{"id":1718764,"date":"2022-10-31T16:17:58","date_gmt":"2022-10-31T20:17:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1718764"},"modified":"2022-10-31T16:18:05","modified_gmt":"2022-10-31T20:18:05","slug":"usa-today-opinion-piece-i-watched-with-pride-and-admiration-as-fetterman-debated-oz-who-belittled-and-bullied-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/usa-today-opinion-piece-i-watched-with-pride-and-admiration-as-fetterman-debated-oz-who-belittled-and-bullied-him\/","title":{"rendered":"USA Today Opinion Piece: I Watched With \u2018Pride And Admiration\u2019 As Fetterman Debated Oz, Who \u2018Belittled And Bullied\u2019 Him"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">38<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fusa-today-opinion-piece-i-watched-with-pride-and-admiration-as-fetterman-debated-oz-who-belittled-and-bullied-him%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1718764&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>An opinion piece in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/topic\/usa-today\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">USA Today<\/a> lauded Democratic candidate John Fetterman for his performance against Republican rival <a href=\"http:\/\/dailywire.com\/topic\/mehmet-oz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mehmet Oz<\/a>, who the author claimed \u201cbelittled and bullied\u201d his opponent in the only debate ahead of the contentious Pennsylvania Senate <a href=\"http:\/\/dailywire.com\/topic\/2022-midterms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">election<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Fetterman, the commonwealth\u2019s lieutenant governor who has struggled with cognition following a stroke in May, floundered during last week\u2019s first and only <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/confident-oz-and-struggling-fetterman-clash-in-pennsylvania-senate-debate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">debate<\/a> between the two nominees. Luke Visconti, an opinion contributor for USA Today and the founder of DiversityInc, a publication focused on diversity management, contended in a Sunday <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/opinion\/voices\/2022\/10\/30\/john-fetterman-stroke-highlights-bullying-misinformation-disabilities\/10618369002\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">article<\/a> that Fetterman was \u201cbrave\u201d for facing his opponent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs I watched Fetterman\u2019s debate performance, I did so with great pride and admiration \u2026 Average people are often crushed by the circumstances he\u2019s fighting to rise above,\u201d Visconti, a fellow stroke victim, asserted. \u201cI don\u2019t think it was \u2018painful\u2019 to watch him in his debate, as some have suggested. It was a courageous example of a person rising above an obstacle in his path, willing to suffer indignities from people trying to take advantage of his disability as well as simply cruel and ignorant people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Commentators on both sides of the aisle have nevertheless <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/it-requires-competency-former-pennsylvania-senator-rick-santorum-on-whether-john-fetterman-can-do-the-job-with-serious-health-issues\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">called attention<\/a> to Fetterman\u2019s health struggles and the questions they raise about his service in Congress, which Visconti failed to address. The editorial board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/pittsburghs-top-newspaper-endorses-oz-sees-through-fettermans-blue-collar-branding\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">noted<\/a> that Fetterman has wrongly characterized Oz\u2019s \u201clegitimate calls\u201d for him to release health records as \u201cmean-spirited and insensitive,\u201d which indicates a worrying lack of transparency. Gisele Barreto Fetterman, the wife of John Fetterman, likewise <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/ableist-toward-the-disability-community-john-fettermans-wife-tells-nbc-to-apologize-for-asking-about-his-stroke\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">rebuked<\/a> an NBC News journalist who reported on his cognitive challenges by calling for \u201csome accountability\u201d and labeling her an \u201cableist.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Visconti, however, said that critics were equating an \u201cauditory processing disorder\u201d with a \u201clack of intelligence\u201d in a bigoted manner, although Oz has never appeared to have questioned Fetterman\u2019s intellect. \u201cThis type of bullying cannot be accepted,\u201d he continued. \u201cThe fact that anyone would leverage a widely held misconception for political gain, especially a medical doctor, is disgusting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Visconti also cited a comment from an Oz campaign staffer who said that Fetterman could have avoided a stroke if he had \u201cever eaten a vegetable in his life,\u201d as well as a mocking list of concessions Oz was prepared to make after Fetterman continually refused to debate him. Among the items on the list was a promise not to \u201cintentionally hurt John\u2019s feelings\u201d and to allow \u201cJohn to have all of his notes in front of him.\u201d Fetterman struggled last week despite the Oz campaign agreeing to let him use a closed captioning system placed behind the moderators.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJohn Fetterman has demonstrated himself to be a fighter \u2014 a man with courage, drive and a remarkable lack of self-pity. He also must have a great support system around him, especially a supportive and loving family,\u201d Visconti remarked. \u201cNo matter how one feels about his political opinions, I think having leaders who have overcome substantial challenges with enough humility to expose themselves to public scrutiny encourage and embolden others who face challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite Visconti\u2019s call for empathy and understanding while Fetterman recovers, some have questioned whether the nominee would truly make any more substantial improvements. Huma Sheikh, a neurologist specializing in migraines and strokes, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/neurologist-who-watched-fetterman-debate-casts-doubt-on-prospect-for-further-recovery\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told<\/a> NewsNation anchor Chris Cuomo after the debate that Fetterman likely has Broca\u2019s aphasia, where victims see the most improvement within the first three to six months.<\/p>\n<p>The race for Pennsylvania\u2019s open seat in the Senate could determine which party controls Congress. Over the past few weeks, Oz has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/trafalgar-founder-on-poll-indicating-pa-senate-race-tightening-people-starting-to-pay-attention\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">gained in the polls<\/a> after months of Fetterman holding a substantial lead, rendering the contest a toss-up the week before Election Day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An opinion piece in USA Today lauded Democratic candidate John Fetterman for his performance against Republican rival Mehmet Oz, who the author claimed \u201cbelittled and bullied\u201d his opponent in the only debate ahead of the contentious Pennsylvania Senate election. Fetterman, the commonwealth\u2019s lieutenant governor who has struggled with cognition following a stroke in May, floundered &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1663035,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1718764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1718764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1718764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1718764\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1663035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1718764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1718764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1718764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}