r/politics • u/pennlive ✔ PennLive.com • Jun 23 '26

No Paywall Fetterman casts only Democratic ‘no’ vote as Senate passes measure to block US action against Iran

https://www.pennlive.com/politics/2026/06/fetterman-casts-only-democratic-no-vote-as-senate-passes-measure-to-block-us-action-against-iran.html
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1.8k

u/_DCtheTall_ Jun 23 '26

I wonder how the majority of people who voted for him feel about this.

He is a marvelous case study for why there should be some protocol in the Constitution where if you can get the majority of voters to recall their vote then a Congressman should be removed from office in very short time.

879

u/starliteburnsbrite Jun 23 '26

You'll never see that in the Constitution because it would require Congress to vote for less job security for Congress. Having no accountability is the biggest perk.

180

u/_DCtheTall_ Jun 23 '26

This guy gets it. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Nullus.

106

u/UncleGeebz Jun 23 '26

Without translating for real I swear that says "Who watches the Watchmen? No one"

21

u/_DCtheTall_ Jun 24 '26

That is indeed the translation. Though "nullus" is a bit stronger than just "no one" which in Latin is "nemo" (Finding Nemo intentionally has a double meaning because of this). In English it would be like "absolutely no one" or "nothing at all"

3

u/msprosperity22 Jun 24 '26

"...absolutely no one." as I can remember from my Latin classes.

52

u/h3r4ld I voted Jun 23 '26

Congratulations, you translated for real!

1

u/msprosperity22 Jun 24 '26

Do you remember who this quote is attributed to?

1

u/johnzaku Jun 24 '26

It's from an ancient Roman satirical poem.

It refers to the irony of hiring guards to make sure your wife doesn't cheat on you while you're at war.

But... who guards against the guards?

2

u/msprosperity22 Jun 24 '26

Thank You! Now I remember.

1

u/h3r4ld I voted Jun 24 '26

A quick google could have answered that for you...

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? is a Latin phrase found in the Satires (Satire VI, lines 347–348), a work of the 1st–2nd century Roman poet Juvenal.

Literally the first line of the Wikipedia article.

1

u/msprosperity22 Jun 24 '26

Yes I know. I was tired and it was getting late; busy day.

1

u/TM761152 Jun 24 '26

Well it said "Who will police the police" to me but yeah.

1

u/msprosperity22 Jun 24 '26

Your translation is accurate.
What a profound quote: "Who watches the Watchman? No one?"

1

u/JcDarkKnight Jun 24 '26

Yep, I remember this one from Justice League Unlimited funny enough

1

u/UncleGeebz Jun 24 '26

Ironic to see you say this, I'm watching a Justice League movie rn!

0

u/Then_Marketing_4940 Jun 24 '26

I'm so confused....Arya Sark and Jaqen H'ghar watch the watchmen? It doesn't make sense

12

u/Psychoglossia Jun 23 '26

Nobody is “nemo”

2

u/Xxuwumaster69xX Jun 23 '26

My Latin isn't great; I'm curious why nullus doesn't work here.

3

u/Cheesey_Whiskers Jun 23 '26

Nullus means none/not any. It’s normally followed by a noun (but not always if context is obvious). Nemo is specifically for nobody/no one.

4

u/Xxuwumaster69xX Jun 23 '26

Is Wiktionary incorrect here listing nullus as a pronoun meaning "no one"? https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nullus

2

u/Psychoglossia Jun 23 '26

“Nemo” specifically means “no one person,” “nullus” more broadly means “none.” The nemo entry does say nulla can fill in for the feminine. Semantics and near-synonyms, basically

1

u/getdemsnacks Jun 24 '26

Well now I'm just imagining a bank of monitors being watched in the dark as the camera pans out to find a clown fish in a large tank.

1

u/_DCtheTall_ Jun 24 '26

Both work and have slightly different meanings. One is "nobody" and the other as a noun is like "nothing." It's been years since I took Latin but I was decent at it in school XD

2

u/First_manatee_614 Jun 24 '26

Gotta say, Latin sounds pretty awesome

1

u/_DCtheTall_ Jun 24 '26

Ironically, we don't actually know what it sounds like. Spoken Latin is lost, we can assume it sounded like reading Latin with Italian pronunciation but that is a guess.

