Why are so many people doing such awful things? Why is the Democrat Party successfully gaslighting their own base with horror stories about climate change ending the world, racism being so unending and ‘systemic,’ that our neighbors are bloodthirsty bigots, and half of Americans are ‘semi-fascist’ maniacs?
There is an answer to this question and it is supplied, surprisingly, by Senator John Fetterman’s (D-PA) very public political renaissance.
Having defeated GOP candidate Mehmet Oz for the Pennsylvania Senate seat in 2022, Fetterman entered the national arena known mostly for having hidden the seriousness of a stroke he suffered during the Senate primary race. But now he explains that it was that near-death experience that gave him a new-found strength to be honest about the issues and to say and do what was right, sometimes rejecting the leftist party line. The reaction of his fellow Democrats and progressives to his intellectual rejection of progressive politics now simply did not matter to him.
“Weird: Man Becomes More Conservative As He Regains Brain Function,” was the satirical Babylon Bee website’s headline. But the more accurate (and less amusing) one-liner would be, “Not Surprising: Man Rejects Leftist Politics After Intensive Psychotherapy Improves His Mental Health.”
After his stroke and a hospitalization for depression while in the Senate, Fetterman emerged as a man who seemed more of a center-left classical liberal then the progressive image he had crafted during his years in local politics. During an appearance last week on “Real Time with Bill Maher,” the host asked him about the genesis of his rejection of progressivism.
Maher “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,’” reported Fox News of the conversation. He then noted specifically that he was no longer a progressive.
And while it is heartening to see someone like Fetterman reject and condemn the progressive Democratic Party’s disgusting abandonment of Israel and the Jews, what is truly significant is the fact that his success at improving his mental health played a role allowing him to reject progressive policies and attitudes.
As a leader in the feminist movement, I was able to escape the cult of the American left over a quarter of a century ago, a victory made possible in large part because of the therapy I pursued during that time. I did not like being miserable and hopeless and was determined to overcome it. Little did I know that when I dispatched depression and misery my allegiance to leftist politics would also vanish. Working with a psychotherapist and becoming secure enough to trust my own judgement and decision-making helped me develop the self-confidence and optimism required to reject victimhood, leaving rage, envy, and the left behind.
The lesson I learned, and likely a part of Fetterman’s experience, is that when you conquer being miserable by improving your mental health is the moment you can choose to be free. With that freedom comes the realization that your frame of mind is the predicable result of narratives meant to warp your view of yourself, the world, politics, and culture.
This is why the left focuses their cultural and political narratives on victimhood and hopeless misery, dragging the vulnerable into mind-killing despair. The left is a cult that creates and collects victims, allowing the few at the top to gain power (and money), not through ideas and genuine progress but by exploiting fear, anxiety, and the inevitable depression they inflict.
For leftists, their entire world view is based on a never-ending cycle of terrible events that will cause death and destruction; events they blame on humanity itself, of which they are a part. Horribly, progressives, and more frequently the Democratic Party itself through President Joe Biden, have decided to ramp up the fear, envy, and loathing by attempting to pit Americans against each other.
Fetterman’s treatment for depression and getting out of the progressive pit of misery is great news for him. It is also a revelation for all of us as it confirms that the destructive, paranoid, and malign agenda of today’s leftist Democratic Party is not natural, not wanted, and can be overcome.
A New York Times opinion piece in 2021 reported on a research paper addressing the finding that conservatives are happier than liberals, explaining: “Conservatives score higher than liberals on personality and attitude measures that are traditionally associated with positive adjustment and mental health, including personal agency, positive outlook, transcendent moral beliefs, and generalized belief in fairness. These constructs, in turn, can account for why conservatives are happier than liberals and have declined less in happiness in recent decades.”
Moreover, as one researcher noted, “One of the biggest correlates with happiness in our surveys was the belief of a meritocracy, which is the belief that anybody who works hard can make it,” she told PBS. “That was the biggest predictor of happiness. That was also one of the biggest predictors of political ideology. So, the conservatives were much higher on these meritocratic beliefs than liberals were.”
The perfect leftist vicious circle is convincing people nothing is fair and always aligned against you, crushing any belief in meritocracy, which then destroys your ability to be happy. It’s about inculcating hopelessness, and ultimately, depression. What is to be done? The Marxists who design this vortex then move in for the mind-kill, assuring everyone that the government is here to help.
