Although Dr. Oz spoke more eloquently than stroke-victim Fetterman during the debate, there’s a new list of detestable things about him. His social media campaign is a train wreck, plagued by hilarious gaffes that his detractors have field days with.
We’ve learned he’s taken dark, sleazy money, used an actual crisis actor, housed genocide deniers, given a speech in front of Hitler’s car, and been heartless to patients.
Allegedly he’s against legalizing cannabis, tortured puppies during experiments, and made many real doctors mad.
The Debate Went Badly for Stroke Victim, Fetterman
Perhaps it’s no surprise that the slick-talking snake oil salesman befuddled the stroke patient in the debate. Fetterman knew the effects of the stroke would be an issue and sent out an email to his voters that if the debate would upset them, not to watch.
And it was upsetting and hard to watch, but not because of Fetterman’s stumbling resolutions and refutations so much as Oz steamrolling him with rapid-fire speech and a disregard for allotted speaking time, which seemed, at times, to overwhelm Fetterman.
Dr. Oz did commit a telling slip, though. He said abortion laws should be up to a woman, her doctor, and the local government. Given that radical Jan 6th insurrectionist Doug Mastriano is running for governor, that sent a chill down most women’s backs.
Oz is the instant gratification candidate, a recognizable television personality with many empty promises. Americans may be uncomfortable with disabilities, but then FDR was in a wheelchair when he helped this country out of the depression.
How well Fetterman has done so far is a testament to him and the intelligence and organization of his team. Unlike Oz, Fetterman has a crack team. This matters because nobody can be a Senator on their own. If you are voting for Oz because he talks better, this is what you will get, so beware.
For those who might vote for Oz because he is a “better speaker” (well-rehearsed speaker), beware the man whose intentionally misleading words once landed him on the wrong side of a senate subcommittee floor.
Recent PA Resident
Since I last wrote about Dr. Oz, the ex-surgeon from Delaware, who’s lived in New Jersey most of his life, and is running for the Pennsylvania Senate, has been hard on the campaign trail. He’s been “Pennsylvaniaing,” as some call it, or trying to prove that he knows PA like a native. He’s in diners and police stations all over the state, praising fried meat as a heart doctor quick to betray his lifestyle advice and sucking up to all law enforcement except the Capitol Police and the FBI.
He’s been loaning millions of his 200 million net worth to his campaign, enough to cause speculation that he will want to make it back. His main election tactics are kowtowing to MAGA, going as far as to be an election denier, showboating on Sean Hannity, fear-mongering stroke victim, Fetterman’s health, and claiming Fetterman didn’t make his own money.
This is rich, given he married into the Asplundh family worth 2.6 billion and is relentlessly fighting his siblings for his father’s money. His entire belief system is now full-on, cookie-cutter MAGA, although he adds and removes Trump’s endorsement from his media depending on which way the wind blows.
Everything in Bryn Athyn revolves around the Swedenborgian religion, a mystical version of Protestantism. Oz claimed at one point he believed in the religion, but he also claimed to be a Muslim. His beliefs change color like a mood stone depending on his audience. I’m guessing he said that the church is about “deep wisdom and many layers of insight,” like he said about Jeopardy!
Lisa’s Bryn Athyn Family
Oz’s wife, Lisa, is well-liked in Bryn Athyn, and her parents are well-respected. She was always very polite and charming when I knew her, although she always tended to tell people what she thought they wanted to hear. Check out the Lisa Oz Show, and you decide.
She’s been kind to her hometown, promoting old friends’ art and writing and attending the Bryn Athyn church regularly. Supposedly getting Oz into TV was Lisa’s idea. She MAY be the origin of some of her husband’s Wackiest Medical Beliefs: from communicating with the dead to examining poop formations, having more than 200 orgasms a year to live longer, and having a reiki person in the OR. She’s a “reiki master” and an anti-vaxxer.
Oz has recently purchased a property from the Academy of the Church. There has been speculation about the buyback clause. However, the ANC always does those clauses because the land is limited in Bryn Athyn, and they want to expand. Bryn Athyn also prefers to redline non-Swedenborgians, at least in my days there, even though they allow them to attend the school now.
When I was in school, they didn’t, and we used to call them “OCs” (out of the church) like we were Scientologists or something. The house is in some disrepair and has been sitting for a while, and I think they are renovating it now.
He’s avoiding his property tax there, though to the tune of 50k, by claiming it’s a farm, thus angering real farmers.
#WorstCampaignEver – an actual trending hashtag
Since Oz didn’t take the trouble to scrub some of his more awkward moments from his social media and Youtube, web sleuths had brought some embarrassing confessions to light, like this old clip of Oz proudly claiming he drank pee when he described how “A diabetic’s urine tastes like wine, cherry wine,” to Jimmy Kimmel according to vice.com in an article entitled “Dr. Oz Apparently Considers Himself Something of a Pee Sommelier” leaving Jimmy to claim he was the weirdest guest he ever had.
Also, on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in October 2009, Oz said that as a child, he was “fascinated” by needles and used to find needles in the desk of his father, a physician. He said he would use the needles to poke holes in oranges to extract the juice.” And one day, I noticed my sister’s head had little pores in it too. And I still remember, I swear, watching her head from behind,” Oz told Kimmel, miming creeping up behind his sister with the needle. “I threw it in there, and it didn’t go in,” Oz said. “The skull got in the way. I got no brain — I got nothing back.”
Oz’s social media campaign has been an unmitigated disaster. He clearly never reads his comments, so people have a field day on them and never get blocked. His tweets are regularly ratioed. (Getting ratioed means that you got more comments than likes on a post. It means that people don’t like what you say, but they have something to say back.)