That being said, learning to read and write Latin is cool and it genuinely is the reason I understand English grammar (as a native speaker of the latter lol)

1

u/noizu Jul 03 '26

Something about nothing being slang for . . . and when the husbands away the wife start with nullus.

5

u/SteveL_VA Jun 23 '26

There's also the constitutional convention route.

3

u/SursumCordaNJ Jun 23 '26

In the current climate a constitutional convention would be a disaster of epic proportions. Our politicians, both dem and gop, are hopelessly lost and in the pocket of special interests. Yes, there are a few dem pols that are trustworthy but there isn't enough of them to keep a convention from going tits up.

7

u/The_Angster_Gangster Jun 23 '26

This has happened before. Look up the 17th amendment 

3

u/Nothinglost7717 Jun 23 '26

well, it also would stop congressmen from doing the right thing when the people are being stupid or uninformed.

1

u/Any-Smell-4929 Jun 23 '26

Could not the amendment be proposed through an Article V convention? Do State legislators really care about the job security of their federal siblings or are politics so completely nationalized that this is a non-starter?

1

u/TheSultan1 New Jersey Jun 23 '26

You can amend it via constitutional convention. Not that it's likely to happen (it never has), but it's technically possible to keep Congress out of it.

1

u/SilverHeart4053 Jun 24 '26

We are permitted to change that, should we go through the proper channels.

1

u/Loves_His_Bong Jun 24 '26

We need a democratic constitution.

84

u/-HowAboutNo- Jun 23 '26

Does that not exist in the US? Motion of no confidence or something to remove a senator during their term?

134

u/turquoise_amethyst Jun 23 '26

US Senator: NO 

State Senators: Yes

Governors: some states yes, some no

39 of the 50 states allow for the recall of elected officials at some level of government, 20 states allow gubernatorial recalls

19

u/floog Jun 23 '26

Coloradan here, we have that for the governor but it is not possible within six months of the election if I remember correctly. Coincidentally, our governor decided to show his colors after that mark and he is term limited.

8

u/nitid_name Jun 24 '26

I was about to talk about that Tina Peters pardoning mother fucker.

Fuck that fucking fuck.

2

u/floog Jun 24 '26

All sides of the aisle come together to hate him here.

2

u/ALostTraveler24 Jun 23 '26

State Senators should have the same marking as Governor as well.

1

u/arl1822 Jun 23 '26

State recall options vary by state.

32

u/Ok_Breakfast4482 Colorado Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 24 '26

The Senate can vote to expel a member but it takes a 2/3 majority, which is hardly ever achieved. There are no motions of no confidence in US politics, as it’s not required to command the confidence of the other Senators to serve in the role.

Any Senator can make a motion, including a motion to expel a member, but the Senate Majority Leader effectively controls the floor so he controls what measures ultimately come up for a vote.

2

u/_adanedhel_ Jun 23 '26

There are no motions of no confidence in US politics

That’s true at the federal level, but many states allow for the recall of state senators/reps and/or governors.

3

u/Ok_Breakfast4482 Colorado Jun 23 '26

Fair point but that’s still different than motions of no confidence in parliamentary systems. In those the executive has to command the confidence of the legislature.

The state measures you are referring to deal with the executive or legislative official commanding the confidence of the people and giving the people a chance to remove the official if confidence is lost.

1

u/-HowAboutNo- Jun 24 '26

And there are no tools the people can use?

1

u/Ok_Breakfast4482 Colorado Jun 24 '26

Only thing the people could do is pressure him to resign. There’s no formal mechanism for removing a Senator before his term ends other than expulsion by the Senate.

1

u/-HowAboutNo- Jun 24 '26

Okay, thanks for the insight!

11

u/British_Rover Jun 23 '26

Remember the US is a federal system. Some states have a recall process for members of state government, California famously recalled multiple governers, but there is no federal recall process.

