Maine has swung significantly since 2020, blue swarms during Covid fleeing NY and MA and bought up land and homes and now friends and family can barely afford to live there. They are also harming the economy with laws that hinder their jobs and pleasures - lobstering, hunting etc. it’s unrecognizable not just in thousands of new homes but in values and character. So Platner’s success doesn’t surprise me, the votes were probably all from residents less than 5y.
I've read Platner's platform. I can see why progressive Democrats would gravitate towards it, although the platform promises were an incoherent mess..
What I cannot comprehend is how Democrats persuaded themselves to look past the considerable baggage he brought to the campaign. Conservative media outlets did not even have to work hard to hit pay dirt with their opposition research.
Had Platner been an actual oyster farmer, had he not tried to play stupid about his Nazi tattoo, had he not been a sexual predator, he would have been the "real man" package Daniel Moraff thought he was, and he might have given Susan Collins a run for her money. He might have even beaten her.
But he isn't an oyster farmer. He knew damn well what his Nazi tat was all about. He was known to be a sexual predator.
Not only did Daniel Moraff and the rest of the Democratic Party operators who stood Platner up as a candidate know these things and ignore them, so did a good number of Democrat voters. With Troy Jackson having the inside lane on the nomination now, and having his own allegations of violence against women, I have to wonder if the Democrats are still ignoring these things.
What kind of political party is it when basic norms of civilized behavior no longer matter?
I realize how cynical this may sound, but I’m fairly confident that the Maine process will remain open and transparent only so long as it aligns with national party wishes. The moment it starts to look precarious it’ll go full Kamala.
“…go full Kamala” - haha! I hope that slang catches on as the political phrasing for ignoring voters completely. The aspect of the 2024 election that most astounded me was that NO Democratic voter publicly stood up and said, “Hey - wait a minute. WE didn’t get to vote on that!” What a bunch of sheep.
I agree - it was incredibly sheepleish! And what’s worse is that it seems to be getting increasingly worse. It went from removing the threat of Sanders in 2016 to not giving voters a choice in 2024 to overturning voters’ overwhelming choice in 2026. Granted this is a senatorial candidate vs. Presidential, but I’m not liking the trend!
It's not a good trend for the Democrats. It's a downright horrible trend.
It's also tactically unwise. The Democrats need turnout if they want to take the House, let alone the Senate. Snatching voters primary choice away from them is not likely to boost voter turnout in November.
Whether that has spillover effects nationally remains to be seen, but it is already clear the Democrats are being dangerously short-sighted.
Of course, all of that is good news for the Republicans.
Too soon to tell for certain, but I'd say the odds are pretty good that voter turnout will be reduced. Whether that's the plan seems a bit of a stretch. If the Democrats want a blue wave they need turnout across the country.
Troy Jackson is the current favorite to get the slot. All the usual suspects have already lined up behind him, choosing to ignore the allegations by Progressive Victory that Jackson has his own history of violence against women. What could be his bigger weakness, however, is that he placed third in the gubernatorial primary. The man is not an automatic draw for Maine voters.
If that's the Democrats' strongest play, I don't see the Democrats keeping the voter enthusiasm Platner generated, especially since Jackson has a voting track record that is a good deal less progressive than the line Platner was drawing.
I figure each time party chair Charlie Dingham mentioned "transparent", "inclusive", and "representative" in the party's announcement the odds of the process being transparent, inclusive, or representative was cut in half.
Of course, with the lead alternate candidate Troy Jackson also being accused of violence against women, the challenge for the Democrats will be choosing their Kamala Harris stand-in. Maybe Shenna Bellows?
Since all the declared candidates with the possible exception of Bellows are failed primary candidates, the MDP has a surplus of Kamala clones from which to choose.
The first Maine Democrat Senate primary was a bit lopsided. Janet Mills was not that unpopular. One has to wonder if there may be a bit of fraud in that race.....
Fraud is always a possibility, although I suspect much of what carried the day for Platner was a protest vote.
Voters in 2024 rejected the Biden-Harris track record and the Democrats' agenda. They voted for change, and they identified Donald Trump as their preferred change agent.
Judging by the inroads the DSA has made into the Democratic Party, Dem voters also want change, presumably of a more progressive variety. A plausible read of Platner's primary win is that Maine Democrats are rejecting the status quo, even if it means voting for a Nazi rapist thug. How many of his votes were votes against the status quo vs votes for Graham Platner is something we do not know, and may never know, but dollars to donuts says a fair chunk of his votes were protest votes against the Dem status quo.
I wish I had a better insight regarding how voters will react to all of this, but my knee-jerk hunch is that Susan Collins might win handily simply by virtue of the fact that she’s going to be furthest away from the fallout radius.
Given that the next nominee will have an abbreviated time to make their case to Maine voters, that alone gives Susan Collins a head start. If the Democrats nominate Troy Jackson she'll have a second advantage in the form of swirling allegations of violence against women.
Shenna Bellows might have the least baggage, but given that Polymarket gives her a 21% chance of being the nominee against Troy Jackson’s 69%, it is unlikely she has a commanding constituency for a base of support.
The Democrats have definitely shot themselves in the foot in Maine!
Not fate, more like retribution. This could've been the basis for a Peter's Proverbs article.
One Graham lusted after both women and power and one Graham constantly pursued and supported war. Don't believe either turned to God to ask what they should do.
James 4:2
Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
Maine has swung significantly since 2020, blue swarms during Covid fleeing NY and MA and bought up land and homes and now friends and family can barely afford to live there. They are also harming the economy with laws that hinder their jobs and pleasures - lobstering, hunting etc. it’s unrecognizable not just in thousands of new homes but in values and character. So Platner’s success doesn’t surprise me, the votes were probably all from residents less than 5y.