Wegners Groceries
One of Oz’s most prominent social media gaffes was when he went to a “Wegner’s Groceries” @groceriesWegner and made a video complaining about the price of vegetables. He claimed he bought vegetables for a “Crudité” that his wife, Lisa, would make.
Critics immediately noted that he didn’t bring a basket, chose raw asparagus, and bought salsa for a dip and too many carrots. He also complained that that “didn’t even cover the price of the tequila.” This gave away that he doesn’t know that you can’t buy tequila in a PA supermarket, an indicator that, as many people say, he doesn’t live in Pennsylvania. And just like that, the phrase “Let them eat Crudités” was born.
Fetterman shot back that “it’s called a veggie tray” in Pennsylvania and pointed out a much more affordable version. “We repeatedly told @DrOz that we had pre-made veggie trays..excuse me “Crudité”…in the deli starting at $5.99. $7.99 with guacamole and salsa. Vote @JohnFetterman!” – said Wegner’s Groceries.
The best part, though, is that there are no “Wegner’s Groceries.” Oz was in a Redner’s Market and conflated Redner’s with Wegmans, a high-end chain where he probably shops in New Jersey. The non-existent “Wegner’s” (@grocierieswegner) now has a Twitter following of ~28k. They have beautiful, convincing graphics designed by @tj_harley, advertise specials, and are up on everything Oz.
Some people think they are a real market and get mad at them for being political. A guy called “Chuck D” got really upset about it. Wegners replied to Chuck that they had polled all their employees and had fired all those who said that they supported Dr. Oz. Below are some other choice responses Chuck received:
“Old man Wegner used to say, “If my God damn customers want Tequila, nobody is going stopping me”..so many arrests and fines, but damn, the man had principles.” – @SCcharleston843.
Actual Crisis Actor
“During an event in Philadelphia, last month, ex-TV doctor and GOP Senate nominee Dr. Mehmet Oz comforted a Black woman whose family had suffered multiple tragic losses to gun violence in what appeared to be a spontaneous moment of empathy and compassion. But it turns out the woman is an Oz campaign staffer, and she organized the event herself.” – Vice.
Dark Money, Sleazy Money
Oz is now getting dark money from Citizens United and Mitch McConnell.Although he said, he’d “never take PAC money.” It also turns out he invests in the same companies he blames for skyrocketing drug costs and has been accused of more sleazy endorsements.
“In at least one case, products Oz promoted have raised health concerns. Usana settled a California case in 2018 after a watchdog group discovered they contained unsafe levels of lead.
Several of the companies he has promoted, including Usana, are structured as multilevel marketing businesses whose practices have repeatedly drawn the attention of federal regulators. Such companies offer distributors a vision of wealth and independence via paid commissions on the products they sell — and on the sales of neighbors, friends, and colleagues whom they also recruit to work underneath them in the enterprise.
One company, Vemma Nutrition, settled charges of violating various prohibitions on deceptive acts or practices brought by the Federal Trade Commission.” – ABC News.
He had to pay out in a settlement for false ads in 2018. And possibly worst of all, his Healthcorps, Inc., has had more than $365 worth of PPP loans forgiven.
Genocide Deniers
Some Turkish friends of the Oz’s, known as Armenian genocide deniers, live in an apartment owned by Oz that he failed to report ownership of. The Armenians aren’t happy about that.
In fact, the Armenian National Committee of America wants the DOJ to investigate Oz’s Turkey ties. It’s unclear if he’s given up his Turkish citizenship, although he claimed he would.
Worst Idea Ever
In Santa Ana, Oz gave a speech in front of Hitler’s Car. You can’t make this stuff up. I’m going to leave this one at that.
Puppy Killer
It turns out that back in the day, Columbia University was fined by “In the early 2000s, testimony from a whistleblower and veterinarian named Catherine Dell’Orto about Oz’s research detailed extensive suffering inflicted on his team’s canine test subjects, including multiple violations of the Animal Welfare Act, which sets minimum standards of care for dogs, cats, primates, rabbits, and other animals in possession of animal dealers and laboratories.
The law specifically requires researchers and breeders to use pain-relieving drugs or euthanasia on the animals, and not use paralytics without anesthesia, or experiment multiple times on the same animal.” – Jezebel.com
Oz’s campaign denied his involvement in the abuse, claiming he was not in the operating room during or after operations and was not alerted to the abuse until after the cases were finished. – Politico “You should know these accusations; not only do they have no validity, but whatever research was being done must have helped humans at some level,” said Oz.
Real Doctors Against Oz
A group of 151 doctors has signed an open letter against him to protest his dubious medical practices. Mr. “as a doctor…” this and “as a doctor…” hasn’t seen patients for years and haven’t done surgery since 2018. Some doctors share stories of how they had to counteract bad Oz advice that hurt their patients. Others, like Dr. Zeke Tayler, are speaking out on social media.
Mean Doctor
When the Today Show asked him why he allowed an Oz campaign staffer to say that “John Fetterman wouldn’t have had a stroke if he’d ever eaten a vegetable in his life,” he replied, “I have tremendous compassion for what John Fetterman’s going through.” Although he then admitted he’d never talk to a patient of his like that.
Cannabis
He’s against legalizing cannabis “Because Pennsylvanians need to get back their “Mojo” and get back to work.”
Heart Dr. Without a Heart
According to an article on Page Six, “He’s a “heart doctor without a heart” is how some of Dr. Mehmet Oz’s longtime staffers are describing the way he left them “high and dry” to run for Senate. Loyal staffers, who have worked on “The Dr. Oz Show” since the beginning, are depressed and seething after he abruptly ended his show to run for Pennsylvania’s open US Senate seat in November.”