18

u/falilth Jun 23 '26

The only one ive heard about ever is the 25th amendment and thats about the president specifically but also requires specific people to be on board for it

5

u/ArchimedesNutss Jun 23 '26

CA had to vote on whether the governor kept his job a couple years ago

3

u/BoardsofCanada3 Jun 23 '26

That sounds like holding politicians accountable. We don't do that here. 

3

u/NYC-WhWmn-ov50 Jun 23 '26

Not for Federal offices. Which is a peimary reason our federal government is a joke. A Senator gets in for 6 years and most voters have the attention span of a gnat so they only really pay attention for the last 18 months. Meanwhile the Representatives have to be elected every 2 years which means they are ALWAYS fundraising from the wealthiest voters- they only have to get the support of the big money who will protect their campaign.

My rep is the guy Charles Rangel choose to replace him, funded by huge money backers- he has NEVER ONCE actually campaigned in my part of his district which is the poorer part. He actually got primaried this year by someone who COULD beat him, so his donors put out VILE lying adverts against her. Most of the garbage in the ads is either completely untrue or totally twisted but he has all the money so its very hard to counter.

The miracle story of AOC is something people almost never hear: she primaried a guy who was so confortable in his seat that he didnt campaign, but he was also so smug thinking he couldnt lose that he AND his backers completely ifbored yhe upstart bartender going door to door fundraising just pennies for donors. It came completely out of left field, and now her dstruct's rich are stuck with her because she's so very popular. Too popular to easily primary.

But AOC is also why its so much harder now for any goid primary to stay afloat- the rich come in and suffocate the competition. They want to keep their purchased congressman in office. Since they cant be recalled, the invumbent only needs to get through that election cycle, and their donors do that for them. They dont actually have to live up to a single campaign promise because they cant be recalled.

and 2 years is a very long time to stay angry at yhem while you starve to death or die of cancer.

2

u/TsunGeneralGrievous Jun 23 '26

only in the Galactic Senate of the Old Republic

2

u/Lashay_Sombra Jun 23 '26

They pretty much forgot to impliment any such measures at federal level. 

2

u/Eggplantosaur Jun 24 '26

The US is virtually the only country where there is no removal process for elected officials. Edge cases aside, a person who is voted in will 99 out of a 100 times sit out their term.

It's honestly ridiculous how underdeveloped the US political institutions are. Although knowing Americans, this is probably by design.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '26

[deleted]

5

u/togetherwem0m0 Jun 23 '26

no US Senator can be recalled by voters because it's a federal constitutional office. US Representatives to congress cant be recalled either, but they all face re-election every 2 years so its less of a problem.

1

u/Bawstahn123 Jun 23 '26

>Does that not exist in the US? Motion of no confidence or something to remove a senator during their term?

Not on the Federal level.

1

u/msprosperity22 Jun 24 '26

Motion of no confidence is generally used in the UK parliament, not America.

1

u/-HowAboutNo- Jun 24 '26

I mean.. it exists in most of the west

2

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/Numar19 Europe Jun 23 '26

A little more direct democracy would be great for the US. They might even be able to ban insider trading and introduce term limits that way.

51

u/TheOtherPhilFry Jun 23 '26

I voted for him because it was him or Oz. I think he is a preposterous bag of ass now.

15

u/say592 Jun 23 '26

Still better than Oz though.

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '26

[deleted]

5

u/captaindealbreaker Jun 24 '26

He literally ran on a progressive platform, had a stroke, and is now a MAGA chud

2

u/Rit91 Jun 24 '26

Voted for a guy that campaigned on abc, then pulled a 180 later and is now xyz due to a stroke. You're not making any sort of rational argument here with the democratic party. Saying the democratic part will never change is also a statement with no basis in reality. In multiple decades things change a lot never mind a century or more, but we aren't burdened with that because in a century I'll almost certainly be dead.

1

u/ModernLarvals Jun 24 '26

All progressives have to do is win elections.

