The liberal comedian then asked Fetterman whether his shift in various policies had anything to do with his recovery from his 2022 stroke, asking if his near-death experience had given him a "freedom."
"Absolutely," Fetterman responded. "There's a line from the first 'Batman,' Joker's like ‘I’ve been dead once already. It's very liberating.'"
"It's freeing in a way. And I just think after beating all of that, I just really [want to] be able to say the things that I have to really believe in and not be afraid of if there's any kind of blowback."
So basically yes, the stroke made him a Republican. Pathetic and disappointing, but all too predictable.
I have personally worked with Fetterman a number of times while I was working for Allegheny county. He had some moderate stances on things like Israeli support, but not like this. Also, he spent his entire time as mayor of Braddock pushing a lot of very progressive things. He actively turned down opportunities to not be living in his office, and get highly paid, in order to fight a large amount of resistance he faced, even among the people he directly worked with in Braddock. He had a provable, positive, long term, impact on Braddock. He demonstrated that a lot of progressive ideas works, because Braddock implemented them, and it worked. This had a impact on how Pittsburgh, and Allegheny county in general, looked at the future, and how to best design it.
He has demonstrated he is staunchly pro-labor and, in the past, has demonstrated so via sacrificing political payola to do that, among many other progressive things. So I am very conflicted at this serious increase in, what was previously a relatively moderate, stance on Israel. I have to wonder if it was the stroke, or did he strike a deal with AIPAC.
I think most people that were adults when 9/11 happened dont expect peace to ever be possible between the arabs and the west, and see hamas and all the other extremists as suicidially determined genocidal crusaders.
Especially so since Hamas knew they had no chance of winning any conflict they started with the Oct 7th attack but did it anyway, and maintain popular support in gaza even now.
It's not that older Americans necessarily want to see Palestinians slaughtered but don't see any peaceful alternative to ending the conflict, and see it more as a 'fuck around and find out' situation, so long as Israel doesnt start putting people in ovens (for some even if they do).
As an aside, geopolitically, thats kinda the point of (funding and arming and training and informing) Hamas. To make peace impossible, because peace benefits the west.
For the sake of spreading their ideology and increasing their support, their backers want a forever war.