On Platner. He has got things in his past which are bad. He is currently the subject of an all out political smear campaign. Both these things are true, and unless we can nominate another candidate that can beat Susan Collins, it does not matter.
We are in an existential war for the future of this country, and Senate numbers matter more than anything else. We have seen what happens, particularly to the Supreme Court when the GOP controls the Senate.
It's crucial to elect a Democrat in Maine.
This is not a defense of Platner. Wish that Maine had chosen a better Democratic candidate. But, again unless something magical changes, he looks like he will be the Dem candidate.
Politics is not about picking a good person. It is great if you have that choice, but politics is about power and coalitions.
And right now it is crucial that the Democratic coalition takes over the Senate. Our collective future depends on it. Nothing else even comes close.
Parkrose Permaculture is a gift of clarity in a world gone mad.
Yes, and think she is right about why they are going after Platner with everything they've got. But in this case, don't think it is the best strategy to defend Platner. That is the swift boat trap. Then you are defending someone who has done bad things and the discussion shifts to the bad things.
Feel like the focusing on the stakes of this election. Control of the Senate is the more compelling argument.
I've been pointing people to Jason Kander's conversation with Platner at 35:30, https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/majority-54/graham-platner-OSjH4GNx0L7/.
And then maybe make the conversation about PTSD and the lack of sufficient mental health resources for veterans and their families.
You can't force every combat vet into therapy, but every combat vet should be evaluated for PTSD before discharge and be able to easily access care.
Completely agree. The only thing that matters right now is winning the Senate.
@mastodonmigration Platner's one of those "heads I win, tails you lose" candidates. He's by all accounts an awful person to run for office and should not be in the Senate. Buuut... if the vote is between an abusive piece of shit with a Nazi tattoo who wants billionaires to no longer be able to buy elections on one side and a perfectly nice old lady who supports death camps on the other, then yeah, you vote for the piece of shit with the Nazi tattoo.
Fucking hell. This bus fucking sucks.
@Legit_Spaghetti @mastodonmigration
There's something wrong with Maine. Maybe it's too cold or something. Alaska is horrible, politically, too.
@MisuseCase @mastodonmigration @JonChevreau
Is Fetterman “worse” than Collins?
I do not know the answer to this question.
@paninid @MisuseCase @mastodonmigration @[email protected]
This video is how I want Democratic politicians to speak & he's one of the few who does. Platner is already different from Fetterman, who happens to be the biggest worry I have about Dems gaining the Senate—a 51 to 49 situation where Fetterman switches. If you watch Platner's town halls I think he's the real deal.
Lastly for non-Mainers like me it's not our call.
@RMiddleton @paninid @mastodonmigration Yeah, he’s great at that anti-establishment vibe. And of course all serial abusers are great at reeling people in, otherwise they couldn’t keep doing what they do!
He is going to do to his constituents some version of what he did to his girlfriends. Or at least he’ll do it to some of his staffers.
@MisuseCase @RMiddleton @paninid
He may very well be lying his ass off.
What is crucial is getting to 51 Democratic US Senators.
@mastodonmigration @RMiddleton @paninid Gonna be useless if he’s another Fetterman. Or a Manchin.
Again, Janet Mills would have made a perfectly good 51st Senator. But oh no! She is old and a woman and Chuck Schumer likes her. Y’all have to bet everything on the absolute creep and barely reformed white supremacist instead.
@MisuseCase @RMiddleton @paninid
But, that's not the choice we have.
The choice is between a Democratic or Republican majority in the Senate. You can wish it were otherwise, but it is not.
@mastodonmigration @RMiddleton @paninid “Blue no matter who” but from leftists and progressives for an abusive creep LOL
No wonder Trump won the Presidency twice. This country loves shitty chick-punching white conmen.
@MisuseCase @RMiddleton @paninid
We are living through a burgeoning police state, and the destruction of our democracy. It would be great if there were other choices, but there are not.
Winning the Senate is critical.
@mastodonmigration @RMiddleton @paninid Well, the primary is next week, there’s still time for Democratic voters in Maine to choose someone else.
Anyway you don’t have to waste time with me! I’m not a Democratic voter in Maine.
@paninid @MisuseCase @mastodonmigration @JonChevreau
*The answer is “no”
@paninid @MisuseCase @mastodonmigration @JonChevreau
Why bother asking?