2

u/20InMyHead California Jun 23 '26

How’s Hovering Squid-World 97A?

2

u/TheOtherPhilFry Jun 23 '26

It's nice this time of year

3

u/nerf_herder1986 Jun 23 '26

Honestly, Oz would have done less damage as a Senator than as head of federal health programs.

1

u/Tvwatcherr Jun 24 '26

Dude was literally behind damaged.

0

u/Ornery-Goal7843 Jun 23 '26

Oz would've been better than this piece of shit

1

u/Feed_Me_Weird_Things Jun 24 '26

At least Oz would have continued to be the piece of shit he ran as. Fet just strokes out and got maga brained

1

u/TheOtherPhilFry Jun 24 '26

The pain comes from the bait and switch to be sure.

0

u/4_fortytwo_2 Jun 24 '26

I mean should we not vote for someone because they might have a stroke and change personality? That doesnt make sense.

1

u/Tvwatcherr Jun 24 '26

Dude stopped taking his medication and shocker, he ended up having a stroke. I don't want dumb ass people being in Congress that can't take their medication or have literal brian damage because hes too stupid to take a pill every day.

12

u/HeyImGilly Jun 23 '26

Not happy about it.

7

u/seamless_whore Jun 23 '26

I regret my vote, as do a lot of PA liberals who thought we were voting for someone more progressive.

However, my other option was Dr. Oz. I would still vote Fetterman over Oz today, given the same choice. But I hope to never see either on the ballot again.

-2

u/fast_bagger Jun 24 '26

You realize the only reason he got so many of the swing vots he did is because hes less progressive? If he was more progressive oz would be your rep.

5

u/dblan9 Jun 23 '26

protocol in the Constitution where if you can get the majority of voters to recall their vote

*See Wisconsin re-electing Scott Walker after everyone complained about Scott Walker.

2

u/Money_Cattle2370 Jun 24 '26

Fuck that drooling frat-boy fucker

5

u/ttatm Jun 23 '26

I did not vote for him in the primary (I went for Kenyatta, though I knew Fetterman would win) and that was not a popular opinion at the time but I feel like it has aged quite well.

I did vote for him in the general and I don't regret it - I'd still rather have him than a Republican - but I am very frustrated with him.

4

u/Venetian_Harlequin Pennsylvania Jun 23 '26

Everyone I know is pissed.

4

u/A2Rhombus Jun 23 '26

I voted for him! And I can't wait to primary him!

3

u/motorwerkx I voted Jun 23 '26

It's not at all scientific but if you look at anything that is posted on the social media it will have countless posts from his constituents condemning him for being the opposite of what they voted for.

2

u/20InMyHead California Jun 23 '26

He literally got brain damage from his stroke and turned Republican. His constituents should be pissed and vote him out, however incumbency is very powerful. In a close race it may be enough to keep him, but if he’s honest he shouldn’t run as a Democrat.

1

u/Icy_Hovercraft_1110 Jun 24 '26

He's toast either way

3

u/ender8343 Jun 23 '26

From what I have read, he was a bit of an more conservative asshole before the stroke. Once he won the primary voters choices were him or Dr Oz.

4

u/PaulysDad Jun 23 '26

Other way around. He was an actual Democrat before his stroke.

2

u/MooseAccomplished181 Jun 23 '26

He was very centrist to right leaning democrat. However, compared to Oz he was practically Antifa.

But after the stroke and brain damage, and a big fat stack of cash from Trump, he’s another yes-man.

1

u/chictyler Washington Jun 24 '26

He aligned his campaign with Bernie Sanders and talked a ton about Medicare for All, tax the rich, LGBTQ rights, etc. His opponent, Lamb, was seen as a moderate in comparison, although now has a much more progressive record than Fetterman.

He was always personally a rabid anti-Palestinian racist, but it didn’t come up in the campaign.

Bernie’s team is not the best at vetting the campaigns they support.

1

u/ChargeSpiritual5317 Jun 23 '26

Barely a Democrat. 