With improved mental health, this is what Fetterman is in the process of escaping. Coming into one’s own and especially escaping from an environment that feeds on your despair and fear is a powerful experience.
For Fetterman, his ability and willingness to reject the malign politics of progressives likely took him by surprise after the shocking drama of suffering a stroke. But instead of accepting the ordeal of depression he, with encouragement of those around him, decided to work to overcome it. His journey, I predict, will continue and while he is still a Democrat and still wrong on many issues, I hope Fetterman finds himself with time being much more comfortable with the naturally conservative trajectory he is on.
Tammy Bruce, an Independent Conservative, has traversed a unique political journey that reflects her commitment to principles rather than party affiliations. She joined Fox News in 2005 as a Political Contributor, hosting her show “Get Tammy Bruce” on Fox Nation and providing insightful commentary on various issues for the Association for Mature Americans (AMAC).
Tammy Bruce is a national treasure, with her background in far-left radical feminism and the unique perspective it gives to her evolution into an eminently sensible, likable, persuasive conservative. As for Fetterman, of course I welcome his new awareness of the corrosive, destructive nature of today’s “progressivism.” But he still counts as a D in the Senate, which still enables Chuck Schumer’s and his fellow lunatic leftists to control the chamber. And he still votes with his party. If he really wants to demonstrate that he has come to his senses he will switch parties and go back to Pennsylvania to campaign for Dave McCormick in this year’s election. Otherwise, yeah, it’s nice that he’s not crazy, but his awakening doesn’t help the country return to normal.
The fear that this government tries to impose on everybody is so real. I know this isn’t mental awareness per se, but it’s part of the fear Factor. Here in Arizona. We’re having very normal summer temps. And yet the national weather Service for almost a week now has been saying that we’re in the midst of glorifying heat. They’ve extended it through Sunday. And yet the temperatures are in the low 100s which is exceptionally normal for this time of year in the Valley of the Sun. That’s our government trying to instill fear about fake global warming. We’ve had so many liberals move here from Communist California that I believe that’s what the national weather Service is trying to do. Is to get to those people. The rest of us just accept the fact that it’s hot in the freaking desert.
I am totally dumbfounded as to why so many in our nation have decided that Israel, which is an ally of the U.S. and an island of democracy in the Middle East, should become the target of such vitriol. Did Israel invade Gaza and rape, torture, kill and kidnap civilians? Does Israel hide weapons, ammunition and rockets in civilian schools and hospitals? If one is taking the position that the Israeli government has not done enough for their Gazan neighbors over the years, exactly what does that have to do with Jews in the United States? How can an American – regardless of the color of their skin, their religion or their country of origin – believe that another American citizen should be harassed or injured because they are Jews? Given all that has happened since October, 2023, why have SO FEW in this country been prosecuted for hate crimes and hate speech? If we don’t enforce our laws, how do we preserve our nation?
Being happier than dems is a given for the reps. We are working at succeeding at something. To be best in our field, be it work, sport or science. The dems want everything handed to them under the DEI program. That never works. Nobody else can make you happy. Fetterman found that out and is happier for it. In America you can become anything you set your mind too if you work hard. Nothing is ever valued when it is handed to you. See the war in the Ukraine. With the US help they are being sustained but no victory will ever occur in favor of the Ukraine. Because it will be an American victory not Ukrainian. Nothing will change and the Ukraine will still be the biggest corrupt country in Europe. Just take a look at the invaders at our southern border. They demand they be given housing education and health care. If they don’t get it they demonstrate till Biden gives in to their demands. He throws out citizens to make room for the invaders. Why ? Because meritocracy is dead for the dems. They want zombies they can manipulate to their advantage. And through all this the dem voter is unhappy because his life has no meaning. The reps will prevail in the end as well as those dems like Fetterman that have faced death and know what and who matters. The country and the people. Not politics. AMERICA AND THOSE HARDWORKING CITIZENS TO KEEP AMERICA A CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC.
This isn’t surprising. Over a year ago, a study published to the peer-reviewed journal “Current Psychology” found that left wing extremism was linked to toxic psychopathic tendencies and narcissism. The minions of leftism truly aren’t well people. The trouble is that they’re so twisted that they have no idea just how twisted they are.
