John Fetterman's fracking position poses problems during debate

When historians write about John Fetterman's Senate campaign, they'll note that October 25, 2022 was the unofficial finish of John Fetterman's campaign. John Fetterman's performance in Tuesday night's debate was that terrible. Axios won't be mistaken as a conservative newspaper anytime soon. Their article is fair without pulling their punches.

Fox News is often characterized as a conservative website. Their article accurately quoted Fetterman's reply on fracking accurately. The moderator asked Fetterman to explain his flip-flop on fracking. That's when Fetterman's problems became obvious to everyone watching.

Fetterman replied "I do support fracking, and I don’t, I don’t — I support fracking, and I stand, and I do support fracking." That stands in stark contrast with Fetterman's past statements on fracking. During his 2016 Senate run, Fetterman "supported a complete moratorium on fracking in the state, according to an April 2016 Facebook post from Pennsylvania Voters Against Fracking. He also said during a 2016 debate, during his first run for Senate, that he supported a fracking moratorium":

"I support a moratorium on fracking in Pennsylvania." #PASenDebate

— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) April 24, 2016

This is video of Fetterman's meltdown moment:

That moment was cringeworthy. Next, let's look at the Axios article:

The post-debate commentary on NewsNation focused primarily on Fetterman's health and capacity to serve. NewsNation host Leland Vittert said "the biggest issue was John Fetterman's health and his ability to comprehend speech, and to then speak coherently on the issues of the day."

Another Pennsylvania Democratic official worried: "Everyone is nervous. I've traveled everywhere. Fetterman is a deep concern. And this debate will only increase it."

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), on CNN: "It's sad to see John Fetterman struggling so much. He should take more time to allow himself to fully recover."

This is cringeworthy for a different reason:

The other side: Other stalwart Fetterman defenders argued that, despite the debate stumble, they gave him credit for at least showing up.

A senior Democratic official in Pennsylvania told Axios: "I wished Fetterman was in a better place to clap back. Overall, I argue it wasn’t great for us but still a draw. Remember in these next few weeks that Oz’s campaign is spending tens of millions of dollars against a man with a major medical condition."

Tuesday night's debate wasn't a draw. It was a rout and Fetterman was on the losing end of that rout.