Our two marquee political races for senator and governor here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have certainly been eventful.

As you may be aware, for governor we have Typically Competent Democrat Josh Shapiro, who is like our current governor Tom Wolf in that he is pretty much your classic Very Intelligent Leader Person who does not necessarily stand out from other politicians. Which is fine. We are doing just peachy with Governor Wolf, who seems like a nice enough guy who gives a damn and is from my hometown area.

That last thing probably only matters to people from my hometown.

His opponent, Professional Cretin Doug Mastriano is pretty much a flat-out Nazi who does things like pose in a Confederate uniform and say horrifying things about abortion.

On the Senate side, Snake Oil Salesman Dr. Oz is making inroads in his race against Mountain of a Man John Fetterman via raising questions about Fetterman’s health and basically pulling a Willie Horton by insinuating Fetterman releases murderers.

Fetterman is a smart man and his campaign so far has been pretty good, despite his stroke. Oz has constantly stepped in it, such as in the infamous Crudités Incident. Stepping in it in front of a master political snarker like Fetterman is like giving Don Rickles material to mock you.

However, Oz’s attack on Fetterman for not debating him has caused some issues for the big guy. It is, of course, kind of a bullshit move, as few debates happen in September, as Fetterman has pointed out. However, Fetterman’s sometimes halting speech at recent events has raised a few questions about whether he is ducking Oz.

Fetterman’s campaign has made a move, however, that was pretty smart. In an interview with Politico, Fetterman said yes, he will debate in mid or late October. Addressing the debate talk was necessary and enabled them to defuse some of the questions. It made Fetterman a sympathetic figure as he talked about overcoming his health challenges. At least for the time being, Fetterman may have defused a potentially serious issue for his campaign.

The other issue may be a bigger problem. Crime has long been a solid issue for politicians and if you can paint your opponent as soft on crime, you can win an election.

Oz is doing some fairly heinous stuff to make Fetterman out as soft on crime, focused on statements Fetterman has made in the past, including time on the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons. Needless to say, given we are talking about Republicans here, the statements are false.

In fact, they are telling so many lies I can’t list them all here. This breaks them down pretty well.

Crime is a good go-to for Oz because it is up. Politicians like him claim it is at an all-time high. Not to trivialize it, but we’re nowhere near the level of crime of the early 1990s. This increase in crime is not due to any one factor, nor is it limited to Democrat-run cities. A Brennan Center report outlines it well.

Crime is an obsession for Americans, even in areas where crime is low. Some of this, of course, is flat-out racism. Some of it is false perceptions. Even when crime is low, people think it is high.

This kind of disconnect is a problem for Fetterman. The two most recent races show Fetterman ahead but Oz is in striking distance. However, he is a smart politician with a great campaign staff, and he has shown in the past he can definitely counter bullshit. For Democrats and the country, it is important he keeps doing it.

The last word goes to Pittsburgh’s own The Clarks, with a song for you, Dr. Oz. It’s kind of a crime these guys never hit it big but we love them here in PA.