these professors teach political science, they really should know better. But in their defense, they've been busy pretending that they're experts on urban planning

Yesterday, to her credit, Breena Holland apologized for improperly passing on news of Fetterman's Bethlehem visit.

Dear Friends of SSI:  It has been brought to my attention that a recent SSI email passing on information to you all about John Fetterman's visit to Bethlehem could imply an endorsement of his candidacy for US Senate by Lehigh University. Neither the SSI nor Lehigh University had any involvement in inviting, organizing, or funding Mr. Fetteman's visit to Bethlehem. While many people in the community and at the university have in the past discussed bringing Mr. Fetterman to Bethlehem to speak about urban revitalization, his opinions are neither those of Lehigh University nor sanctioned by Lehigh University.  Please accept my apologies for not clarifying this when I originally passed on the information about his visit to Bethlehem.  Sincerely,  Breena  (SSI Director)

Senatorial Candidate John Fetterman Visits Allentown

U.S, Senatorial candidate John Fetterman had a very friendly reception at the Allentown Brew Works on Saturday night. Most were there to cheer for Bernie Sanders in the Democratic Presidential Debate being shown on the big screen later that evening. You might say Fetterman was the undercard.

In person, he's just as big as he looks in video. He's the kind of guy I'd expect to see in a bar, but he looks more like an NFL lineman than a community organizer. I'd expect to see him at Big Woody's scarfing wings or Stahley's inhaling a few dozen steamed clams, not at a pub that makes and serves hand-crafted ales. I'd expect to hear him talk about the Eagles or the Steelers, not income disparity. With his tattooed arms, he might be even be a retired member of the Warlock or Pagan motorcycle gang, not someone who refurbished a bicycle and brings it to a lady who kicked heroin and needs transportation to and from her job.

Those tattoos, incidentally, have a story. On one arm is the Braddock zip code, where he is Mayor. On the other arm, he has the date of every person killed since he assumed office to a mostly ceremonial position after winning by one vote in 2005.

That one vote, incidentally, was a provisional ballot that counted.

Fetterman is originally from a rather well-to-do and Republican family in York."I'll be the first Democrat they ever voted for," he joked.

He night have been one of those Republicans himself but for a life-changing event during his last year in college, when his best friend died in an automobile accident. Fetterman joined Big Brothers and then ultimately went to work for Americorps. He worked in Pittsburgh and went from there to Braddock.

In just the last 13 years, Braddock has lost 26% of its population. It was a steel mill town and now has a population of about 2,100, not much larger than West Easton. It's 73% black has a per capita income of just $12,627.

His agenda is what I'd call working-class liberal, and his argument is that he's the only Democrat who can beat Pat Toomey. He's pro-Obama, pro-Obamacare, and favors a more compassionate view towards immigration. But he's also a gun owner, actually took his shotgun to respond to a robbery in his community and believes any gun reform needs to be based on a scientific study as opposed to emotion. He supports the legalization of marijuana, but decries the heroin epidemic.

His over-riding theme is inequality, whether it is in wages or living conditions.

I'm not crazy he attended the Pa Society Gala. because, as he said, that was where the "Pennsylvania political universe" is. Last time I checked, the Pa political universe is in Pennsylvania, and consists mostly of the very people who elected him, not the oyster-eating, tuxedo-wearing aristocrats.

Though he's very outspoken on domestic matters, he offered no comments about foreign policy and no one bothered to ask him any questions. That is the Achilles heel of both the Democratic party, President Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Fetterman has also been attacked for failing to file the required financial disclosure, but he claims it's on its way.

After giving his speech, Fetterman was soon back on the road for the five-hour trip to Braddock. He and his wife, a Brazilian immigrant, are the parents of three children.

Fetterman is running against Joe Sestak and Kathleen McGinty for the Democratic nomination in next year's race for the U.S. Senate. Allentown Mayor Edwin "Fed Ed" Pawlowski has suspended his campaign.

The presumptive Republican nominee is Pat Toomey.

Does Fetterman Have a Shot?

Most politicians look to see which way a crowd is going before deciding to follow. There's very little leadership, especially in the LV delegation to the state house. The higher the office, the more reluctant candidates are to actually say anything. That's a dilemma for mainstream candidates like Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush, who are perceived as more as the continuation of dynasties than as independent thinkers who are willing to lead. Pundits claim that this is why Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are so popular. Could Pennslvanians be looking for someone like that in the U.S. Senate race, too?

Enter John Fetterman, the Mayor of Braddock, a borough tinier than Nazareth, and one that he won by a single vote in 2005. Could he be the guy that takes out Joe Sestak and Katie McGinty in the race for the Democratic nod?

He certainly fits the role of the anti-politician. Standing 6'8" tall, he looks more like a bouncer or Hell's Angel than a graduate of Harvard, which he incidentally is.

He announced his candidacy from his rooftop today.

He's interested in helping people get education, housing and jobs. Instead of fine dining or special tax breaks for gazillionaires, he is interested in seeing that people are fed and that people will come if they are treated right.

Does he have a chance?