“If John Fetterman lacks the stomach to expose the entire Oz-Turkish love affair, particularly Ankara’s support of ISIS, he may lose … and will deserve it.”
My Double Trouble: Dr. Mehmet Oz and Turkey said that back in October.
It spelled out Oz’s alarming relationships with the Turkish government, President Erdogan, and shady Turkish organizations and Turks. Benjamin Baird’s Behind Dr. Oz’s Curtain and other writers had covered similar ground.
Yes, soon-to-be Democratic Senator Fetterman did beat Republican Oz, by roughly 240,000 votes out of 5.3 million — 51% to 46.6%.
Yet victory was never assured for the stroke-stricken Fetterman and his anemic campaign. Polls showed Oz gaining on, and sometimes beating, his opponent. Early voting before Fetterman’s dismal October 25 debate performance probably helped his campaign.
Oz has dual citizenship with Turkey. That’s vastly different than dual citizenship with, say, France or Norway. Turkey is a rogue NATO member, unashamedly repressive and corrupt, and has long supported international terrorist organizations such as ISIS.
Oz’s foreign ties, some of which we’ll list, were his most glaring vulnerability. Yet Fetterman never exposed those ties.
Had he hammered home Oz’s troubling foreign relationships in blistering attack ads, Fetterman would undoubtedly have won more decisively.
Points Fetterman Missed
As a Turkish citizen, Oz had a responsibility to condemn Turkey's ongoing support of ISIS and other terrorists. Yet he remained silent.
The doctor spoke at DTiK’s 2019 conference in NY City co-hosted by Gunay Evinch. Erdogan hired Evinch’s law firm, Saltzman & Evinch, to collect intel on some of Turkey’s critics in America.
Also: "Whatever Erdogan wants … Dr. Oz is going to do.”
Just a few of these facts in skillfully produced attack ads would have demolished Oz’s persona and campaign.
The bottom line: Voters won’t tolerate candidates who look to an atrocious foreign government — in this case, Turkey’s — for leadership and personal gain. Voters must first, however, learn the facts in hard-hitting campaign ads.
Meanwhile, Oz’s campaign itself used rough tactics. It opined that the Democrat’s stroke may have been caused by a bad diet and accused him of having sponged off his parents.
I provided Fetterman’s campaign manager, Brendan McPhillips, plenty of documentation about Oz. I never heard from him.
Why didn’t Fetterman use such obvious, potent facts against Oz?
Fetterman’s Failure
American presidents (some more than others), the U.S. State Department, elected Democrats and Republicans, and mainstream corporate media have habitually kowtowed to Turkey’s endless threats and demands. It’s a decades-long story.
Most recently, Turkey supports ISIS, threatens its neighbors (even NATO member Greece), and uses American F-16s contrary to U.S. law. Yet Washington does surprisingly little to hold Ankara accountable.
Even several Democratic critics of Turkey – such as Senators Bob Menendez (NJ) and Chris Van Hollen (MD) and Representatives Frank Pallone (NJ) and Dina Titus (NV) — apparently didn’t criticize Oz’s Turkish connections.
To no avail, before Pennsylvania’s May 17 primary, I asked the campaigns of GOP candidates Kathy Barnette and Dave McCormick to expose Oz’s failure to condemn Turkey’s support of ISIS.
McCormick proceeded to lose to Oz by just 951 votes out of 1.3 million.
Then again, McCormick had been an Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, a CEO of the world’s largest hedge fund, and a former board chairman of Washington, DC’s Turkophilic Atlantic Council. He would probably rather have lost than hurt Turkey’s feelings.
By throwing away a commonsense campaign strategy, John Fetterman betrayed his supporters and their financial commitment. Fear of offending a foreign government and the U.S. State Department is no excuse.
Hopefully, Senator Fetterman will grow a backbone.
David Boyajian’s main foreign policy focus is the Caucasus. His work can be found here (https://www.armeniapedia.org/wiki/David_Boyajian).
This Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias, during a visit to Chicago, participated in a wide-ranging…
The United States has frozen foreign aid to most countries, including Ukraine, but exempted Israel…
Three Greek Australians have been recognized for their outstanding contributions to the community in the…
Tennis Australia has reiterated its stance against players competing in Russia after Thanasi Kokkinakis participated…
President Erdoğan's declaration that Eskişehir's "borders" extend to Thessaloniki, Cyprus, Crimea, and Samarkand has reignited…
Greek authorities have broken up a drug ring in Athens that exploited migrants' healthcare IDs…