I feel burnt by Fetterman. But I'm not worried about Platner. He's so much more than Susan Collins. I think 'harm reduction' exactly frames Platner's best case both to Mainers and to the rest of us.
Brian- I’ve been following your writing from beginning TPM days and dithering about whether I really want _another_ paid subscription on my card, and this piece decided it for me. Good on you.
I'm having a really hard time with the moral comparisons of Platner to what Republicans now embrace (Trump).
As far as I've read, aside from the Ladies for Kavanaugh republican operative who may or may not be telling the truth, he has not been accused of anything that even resembles a crime. Yes, some of his behavior from years ago is gross but he seems to have owned it, apologized and seems to have, and continues to, work on himself a lot. That is something that very, very few politicians do.
I think a lot of the "discourse" coming from Democrats and the corporate media is because they do not like his politics. No one should care what Republicans think of him.
Maybe more of his past comes out and some of it turns out to be actually disqualifying but until then, unless every single politician gets the NYT deep, invasive dive on their dating history and comments the media should just shut up about it.
As far as Platner goes, he’s either a beacon of light and part of the path out of this mess and the Democratic Party should take a page or he’s going to make trump look like a choir boy. I choose to land in the first camp because I think we’ve gotten a pretty good look at who he is and how he handles things in the here and now. And because of the alternate is true about him there is no hope for humanity and we’re all doomed! As for Susan Collins, how is anyone who isn’t morally challenged still debating weather or not she’s a good choice? She showed this country a long time ago and many times over who she is to her core! It’s time we started collectively doing the work and put people who genuinely want to be CIVIL SERVANTS (isn’t that actually what the job is) into elected office. Then put term limits on those positions and finally holding their feet to the fire every step of the way. Then we must expect each and every one of us to do our civic duty because as Americans isn’t that what we’re supposed to do? Do the homework, be engaged, pay attention, participate every damn time…isn’t that what was intended, what was expected of us? It’s time to make Civics part of education again! I’d argue that it is just as important if not more so than math and science!
Here's the thing, I'm one of the hundreds of millions of Americans who don't live in Maine. My interaction with this race going forward is one as a possible donor, and I'm getting regular pleads to donate regardless of not living in Maine.
This race stinks like McGrath/McConnell.
I don't feel Maine would be one of the top three most likely pickups even with a perfect candidate. At this point I respect Collins too much. I don't see why my finite dollars should go there instead of Alaska, North Carolina, Ohio, or even Texas. All of which seem much more likely to flip this cycle.
Probably not the same judgment I would make, but perfectly valid; donations and voting decisions are very different calculations. Also, FWIW, I am confident all of these candidates will be well funded basically no matter what.
I rarely have even a minor disagreement with Brian. Here, though, he puts an exclamation point after writing that some Americans believe Democrats are the more malicious party, as if this is so obviously untrue.
Really?
Time to go read Jonathan Haight's book, "The Righteous Mind." I saw a Twitter post recently (probably by some Russian bot) saying why Paxton was still his man despite his many flaws because Talarico wasn't really Christian because it was ok with homosexuality.
Democrats have been too smug for too long about their moral superiority. They've made little effort to understand the values of "conservatives." They've assumed, like MAGA, "we're right and so we can do what we want."
This is not to say that Brian's not right about crossing red lines and losing one's way. He is right. But it is a more pervasive and human reality than he writes. And now, I will look for the log in my own eye before watching for the speck in yours.
I'd politely disagree with you that the question is debatable, but more to the point, I'd offer that Brian's framing - "which party is more malicious" - isn't conceptually right, & isn't useful. It advances a harmful mindset that powerful interests have spent decades inculcating: that a vote is a consumer choice. We make it, and then sit back and see what "the party" delivers, or we decide we're not interested in the product, and that we'll microwave a pizza and watch Netflix instead. I'd offer that a better way to frame it, and one that reflects people's proper civic role, is: "with which party holding power is there a better path for persons of good will to sustain and improve our society?" At every single moment in the decades of my adult life, the answer has been, inarguably, the Democratic party, despite its profound flaws & malignancies. But it gets back to Brian's title and thesis: For MAGA, voting is flashing a gang sign. For those of us who vote Democratic, it's always and every time about harm reduction.
I agree with you that the Republican Party has been the more malicious one for decades. By far. Democrats may have been naive, but they have been so in the service of the goals of our founding (well, except for various scumbags who used the Party as a means to serve selfish goals).
My objection to the exclamation point is that it implies no moral stance among MAGA or Trump voters. My invocation of Haight's book was to alert people to a thesis which describes conservative world-views, which could and do inform their vote for people who we abhor.
This article should be an op-ed in the Portland Post Herald.
