Far-right provocateur Ann Coulter needs to reveal Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D), a U.S. Senate candidate, for deleting a tweet of himself proudly displaying a marijuana flag. The issue is…the pro-legalization gubernatorial nominee didn’t the truth is delete the tweet.
Coulter’s Substack submit is titled “The Tweet John Fetterman Doesn’t Need You to See.”
All the submit is premised on the concept that the official is making an attempt to cover a photograph he posted in January that reveals him cloaked in rainbow flags to assist the LGBTIQA+ group whereas holding a novelty flag with hashish leaves and the phrases “DON’T TREAD ON WEED,” a play on the 1775 Gadsden flag that was designed in the course of the American Revolution.
The conservative pundit and self-described polemicist has usually embraced the drug warfare and demeaned marijuana customers. She’s said that hashish “makes folks retarded” and that legalization is “destroying the nation.” So it’s not shocking that she’s taken challenge with the Democratic gubernatorial candidate’s reform advocacy; nevertheless, the submit about Fetterman’s flag tweet is flagrantly unfaithful.
The supporting proof she used to again up the suggestion concerning the deleted tweet is a screenshot from Twitter that claims “One thing went fallacious. Attempt reloading.” It reveals the URL for the tweet in query.
All it takes is typing that very same URL right into a browser to search out that the submit is, the truth is, nonetheless on-line. And, once more, no shock there: Fetterman is campaigning on a promise to deliver his marijuana legalization advocacy to Capitol Hill if he’s elected over his Republican opponent, the TV persona recognized greatest as Dr. Oz.
It’s not clear why Coulter obtained an error when making an attempt to entry Fetterman’s tweet—Twitter usually shows messages just like the one above when a person’s browser has bother connecting to the web—or why she doesn’t seem to have clicked the “retry” button as prompt to efficiently load the submit later, however right here is it, nonetheless stay for everybody to see:
From our rally final 12 months. A majority of Pennsylvanians from *each* sides of the aisle assist legalization of hashish. It is time to cease prosecuting folks for one thing most of us do not even assume needs to be unlawful. pic.twitter.com/QHFqdGlY35
— Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (@FettermanLt) January 13, 2022
Coulter begins her post by acknowledging that “Lt. Gov. John Fetterman likes weed. Rather a lot.” She provides a quick account of how the official captured headlines for hanging the hashish flag on the balcony of his state Capitol workplace as he pushed for legalization within the Keystone State.
Even after state officers eliminated each the rainbow and hashish flags, allegedly on the behest of sure GOP lawmakers, he made some extent of restoring them. They survived an try by the conservative legislature to ban the marijuana-themed decor as a part of a 2020 finances invoice, too.
I even needed to rehang this one. 🙄 pic.twitter.com/NPuADtb1Lt
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) January 26, 2021
However in line with Coulter, “now that he’s working for the U.S. senate as an everyman, working class man of the folks, versus the Bernie Sanders left-wing loon that he’s,” Fetterman needs to cover the January tweet of him holding the flag.
Marijuana Second reached out to Coulter with the stay hyperlink to the submit she prompt was deleted, however she didn’t reply.
The pundit’s evaluation concerning the deleted (however not really deleted) tweet is questionable by itself. If a candidate wished to place themselves as an “everyman,” one would assume they’d need to be aligned with the vast majority of the general public. And a ballot of Pennsylvania voters that was launched final 12 months reveals that 58 p.c of voters within the state assist legalization.
It’s the identical sort of political disconnect that’s raised questions on Republican gubernatorial candidate Mehmet Ozs assaults towards Fetterman over his hashish advocacy.
Whereas Ozhimself has beforehand referred to as marijuana “one of the vital underused instruments in America” and mentioned that the nation ought to “fully change our coverage on marijuana,” he and the Republican Nationwide Committee have not too long ago derided the lieutenant governor for vocally backing hashish reform.
Ozalso made dismissive feedback concerning the official’s “pot flag” throughout an look on Fox Information.
Oz: He’s recognized for hanging a pot flag outdoors the window… I knew from the homosexual one, you’re employed onerous… pic.twitter.com/bk2Lz2DyIw
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 19, 2022
And former U.S. Home Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) equally talked concerning the marijuana flag final month, falsely claiming the lieutenant governor swapped it for the American flag.
Newt Gingrich (falsely) claims John Fetterman changed the American flag in his workplace on the Pennsylvania State Capitol with “the marijuana flag” and the “homosexual delight flag”
Fetterman by no means eliminated the American flag from his workplace. pic.twitter.com/2xD7N6she9— nikki mccann ramírez (@NikkiMcR) July 25, 2022
The very fact of the matter is, Fetterman hasn’t shied away from his drug coverage reform platform throughout his marketing campaign. If something, he’s leaned into it.
For instance, he’s commented on his jealousy that New Jersey hashish gross sales launched whereas Pennsylvania has but to enact legalization and he’s persisted in making folks conscious of an expedited pardon course of he’s championed for folks with “bullshit” marijuana convictions.
The official, who serves as chair of the state Board of Pardons, has mentioned that one among his key objectives in his ultimate 12 months in workplace is to make sure that as many eligible folks as attainable submit functions to have the courts take away their hashish data and restore alternatives to issues like housing, scholar monetary assist and employment by means of an expedited petition program.
When the Pennsylvania BOP convenes subsequent week, we’ll approve many extra.
Serving up a 2nd Probability in PA- for FREE.
Get your app in now. 👇https://t.co/ni3ihX0qPX https://t.co/5uIIHdPXrS
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) November 26, 2021
“It is a plant that’s authorized in lots of jurisdictions throughout America, and it’s not a giant deal, however you undergo your life in lots of circumstances a convicted felon, and that excludes you from loads of alternatives,” he mentioned previous to saying his Senate run. “So I developed an expedited evaluation course of that I encourage all people to partake in.”
After Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) endorsed marijuana legalization, Fetterman additionally led a statewide listening tour to listen to what residents needed to say concerning the coverage proposal. He touted his position in that tour on his Senate marketing campaign web site.
He additionally talked about his work to “legalize weed for jobs, justice, veterans, farmers and income” in a fundraising e mail early this 12 months.
Fetterman beforehand mentioned that farmers in his state may develop higher marijuana than folks in New Jersey—and that was one motive why Pennsylvania ought to expeditiously reform its hashish legal guidelines.
In 2020, he hosted a digital discussion board the place he obtained recommendation on how one can successfully implement a hashish system from the lieutenant governors of Illinois and Michigan, which have enacted legalization.
If Fetterman was making an attempt to avoid being related to hashish reform as a Senate candidate, he’d have his work reduce out for him. However the actuality is that, no, an eight-month-old submit of the official with the hashish flag is just not “The Tweet John Fetterman Doesn’t Need You to See.”
Picture courtesy of Twitter/John Fetterman.