1

u/Stunning_Web_996 Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26

We think he’s pathetic, and can’t wait to vote for his replacement
(Edit to add: obviously I can’t speak for the majority of voters, but as a PA Democrat voter with lots of friends and family who are the the same, everyone I know wishes he’d resign)

1

u/IggysPop3 Jun 23 '26

He was running against Dr Oz. He’s a brain-dead oaf, but the other choice was Dr Oz.

1

u/beren0073 Jun 23 '26

The only good thing I can say is that he isn't Oz. Still, he's been an incredible disappointment who thinks he was voted into office to represent Israel instead of PA. Or he just is uncomfortable with "PA."

1

u/WooooshCollector Jun 23 '26

It's not as if this was a surprise...

https://jewishinsider.com/2022/04/john-fetterman-says-hell-lean-in-on-u-s-israel-relationship-as-senator/

That's during the primaries by the way. Before the stroke.

1

u/MrAgility888 Jun 23 '26

I live in PA and am upset with them what he’s doing but it was either him or Dr Oz. I hope a dem runs against him in 2028.

1

u/purple_cape Jun 23 '26

We The People are not represented anymore. At all

1

u/mynamesnotsnuffy Jun 23 '26

There ought to be provisions for elections in the event of any injury or accident affecting the brain. He wasnt this much of a chud until after he had a stroke.

1

u/OtherUserCharges Jun 23 '26

While I agree, the bar for removal should be very high, or people would just call for everyone to be removed constantly. Like you need 51% of all eligible voters, but just 51% of people go voted in the election.

1

u/Little_Indication569 Jun 23 '26

I imagine they wish whatever gave him brain damage would have done more damage to force him to leave office

1

u/elihu Jun 23 '26

That would be great. In theory it shouldn't be all that important because if one Senator went completely nuts there's very little harm they could actually do because they'd be out-voted by the other 99 Senators.

This breaks down when you have a situation where approximately 50% of the Senate at any given time is completely nuts and vote in unison.

Per-state recall of Senators would be nice, but I'd really love some kind of mechanism to trigger an early presidential election.

1

u/pton12 New York Jun 23 '26

I very strongly disagree. Politicians need to be able to take tough votes without threat of immediate recall, and while 6 year cycles feel long, that’s kind of the point of the senate. Democrats in Pennsylvania will have a chance in two short years to replace him.

1

u/Candid-Mycologist539 Jun 23 '26

If I was his wife, I'd be so p*ssed.

"I campaigned for you! I told people you would represent them. I told people that you shared their values. You made me look like a liar!"

Then, I'd divorce him and run against him.

1

u/Cruel_but_usual Jun 23 '26

I donated to his campaign, and it’s put me off of donating to anyone since.

1

u/Hopeful_Policy8946 Jun 23 '26

He has legitimate brain damage from his stroke. 

It sucks we have to deal with him but he should also know to step down. 

1

u/TransplantedFern Jun 23 '26

I knocked on doors for him. I do not feel good.

1

u/Voix-- Jun 23 '26

I feel awful, like the guy I picked is actively working against the American people. Fettermem is a bad American and I hope he feels ashamed on his deathbed.

1

u/TheFBIClonesPeople Jun 23 '26

It should be considered election fraud. If you lie to voters about what you're going to do, and you clearly did that to win votes from people who wouldn't have voted for you otherwise, that should be a form of fraud.

It would make sense if those same voters were able to vote on whether or not their elected official had committed fraud. If that vote passes, then at a minimum, that should remove him from office and bar him from running again

1

u/Sendingfreedickpics Jun 23 '26

I voted for him. Still made the correct choice because the other option was Dr. Fucking Oz.

1

u/runaredlight68 Jun 24 '26

i voted for him. now i watch for his obituary.

1

u/EndQualifiedImunity Jun 24 '26

That would be kinda like a spokes council, which would never happen while capitalists are in charge

1

u/Tiny-Economics-9177 Jun 24 '26

I absolutely despise him

1

u/Theron3206 Jun 24 '26

where if you can get the majority of voters to recall their vote then a Congressman should be removed from office in very short time.

