I have some issues with AOC, but boy she comes out of this looking a lot better than a bunch of folks- looking at you Elizabeth Warren, Ro Khanna and Bernie Sanders. (Unlike those three, AOC never publicly supported Platner). I wonder if her experience working as a bartender helped her clock what Platner really was and told her spidey-sense to keep her distance. Whatever it was, it clearly worked!
There is a LOT to be grim about regarding this whole debacle, and I agree that it ultimately falls on the Maine electorate, but I can give them some grace for preferring Platner to noted sex icon Janet Mills.
I also know that the polls show that "generic democrat" beats Collins usually by somewhere in the realm of five points, but to me, one of the most fascinating and underreported elements of this entire fiasco has been the ridiculous discipline from the Collins camp to just shut up, sit back, and let the Democrats cannibalize themselves. Lesser politicians (like Trump himself) would try to hoot and holler and capitalize, but she's been remarkably focused on just carrying on as Maine's senator.
I think it's odd that this race became such a national firestorm and center of attention. I've always been of the mind (granted, as a normie lib who is not in Maine) that regardless of the current polling and Trump's horrid unpopularity, Collins was probably just going to roll ahead to another narrow victory in November because that's consistently what she does in Maine.
People are attracted to bad candidates for the same reason that some women are attracted to bad men: they see what they want to see in people and dont see them for who they really are. Everyone knows someone who wanted to date a person and thought ‘what are they thinking? No!’. For the left, they seem to have a soft spot for dudes who are aesthetically working class but spews lefty platitudes (see the lefts initial impression of John Fetterman).
I've met guys like Platner before, and this all seemed fairly obvious to me late last year. Really unbelievable how many people fell for it for so long.
I think the tattoo issue was mishandled. People didn’t believe that Platner is a Nazi because he’s clearly not a Nazi. He didn’t get the tattoo because he’s pro-SS; he probably got it while drunk without knowing what it was, but then at some point learned what it was, didn’t care enough to get it removed, and lied about not knowing what it was until recently. The tattoo issue shows terrible judgment and bad character more than it shows sympathy for fascism. That should’ve been the argument from the beginning.
It had me thinking of how during the blossoming of the MeToo movement how women would question how certain toxic behaviors were tolerated by men in general. And then I would struggle to say that there are many, many books and movies about young men who realize they have a friend or friends that are bad news and will drag them down. And the whole story is about breaking away from that life. And in real life, I think by your late 20s, most men have self-selected away from the Platners and the Bidens, and as you imply, you can recognize these people more quickly the older you get.
Part of the reason Platner gained a following was because nobody else viable ran. Mills dithered for months about running and when she jumped in her heart was clearly not in it. Luckily there are some potentially good candidates vying for the nomination. As long as they aren’t scandal plagued they’ll be a big upgrade.
So why didn't they run in the primary? Probably because they know that Collins is a very good politician who will be difficult to beat. Which is why we got Platner in the first place - the smart money sat this race out.
The headline had me laughing out loud before I even read the piece! Incredible how many people made excuses for this guy and now they look beyond foolish.
The vibes here felt extremely similar to the short-lived brat summer that Kamala Harris benefited from, where there was a honeymoon period of wish-casting and an abandonment of critical thinking. While I think it's a positive trait that people want to assume the best in people in the democratic electorate, many political actors are irresponsibly feeding that impulse.
I have some issues with AOC, but boy she comes out of this looking a lot better than a bunch of folks- looking at you Elizabeth Warren, Ro Khanna and Bernie Sanders. (Unlike those three, AOC never publicly supported Platner). I wonder if her experience working as a bartender helped her clock what Platner really was and told her spidey-sense to keep her distance. Whatever it was, it clearly worked!
Comment of the week.
There is a LOT to be grim about regarding this whole debacle, and I agree that it ultimately falls on the Maine electorate, but I can give them some grace for preferring Platner to noted sex icon Janet Mills.
I also know that the polls show that "generic democrat" beats Collins usually by somewhere in the realm of five points, but to me, one of the most fascinating and underreported elements of this entire fiasco has been the ridiculous discipline from the Collins camp to just shut up, sit back, and let the Democrats cannibalize themselves. Lesser politicians (like Trump himself) would try to hoot and holler and capitalize, but she's been remarkably focused on just carrying on as Maine's senator.
I think it's odd that this race became such a national firestorm and center of attention. I've always been of the mind (granted, as a normie lib who is not in Maine) that regardless of the current polling and Trump's horrid unpopularity, Collins was probably just going to roll ahead to another narrow victory in November because that's consistently what she does in Maine.
Also, she’s really good at bringing resources back to Maine. Which is a very poor state.
I offer Lauren Boebert to Footnote 1.
Sarah Palin as well
People are attracted to bad candidates for the same reason that some women are attracted to bad men: they see what they want to see in people and dont see them for who they really are. Everyone knows someone who wanted to date a person and thought ‘what are they thinking? No!’. For the left, they seem to have a soft spot for dudes who are aesthetically working class but spews lefty platitudes (see the lefts initial impression of John Fetterman).
I've met guys like Platner before, and this all seemed fairly obvious to me late last year. Really unbelievable how many people fell for it for so long.
I think the tattoo issue was mishandled. People didn’t believe that Platner is a Nazi because he’s clearly not a Nazi. He didn’t get the tattoo because he’s pro-SS; he probably got it while drunk without knowing what it was, but then at some point learned what it was, didn’t care enough to get it removed, and lied about not knowing what it was until recently. The tattoo issue shows terrible judgment and bad character more than it shows sympathy for fascism. That should’ve been the argument from the beginning.
It had me thinking of how during the blossoming of the MeToo movement how women would question how certain toxic behaviors were tolerated by men in general. And then I would struggle to say that there are many, many books and movies about young men who realize they have a friend or friends that are bad news and will drag them down. And the whole story is about breaking away from that life. And in real life, I think by your late 20s, most men have self-selected away from the Platners and the Bidens, and as you imply, you can recognize these people more quickly the older you get.
Part of the reason Platner gained a following was because nobody else viable ran. Mills dithered for months about running and when she jumped in her heart was clearly not in it. Luckily there are some potentially good candidates vying for the nomination. As long as they aren’t scandal plagued they’ll be a big upgrade.
So why didn't they run in the primary? Probably because they know that Collins is a very good politician who will be difficult to beat. Which is why we got Platner in the first place - the smart money sat this race out.
The headline had me laughing out loud before I even read the piece! Incredible how many people made excuses for this guy and now they look beyond foolish.
The vibes here felt extremely similar to the short-lived brat summer that Kamala Harris benefited from, where there was a honeymoon period of wish-casting and an abandonment of critical thinking. While I think it's a positive trait that people want to assume the best in people in the democratic electorate, many political actors are irresponsibly feeding that impulse.
> Aren’t these people supposed to be familiar with the trope of the toxic male feminist?
A lot of them aren't.
I think progressive Mainers were looking for a vessel for their hopes and dreams, and they refused to believe he wasn’t it.