I concluded that liberalism was a mental problem about 50 years ago when the “Ice age” (terrorism) was first coming out. I remember the remarkable and huge discovery that there was a layer of ozone gas in the upper atmosphere. A few months later it was discovered that there was a hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica. I observed that the layer covered more of the earth in certain seasons, and less of the earth in other seasons, and completely completely covered the earth every few years. After 25 years of intense observation, I concluded that this was a SEASONAL thing. Kind of like winter (cold) and summer (hot). Meanwhile, the U. S. government did some horribly inconvenient things to We The People, all of which did nothing to “help the environment.” Later they started the “Global warming” (terrorism). Finally they settled on Climate Change terrorism, and are in the process of destroying prosperity for the entire population of God’s magnificently created planet, we call Earth. But they dare not mention their old talking point, “Women, children, and the poor hardest hit.” because that would be TRUTH. They have nothing to offer, but fear itself. People that are desperate will grasp at any straw, without looking at the arrogance of the people that thing that putting you on a battery operated scooter, in all kinds of inclement weather, will make you better off than a conventional automobile. Where are the lollipops and unicorns?
That’s nice that he’s had an epiphany. Now make the final step over the line to the right. Your party has gone far too far left. It’s been hijacked by a bunch of progressive whackos.
I always thought “progressives” were a little warped. This is more evidence that is the case. Biden never recovered his mental health. That is obvious.
Winston Churchill once said, “if you are not a liberal by 20, you have no heart. If you’re still a liberal by 40, you have no brain.
“The left is a cult that creates and collects victims, allowing the few at the top to gain power (and money), not through ideas and genuine progress but by exploiting fear, anxiety, and the inevitable depression they inflict.”
And they do this over the bodies of both their enemies and their supporters, all of whom are simply “collateral damage” to those on the Left, who seek power, control, and wealth, at any price, at any cost.
GREAT ARTICLE! CONGRATS FETTERMAN!
Good for Fetterman and good for Tammy Bruce. I hope their common sense approach to the issues facing their country and their countrymen persists.
What a surprising and welcome outcome for Mr. Fetterman. I wondered at his surprising evolution.
I suppose the woke media will not reveal the cause of his coming to see truth and reality. They will have to ignore him or cancel him.
Great comments follow mine….
Fetterman is not stupid. He feels the ire of voters in western PA who are sick of woke politics, DEI, inflation, and an open border. Time to clean house of liberals.
I like Tammy Bruce and appreciated this message. She has been open about her own life but doesn’t flaunt it or expect everyone to change; therefore she epitomizes what most of us want others to do. Do your thing, I’ll do mine, and agree to disagree and still be friends. Love your god, I’ll love mine and though I may pray for you constantly, I won’t try to shove my beliefs down your throat or riot to make my point. John Fetterman, though a bit different, has done just this. Maybe others will see that it’s okay to not follow the mob!
Wow – Fetterman seems so much more lucid than Biden… who seems to have had some kind of electroshock treatment.
Although Fetterman is a Democrat so far he’s proven to not be a loony one.
See this is why God tells us to pray for our enemies!
When I first saw him I thought he was a bit of a neanderthal…but this is obviously a new man with convictions and hopefully a long conservative career in politics…and that he’ll never ever let it control him…who knows maybe even change to an old line Republican who actually gets what Republicanism is historically all about.
You rock, Tammy!
Dear John,it just might be a start of me thinking that you are almost OK.
Excellent article, and a good explanation of the turn around Fetterman seems to be making. Your explanation, Tammy, of how depression can thrive when someone feels hopeless, and has little faith in his or her own future. I love seeing so many Americans reassessing their “station” in life and how the Democrats have done little to nothing to change the status of people who are suffering from inflation, lack of career fulfillment, and poor mental health and positive outlook.
The Democratic Party is dead and has been for decades now. Until fetterman openly admits that and clearly states that the new democratic party is nothing but socialists, communists, maoists, etc., he’s nothing but a child-sniffing joe’s shill, and he can’t be trusted. None of them can. They all have two faces and speak out of both. They go whichever way the wind blows on their convenient day. Nothing but liars, lining their own pockets and the expense of the American Citizens.
No, result of recent polling. Don’t be fooled for one second.
Man fester from the Adam’s family has seen better driving I mean days lol
Yep, good doppelgängers are really good!
HEY AMAC! How about lightening up on those damn infernal captchas? Servers should be intelligent enough by now to know when the same old fart’s computer is being used. And some of those pictures are crap.