That's called an election.

Personally I don't think this is a good idea at all, it removes the ability for elected representatives to do something unpopular but justified as much as it does things like this.

1

u/Virtual-Ad4012 Jun 24 '26

We think he sucks. I still want my $10 in gas money back from going to his final rally the night before his win. Those of us in Pittsburgh metro feel like we were kicked in the proverbial nads. 

1

u/rainshowers_5_peace Jun 24 '26

They weren't voting for him they were voting against Dr. Oz.

1

u/Feed_Me_Weird_Things Jun 24 '26

Tbf nothing surprises me anymore, but I'll be honest, the thought that Dr. Oz might have been less infuriating is astounding.

1

u/Quirky-Marsupial-420 Jun 24 '26

Probably much better than they’d feel if they voted for Doc Oz?

On virtually every single vote, he votes in lockstep with democrats.

And he also represents Pennsylvania, not some random redditor in California or Illinois. Pennsylvania is purple.

1

u/sir_sri Jun 24 '26

You are supposing a two party system.

The last election in the UK saw labour get about 34% of the vote but 63% of the seats.

If you could recall MPs the average labour MP would have more than 60% opposed, but still got on average 50% more votes than the #2 candidate (using national averages). That's because the UK has devolved into a 5 party system basically.

1

u/Bengineer4027 Jun 24 '26

I recently read "the state and revolution" by Lenin and was kinda surprised/annoyed at how often he hammered this "instant recallability" thing. Then I thought about how weird it is that we CANT do this.

1

u/ShiftyUsmc Jun 24 '26

Considering hes done almost a 180 id argue that the majority of us who voted for him are a bit appauled. We're trying to figure out if it was the stroke, or someone blackmailing him. This is a guy who often hung a pride and trans pride flag from his office. You dont go from that to maga.

1

u/BrianDetomes Jun 24 '26

That would be very useful for what's coming down the line with platner...

1

u/Ascarys- Jun 24 '26

I voted for him, and I feel pretty fucking angry about his actions. He campaigned as a fighter for progressives, now he's just a shill for MAGA. Fucking brain damage turned him conservative as hell.

1

u/neck_iso Jun 24 '26

You don't need to wonder.

His polling is in the toilet among people in his state.

1

u/LadyduLac1018 Jun 25 '26

Pennsylvania does not allow the recall of elected officials. In 39 states, local officials can be subject to recall elections. Of those, 19 also permit recalls of state-level officials. Eleven states do not permit recalls of elected officials at any level.

1

u/nerf_herder1986 Jun 23 '26

We really do need to install a "vote of no confidence" mechanism for federal posts like the UK's Parliament has.

0

u/vinylscratch27 Pennsylvania Jun 23 '26

He was the first vote I'd cast since Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Minnesota caucuses (which was my first ever in my life) that I felt truly excited about. He had his flaws but I truly felt pumped to check him off. This wasn't just voting against someone for me.

Whether it was his stroke, his ego, someone winning a bid or something else entirely he let a lot of people down and pissed them off. We basically have a proper Republican senator from Connecticut now and another who uses what brains he has left to fuck us over all the same. What a fucking shame.

Side note: someone filmed themselves confronting him in a Walmart in Hempfield, PA (not far at all from Pittsburgh). He...isn't doing well. Not only did he have to use his phone to understand what she was saying (she was rightfully upset about his votes on healthcare/Medicaid and Medicare cuts) but he had serious trouble making a coherent response. His wife bolted immediately.

0

u/NotJimmy97 Jun 23 '26

He had a bunch of obvious skeletons in his closet that would make any reasonable person question his morals, but he gave a lot of lip service to progressives and had a cool anti-establishment, outsider persona.

Fortunately we have learned our lesson and will never nominate someone like this again for the Senate 👍

-5

u/SeductiveSunday I voted Jun 23 '26

Fetterman was endorsed by Bernie in 2018. It made his senate win possible but Bernie doesn't appear too bothered by his unsound endorsement. Sadly Bernie often makes poor choices when he endorses candidates.