Rooting for Senator Fetterman
The day started at 7 a.m. with a breakfast meeting and ended after 11 p.m. — and I was exhausted.
It was 1996. I had spent 16 straight hours with Pennsylvania’s freshman Sen. Rick Santorum to report on “A day in the life of a senator.”
I realized that same crazy day that I never wanted to become a senator.
Meetings and phone calls were followed by meetings in between more meetings and more phone calls.
Lobbyist groups came begging for money or legislation, followed by committee hearings, followed by speeches on the Senate floor.
If I remember correctly, Santorum even had an exercise session stuck in there at one point and a prayer meeting at another.
But one thing I learned from tagging along behind Santorum was very clear: A U.S. senator’s typical day is hectic, grueling and planned down to the minute.
I also learned senators must be incredibly fast learners and decision-makers, which is why those who find their way to the U.S. Senate are usually some of the sharpest people you will ever meet.
John Fetterman has navigated a most unusual path to become Pennsylvania’s freshman senator.
His progressive positions in an increasingly liberal Democratic primary process last Spring easily won him his party's nomination — even though he suffered what we were told was a minor stroke only days before the election.
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Copyright 2023 Tom Purcell, All Rights Reserved. Credit: Cagle.com