I feel burnt by Fetterman. But I'm not worried about Platner. He's so much more than Susan Collins. I think 'harm reduction' exactly frames Platner's best case both to Mainers and to the rest of us.
This is a very well reasoned and stated piece.
Brian- I’ve been following your writing from beginning TPM days and dithering about whether I really want _another_ paid subscription on my card, and this piece decided it for me. Good on you.
I hope your writing is read far and wide.
🥹
I'm having a really hard time with the moral comparisons of Platner to what Republicans now embrace (Trump).
As far as I've read, aside from the Ladies for Kavanaugh republican operative who may or may not be telling the truth, he has not been accused of anything that even resembles a crime. Yes, some of his behavior from years ago is gross but he seems to have owned it, apologized and seems to have, and continues to, work on himself a lot. That is something that very, very few politicians do.
I think a lot of the "discourse" coming from Democrats and the corporate media is because they do not like his politics. No one should care what Republicans think of him.
Maybe more of his past comes out and some of it turns out to be actually disqualifying but until then, unless every single politician gets the NYT deep, invasive dive on their dating history and comments the media should just shut up about it.
Double snap, Brian. Post this to every Maine publication, print and online.
As far as Platner goes, he’s either a beacon of light and part of the path out of this mess and the Democratic Party should take a page or he’s going to make trump look like a choir boy. I choose to land in the first camp because I think we’ve gotten a pretty good look at who he is and how he handles things in the here and now. And because of the alternate is true about him there is no hope for humanity and we’re all doomed! As for Susan Collins, how is anyone who isn’t morally challenged still debating weather or not she’s a good choice? She showed this country a long time ago and many times over who she is to her core! It’s time we started collectively doing the work and put people who genuinely want to be CIVIL SERVANTS (isn’t that actually what the job is) into elected office. Then put term limits on those positions and finally holding their feet to the fire every step of the way. Then we must expect each and every one of us to do our civic duty because as Americans isn’t that what we’re supposed to do? Do the homework, be engaged, pay attention, participate every damn time…isn’t that what was intended, what was expected of us? It’s time to make Civics part of education again! I’d argue that it is just as important if not more so than math and science!
Here's the thing, I'm one of the hundreds of millions of Americans who don't live in Maine. My interaction with this race going forward is one as a possible donor, and I'm getting regular pleads to donate regardless of not living in Maine.
This race stinks like McGrath/McConnell.
I don't feel Maine would be one of the top three most likely pickups even with a perfect candidate. At this point I respect Collins too much. I don't see why my finite dollars should go there instead of Alaska, North Carolina, Ohio, or even Texas. All of which seem much more likely to flip this cycle.
Probably not the same judgment I would make, but perfectly valid; donations and voting decisions are very different calculations. Also, FWIW, I am confident all of these candidates will be well funded basically no matter what.
I wanted to click the 'like' button twice!
I rarely have even a minor disagreement with Brian. Here, though, he puts an exclamation point after writing that some Americans believe Democrats are the more malicious party, as if this is so obviously untrue.
Really?
Time to go read Jonathan Haight's book, "The Righteous Mind." I saw a Twitter post recently (probably by some Russian bot) saying why Paxton was still his man despite his many flaws because Talarico wasn't really Christian because it was ok with homosexuality.
Democrats have been too smug for too long about their moral superiority. They've made little effort to understand the values of "conservatives." They've assumed, like MAGA, "we're right and so we can do what we want."
This is not to say that Brian's not right about crossing red lines and losing one's way. He is right. But it is a more pervasive and human reality than he writes. And now, I will look for the log in my own eye before watching for the speck in yours.
I'd politely disagree with you that the question is debatable, but more to the point, I'd offer that Brian's framing - "which party is more malicious" - isn't conceptually right, & isn't useful. It advances a harmful mindset that powerful interests have spent decades inculcating: that a vote is a consumer choice. We make it, and then sit back and see what "the party" delivers, or we decide we're not interested in the product, and that we'll microwave a pizza and watch Netflix instead. I'd offer that a better way to frame it, and one that reflects people's proper civic role, is: "with which party holding power is there a better path for persons of good will to sustain and improve our society?" At every single moment in the decades of my adult life, the answer has been, inarguably, the Democratic party, despite its profound flaws & malignancies. But it gets back to Brian's title and thesis: For MAGA, voting is flashing a gang sign. For those of us who vote Democratic, it's always and every time about harm reduction.
I agree with you that the Republican Party has been the more malicious one for decades. By far. Democrats may have been naive, but they have been so in the service of the goals of our founding (well, except for various scumbags who used the Party as a means to serve selfish goals).
My objection to the exclamation point is that it implies no moral stance among MAGA or Trump voters. My invocation of Haight's book was to alert people to a thesis which describes conservative world-views, which could and do inform their vote for people who we abhor.