Well, Lookee Here: Nugget From NY Times Hit Piece on Fetterman Exposes His Critics' Real Agenda

We've extensively documented the wave of what appear to be coordinated media attacks on Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) in recent weeks as members of his party grow more and more frustrated with his unwillingness to be a rubber stamp for the radical left's agenda on issues like illegal immigration and the Israel-Hamas war.

One example was an early May NY Magazine article that was mostly anonymously sourced, and which alleged that an "erratic" Fetterman was sparking concerns (and exits) among staff members over his health and whether he was following the healthcare regimen recommended by doctors after his May 2022 stroke and his self-admission into Walter Reed Medical Center for clinical depression in February 2023.

It also alleged, without evidence, that Fetterman's wife, Gisele, would sometimes take her concerns about Fetterman's positions  - some of which were different from hers - to staffers in despair, and would openly wonder where the man she married was.

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READ MORE: Fetterman Responds to NY Mag Hit Piece As Another Reporter Casts More Doubt on Story's Validity

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Fetterman's response to the story was mainly to point out that it was a "hit piece from a very leftist publication" whose main source was disgruntled former chief of staff Adam Jentleson, an alum of one of the dirtiest players ever to hit Capitol Hill: The late Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV).

But Fetterman's denials and his GOP colleagues coming to his defense have not stopped the speculation, which made its way to the New York Times Saturday in a story that claimed he is often absent for committee meetings and procedural votes:

In an interview, Mr. Fetterman, who represents 13 million people, said he felt he had been unfairly shamed into fulfilling senatorial duties, such as participating in committee work and casting procedural votes on the floor, dismissing them as a “performative” waste of time.

Instead, he said he was “showing up because people in the media have weaponized” his absenteeism on Capitol Hill to portray him as mentally unfit, when in fact it is a product of a decision to spend more time at home and less on the mundane tasks of being a senator.

“My doctor warned years ago: After it’s public that you are getting help for depression, people will weaponize that,” Mr. Fetterman said in his office this week. “Simple things are turned. That’s exactly what happened.”

Fetterman says most of the votes he's missed have been Monday night procedural ones, and his preference has been to be at home with his children instead:

“The votes I missed were overwhelmingly procedural; they’re even called ‘bed check’ votes,” he said. “I had to make a decision: getting here and sticking my thumb in the door for three seconds for a procedural vote or spend Monday night as a dad-daughter date.”

Buried deep in the piece, however, was this nugget: The fact that two senators have missed more votes than he has this year: Patty Murray (D-WA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), but whose attendance you don't hear much about, certainly not as much as Fetterman's:

This year, the analysis found, Mr. Fetterman also has missed more votes than all but two of his colleagues: Senators Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington, and Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont. Ms. Murray has been absent to care for her ailing husband, while Mr. Sanders has been on his “Fighting Oligarchy Tour,” speaking out against President Trump and drawing a total of 265,000 people to events across 12 states so far, according to a spokeswoman.

So I guess it's okay to miss all those votes as long as you vote in the "correct" way when you do vote, and when you're out there "fighting oligarchy" in very expensive private jets:

"Shameless" indeed - and entirely predictable.