Pa. Senate debate focuses on John Fetterman, who sits out the opener

[left-of-center2012]

ALLENTOWN — The empty podium at stage right took a lot of hits on Sunday. From the opening moments of Pennsylvania’s first Democratic Senate debate, U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb and State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta lobbed attacks at their missing primary opponent: the front-runner, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman.

In 90 minutes of jabs and jokes, both men — especially Lamb — argued that Fetterman’s decision to skip the debate was an insult to voters and a red flag for his candidacy in a critical Senate contest. “He didn’t respect you enough to show up today,” Lamb told a crowd of about 175 people at Muhlenberg College.

And Lamb immediately brought up a 2013 incident that has loomed over Fetterman’s campaign, in which Fetterman pulled a shotgun on a Black jogger who he had wrongly suspected of a shooting. “It was wrong when he did that,” Lamb said in his opening remarks, after telegraphing the attack in the days before. “And he skipped the debate today because he doesn’t think he has to answer. Given everything that’s gone on in this country, that is fatal to his campaign. You deserve a senator that you can trust to show up and not to act like a loose cannon.”

Kenyatta, the only Black candidate in the primary, also went after Fetterman for the jogger incident — specifically his unwillingness to apologize. “John had nine years to not just apologize for taking an illegally loaded shotgun, chasing down the first person he saw but to understand why that was so dangerous,” Kenyatta said. “To understand how that situation could have gone a completely different way.”

https://www.pennlive.com/politics/2022/04/pa-senate-debate-focuses-on-john-fetterman-who-sits-out-the-opener.html

[aeromanKC]

1. Looking forward to Senator Fetterman!!!!

[gab13by13]

2. I can't wait to vote for him,

The Willie Horton ads are pretty pathetic.

[JohnSJ]

3. The majority of voters are undecided, and Fetterman should have appeared at the debate. No one is

entitled to be a Senator unless the can debate the issues with their opponents

What is his reason for not being at the debate?

[left-of-center2012]

4. He's hoping to win solely on name recognition

He's been criticized before for skipping voter forums,
while the other candidates show up and answer voters' questions.

[drray23]

5. he has committed to the other two debates.

This one was a smaller one not broadcast on network TV and he decided to participate in those that reaches a bigger audience.

[Butterflylady]

8. I'm signed up for a virtual debate on the 21st of April.

So anyone who skips a debate isn't qualified to be a senator

Really, that's your critique. Go Fetterman!

[gab13by13]

6. Conor Lamb is polling at 10%

Big John owes an explanation to 10% of Democratic voters.

Can't vote for someone who voted against Nancy Pelosi for Speaker of the House, not once but twice.

Someone should ask Conor what he has against Speaker Pelosi, she is the best Speaker I have seen in my lifetime.

[gab13by13]

7. The other viable candidate in the race is Malcolm Kenyatta,

who is a liberal Congressman from the Philadelphia area. One would think that he would siphon votes away from Fetterman which should open it up for Lamb. Kenyatta, if he loses the nomination, will still run for his Congressional seat.