Not everything is a contest. Not everything needs to be ranked.
What's "worse", ass cancer or mouth cancer? Why are we trying to play some perverse Would You Rather game?
How about, bad things can be differently bad-- and need to be stopped, period... so we can have actually GOOD things. Remember those?
@mastodonmigration Yes, but you do your argument no favors by saying "in his past." His past is not the issue. Dude has awful judgment. That doesn't just go away.
Literally everything we know about anyone happened "in their past."
Thing is, the primary hasn’t even been voted on yet. I think people should focus on that first. There are other people on the ballot. I was always pro Mills bc I never trusted Platner. I do not see him as an effective Senator. It’s a big job for a political neophyte, nothing like the House. I realize he will win the primary, and I’d vote for him over Collins. But I’m very disappointed that so many people ignored so many warning signs.
Is this actually realistic?
Is what realistic?
Mills getting the nomination. Thought she dropped out.
Her name is still on the ballot. She suspended her campaign due to lack of funds, but has recently reminded everyone she’s still on the ballot. As I said, Platner will win the nomination, but if it were me, I’d vote Mills in the primary and Platner in the general. There’s one other guy in the primary, but idk anything about him.
("He has got things in his past which are bad.") That's a Reputinikkklan & MSM sound bit, talkingpoint, narrative. Reject the Republican Fascistic framing. Apparently he was a bad date, Oh My.
Susan Collins has got bad things in her past, when she voted 10,000 times to FUBAR America. I'm more concerned with all the women affected by the loss of Reproductive Healthcare, unable to afford daycare, & a Fascistic stacking of the SCROTUS.
ALL GOP's got, lies, shitetalk, & smear.
This sounds suspiciously similar to the kinds of things Republicans said to me about Trump before they voted him in. 🤷♂️
No it does not. This is not a defense of Platner. It is a plea to focus on the big picture. Collins must be defeated. The Dems must get control of the Senate. That is all that matters at this point.
Voting is not about picking a good person. It is about power, we need Maine for Democrats to take back control of the Senate.
@mastodonmigration @DavidM_yeg I simultaneously agree and disagree. We have been screwed SO often by the so-called Democrat who turns out to be a two-bit lying shit like Schumer, Gillibrand, Fetterman, Manchin, Sinema....we get fucked any which way.
Still, I foolishly hold hope that Platner genuinely repudiates errors of youth and WILL advocate for higher wages, tax the stinking rich (at 99%), clean environment, healthcare for all, etc. But I sure as shit ain't holding my breath. Indeed, so corrupt and feckless are so many Democrats that I fear a) they will fuck this up and NOT gain House or Senate and/or b) the assholes who win will yet again betray people and planet for 0.01% interests.
💯 Wish we had a better choice.
But we don't. That's the way politics works. It is almost always about the least bad choice, and in this case, given the stakes involved (control of the Senate), there is no choice.
All very true. Julianna Stratton won in IL. There is a war going on for control of the Democratic Party. There may be the votes to oust Schumer from Majority Leader, but everything else pales compared to winning back the Senate. We need to win Maine.
@FIAR_Light @[email protected] @DavidM_yeg
I really don't see where the DNC or big donors wanted Platner?
I thought it was obvious that Mills was the party establishment candidate. Being the safe option, gouvernor, so already vetted. Platner positioned himself as a leftist, disruptive candidate.
He was both too leftist and too risky to get the support of the DNC or big donors.
There's a lot to criticize about the DNC and Democratic party establishment, but Platner is not on them. If he wins the primary, that's on the primary voters in Maine.
@Mab_813 @DavidM_yeg You are correct. I was pivoting to a broader view of the Democrats/DNC and made the unfortunate conflation of Platner as part of THAT problem of their being corrupt shills of the 0.1%.
Yes, I think he originally sounded quite leftist and the DNC didn't like him and that's why Sanders did. Maybe he IS genuine but the issues around his tattoo and treatment of women leaves much of that in serious doubt. I guess we'll see if he manages to defeat the truly invidious Collins.
@FIAR_Light @mastodonmigration @DavidM_yeg
Platner does not even dispute reports he fantasized about raping intruders to exhibit dominance.
He has no career, no network, no track record for *anything* other than Bernie nodding toward him.
He's an insane choice, even now. Sorry, I get worked up.
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