I've read Platner's platform. I can see why progressive Democrats would gravitate towards it, although the platform promises were an incoherent mess..
What I cannot comprehend is how Democrats persuaded themselves to look past the considerable baggage he brought to the campaign. Conservative media outlets did not even have to work hard to hit pay dirt with their opposition research.
Had Platner been an actual oyster farmer, had he not tried to play stupid about his Nazi tattoo, had he not been a sexual predator, he would have been the "real man" package Daniel Moraff thought he was, and he might have given Susan Collins a run for her money. He might have even beaten her.
But he isn't an oyster farmer. He knew damn well what his Nazi tat was all about. He was known to be a sexual predator.
Not only did Daniel Moraff and the rest of the Democratic Party operators who stood Platner up as a candidate know these things and ignore them, so did a good number of Democrat voters. With Troy Jackson having the inside lane on the nomination now, and having his own allegations of violence against women, I have to wonder if the Democrats are still ignoring these things.
What kind of political party is it when basic norms of civilized behavior no longer matter?
Wow, yes, how wonderful you can keep tabs on what is True and educate us on all the facts. Thank you.
I realize how cynical this may sound, but I’m fairly confident that the Maine process will remain open and transparent only so long as it aligns with national party wishes. The moment it starts to look precarious it’ll go full Kamala.
“…go full Kamala” - haha! I hope that slang catches on as the political phrasing for ignoring voters completely. The aspect of the 2024 election that most astounded me was that NO Democratic voter publicly stood up and said, “Hey - wait a minute. WE didn’t get to vote on that!” What a bunch of sheep.
I agree - it was incredibly sheepleish! And what’s worse is that it seems to be getting increasingly worse. It went from removing the threat of Sanders in 2016 to not giving voters a choice in 2024 to overturning voters’ overwhelming choice in 2026. Granted this is a senatorial candidate vs. Presidential, but I’m not liking the trend!
It's not a good trend for the Democrats. It's a downright horrible trend.
It's also tactically unwise. The Democrats need turnout if they want to take the House, let alone the Senate. Snatching voters primary choice away from them is not likely to boost voter turnout in November.
Whether that has spillover effects nationally remains to be seen, but it is already clear the Democrats are being dangerously short-sighted.
Of course, all of that is good news for the Republicans.
Do you think the point is to deter voter turnout? Or do you think they’re oblivious to cause and effect?
Too soon to tell for certain, but I'd say the odds are pretty good that voter turnout will be reduced. Whether that's the plan seems a bit of a stretch. If the Democrats want a blue wave they need turnout across the country.
Troy Jackson is the current favorite to get the slot. All the usual suspects have already lined up behind him, choosing to ignore the allegations by Progressive Victory that Jackson has his own history of violence against women. What could be his bigger weakness, however, is that he placed third in the gubernatorial primary. The man is not an automatic draw for Maine voters.
If that's the Democrats' strongest play, I don't see the Democrats keeping the voter enthusiasm Platner generated, especially since Jackson has a voting track record that is a good deal less progressive than the line Platner was drawing.
I figure each time party chair Charlie Dingham mentioned "transparent", "inclusive", and "representative" in the party's announcement the odds of the process being transparent, inclusive, or representative was cut in half.
Of course, with the lead alternate candidate Troy Jackson also being accused of violence against women, the challenge for the Democrats will be choosing their Kamala Harris stand-in. Maybe Shenna Bellows?
Since all the declared candidates with the possible exception of Bellows are failed primary candidates, the MDP has a surplus of Kamala clones from which to choose.
The first Maine Democrat Senate primary was a bit lopsided. Janet Mills was not that unpopular. One has to wonder if there may be a bit of fraud in that race.....
Fraud is always a possibility, although I suspect much of what carried the day for Platner was a protest vote.
Voters in 2024 rejected the Biden-Harris track record and the Democrats' agenda. They voted for change, and they identified Donald Trump as their preferred change agent.
Judging by the inroads the DSA has made into the Democratic Party, Dem voters also want change, presumably of a more progressive variety. A plausible read of Platner's primary win is that Maine Democrats are rejecting the status quo, even if it means voting for a Nazi rapist thug. How many of his votes were votes against the status quo vs votes for Graham Platner is something we do not know, and may never know, but dollars to donuts says a fair chunk of his votes were protest votes against the Dem status quo.
I wish I had a better insight regarding how voters will react to all of this, but my knee-jerk hunch is that Susan Collins might win handily simply by virtue of the fact that she’s going to be furthest away from the fallout radius.
Given that the next nominee will have an abbreviated time to make their case to Maine voters, that alone gives Susan Collins a head start. If the Democrats nominate Troy Jackson she'll have a second advantage in the form of swirling allegations of violence against women.
Shenna Bellows might have the least baggage, but given that Polymarket gives her a 21% chance of being the nominee against Troy Jackson’s 69%, it is unlikely she has a commanding constituency for a base of support.
The Democrats have definitely shot themselves in the foot in Maine!
Not fate, more like retribution. This could've been the basis for a Peter's Proverbs article.
One Graham lusted after both women and power and one Graham constantly pursued and supported war. Don't believe either turned to God to ask what they should do.
James 4:2
Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
For you Lindsay:
You smug faced crowds
With kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads march by
Sneak home and pray you'll never know
The hell where youth and laugher go —Suicide in the Trenches
Have "fun" on the other side senator