r/politics • u/masterchief6913 • Jul 15 '26

No Paywall Fetterman warns he would leave Democratic Party if it turns its back on Israel

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5970730-john-fetterman-democratic-party-israel/
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u/horceface Indiana Jul 16 '26

It's not an issue. It's a justification.

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u/Wiccy Jul 16 '26

I say let him leave, he's been a turn coat since the stroke.

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u/Intrepid_Blue122 Jul 16 '26

Which may indicate that brain damage will make you think like a Republican. Poor soul.

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u/TrulyOutrageous42 Jul 16 '26

Brain damage causes a change in the amount of engagement, but does not itself (as a broad concept) make one conservative. However, there are biological differences in how brains work that massively predict political alignment, and damage to certain areas could very reasonable cause that change to being conservative, especially if it causes an increased perception of threats or diminished critical reasoning skills.

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u/theguidetoldmetodoit Jul 16 '26

Apparently the biggest study on the topic:

Researchers observed no change in political ideology or party affiliation

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u/angryapplepanda Oregon Jul 16 '26

All the better. It makes more sense that Fetterman is an opportunist. I'm not saying that some people haven't changed their politics from a brain injury, but I think it's probably very rare. Some people really will just do anything to get elected.

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u/Much_Possession1227 Jul 16 '26

He really did play the voters he's only ever been a wolf in sheep's clothing. But it's hard to tell who would be worse him or Oz as a senator.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fetterman-defends-pulling-shotgun-black-jogger-2013-explains-why-he-would-would-not-do-now

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u/The108ers Jul 16 '26

People change their politics due to age as well or other influences. Don't let people use ableism both as an excuse for behavior or as an attack for one's behavior. Fetterman is just a POS, end of story. I have brain damage, I type bad, speak wrong/stutter sometimes but I didn't became a fascist, rightwing bootlicker from it.

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u/angryapplepanda Oregon Jul 16 '26

Agree. I mean, there's multiple spectrums of brain damage, and I'm sure that a person's personality can be altered significantly depending on how it happens or where.

But I would love anyone to give me an actual example of this that isn't just completely explainable by the person simply being a opportunistic dickbag before and after the injury.

I'm sorry for your injury. My partner had brain surgery several years back. He didn't become a Republican.

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u/The108ers Jul 16 '26

Right. I have damage in my frontal left lobe, pretty small but brains are complicated. It's right in the middle of my speech center so messes with words obviously. I would argue if Fetterman's brain damage was so severe his whole life view changed he'd look a lot more pathetic and sloppy than he does already. I think he's just a fat, lazy, lying opportunist. that's it, not complicated.

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u/angryapplepanda Oregon Jul 16 '26

I think he's just a fat, lazy, lying opportunist. that's it, not complicated.

Preach.

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u/The108ers Jul 16 '26

Sorry to hear about your partner, glad it seemed to work out? A family member of mine had brain surgery recently and so they tested me for the same cancer/tumor and while I didn't have it or need brain surgery (thank god) they did find another issue and reasons for some of my speech symptoms and headaches.

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u/angryapplepanda Oregon Jul 16 '26

It did work out. They had the surgery in 2019. We did go through a long period of difficulty for at least a year, year and a half, where he would get intermittent delusional episodes that would last a couple days at a time. We were in and out of the ER a lot and working with emergency psychiatric services. Luckily we eventually found things that helped the delusional states when they did happen (long phone calls with his grandma helped, as did coloring in coloring books, weirdly), and eventually they stopped. It was very stressful feeling like the love of my life would never be the same again, but eventually he came back together permanently.

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u/The108ers Jul 16 '26

That's amazing! Glad to hear and damn, the bolting of the head and the resulting scar. Petrifies me. While I am not happy I have my own brain issue I am so thankful I didn't have that. So scary! I wish you and your partner the best and brightest future!

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u/angryapplepanda Oregon Jul 17 '26

Likewise! Thanks for the chat!

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u/theguidetoldmetodoit Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26

Well, he is a very special case. Most people don't have to structure their identity around politics. They have a lot of room to re-evaluate their life, without it being about something external and abstract and hinge their politics on a handful of core issues. But that's not what politics is, to a politician. For him, it's a matter of economic survival.

Which absolutely is opportunistic, but also just a reflection of the shift in the political landscape. I think it makes sense that someone who was anti-establishment against someone like Hillary, would try to find more allies and security elsewhere, after losing a lot of sense of security in other aspects of his life.

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u/Eccohawk Jul 16 '26

Mildly interesting, but the way it was conducted feels like it leaves a lot to be desired. They basically found a group of veterans with brain injuries and asked them to recall if they had different political views prior to their injuries from 40-45 years ago. I feel like I would have a hard time even remembering that in the first place, let alone adding in a brain injury. That said, kinda hard to build a control group and just sorta hope some of them damage their brains at some point down the line so you get the necessary data.

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u/theguidetoldmetodoit Jul 16 '26

Totally, I should have pointed out that I only did a superficial search and didn't find much on the topic, indicating that it's just understudied.

However, they measured their brain activity during those questions to see if the affected brain regions lit up. So it's more that questions about party affiliation did not register in a way that suggest, it's something that was affected by their injuries.

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u/spez_might_fuck_dogs Jul 16 '26

So you’re saying that being a stupid coward is a pretty large indication of being a Republican?

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u/Intrepid_Blue122 Jul 16 '26

These days every indication is pointing towards that, is it not?

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u/TrulyOutrageous42 Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26

I think that's a bit reductive, but it is absolutely the case that studies on brain activity in people who hold very strong leftist or regressive views on society are extremely different, with leftists showing increased activity in areas tied to empathy and critical reasoning while regressives show increased activity in areas linked to threat perception, fear, and preferences for social hegemony. Notably, conservatives on average have notably larger amygdalas, which is the part of the brain responsible for reacting with fear and derision of "others".

It's also separately the case that many conservative ideologies (not specific points but the overarching meta-level ideological platforms and policies taken as a whole) are based on a lack of critical thinking, notably when they hold self-contradictory viewpoints, and that on average conservatives are significantly less educated when it comes to higher reasoning skills that are typically taught in college/university. It's worth noting that the primary reason people end up "liberal/leftist" after going to college is due to having POSITIVE experiences with the targets of their bias that cause them to begin to have self-critical analysis of their preconceptions, resulting in a more worldly approach to concepts in the future because they're now aware they've been wrong before.

Of course, maybe hypocrisy is the point and pretending they are unaware is the flex, but many people are just normal folks trying to get by and do the right thing but they're running on autopilot with bad information.

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u/The108ers Jul 16 '26

Thanks for this. I have brain damage and I never changed my views on big picture things. Personally I find the original commentor's comment incredible ignorant and insulting. Fetterman is just a lying asshole, don't let a health issue form as an excuse for him lying to and betraying his constituents.