Fetterman should be careful throwing political stones

THOSE WHO LIVE IN GLASS HOUSES are often cautioned about the casual tossing of stones.

Last week, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, decided to pick up some rocks and juggle.

“In the past, I’ve described the U.S. House as ‘The Jerry Springer Show,’ ” he posted on X.com. “Today, I’m apologizing to ‘The Jerry Springer Show.’ ” His post was accompanied by a screenshot of a CNN headline about a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing that looked less like a dignified meeting of elected officials and more like the kind of reality TV that makes you feel slightly embarrassed about watching.

It was the kind of thing that made late-night talk show hosts drool. It had partisanship. It had some of the major players on the extremes of both sides. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., took on Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., over the controversial GOP lawmaker’s snide comments about Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, and false eyelashes. And that’s just where things started. So Fetterman was not wrong. The late Springer would have been the perfect person to preside over the snake pit of sniping — and he would have gotten great ratings, if the flurry of memes over the weekend is any measure. Fetterman has taken heat — which he hasn’t seemed to care about — from the left wing of his party in recent months over issues such as the Israel-Hamas war and the U.S. southern border. These are much more moderate positions, and the senator has even stepped up and declared himself not to be a progressive.

What he has been, however, is a somewhat gleeful antagonist. He has stirred the pot to bring up issues or engage in campaigning. He has done it online, which was how he conducted most of his 2022 campaign against Dr. Mehmet Oz and how he has needled former President Donald Trump.

But he also took part in some Springer-worthy displays on the floor of the Pennsylvania Senate during his time as lieutenant governor, the most spectacular being a June 2019 screaming match between then-Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre, and Sen. Katie Muth, D-Montgomery, over cash assistance and chamber rules.

Fetterman didn’t have to dive into the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez/Marjorie Taylor Greene mud fight. As a House event rather than a Senate hearing, it had nothing to do with him. It didn’t do much more than grab some headlines and get him an invite to Jake Tapper’s “State of the Union” on CNN on Sunday. That’s where he said it was “absurd” for Ocasio-Cortez to suggest he’s a bully.

He may be right. But Fetterman can be the kind of guest Springer often featured — the kind who enjoyed throwing rocks, even from inside a glass house.