Eric Garcia: Fetterman’s disability could offer a real-world tutorial about how even institutions like the Senate can adapt and provide accessibility. But conservatives' response so far risks a chilling effect.
First off, let’s admit that these conservatives are most likely not that concerned about Fetterman’s well-being. He has been the subject of their rage ever since he appeared on television and rebutted claims about voter fraud in Pennsylvania coming from former President Donald Trump and other Republicans such as Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
Republicans are talking about Fetterman’s health mainly because they don’t like that he beat them and also because they think that his stroke and his subsequent speech difficulties should have disqualified him in the eyes of voters. Many Republicans — and indeed many in Washington —thought Fetterman’s performance at the debate against Republican Mehmet Oz where he used closed captions and at times struggled to speak would be a mark against him.
The opposite was true for some voters. When I covered a Pittsburgh rally with former President Barack Obama the weekend before the election, many attendees said they knew people who had had strokes and they knew that people who’d had strokes could recover. The New York Times story, which so many conservatives used to criticize Fetterman and those around him, did a poor job discussing issues of disability. We can start with the fact that the article used the term “special needs” when talking about Fetterman.
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