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sop

(19,748 posts)
Tue Jun 16, 2026, 07:55 AM Tuesday

'Another Perspective From Maine'

"From TPM Reader JU …"

"I just listened to your post-election day podcast about Graham Platner. I agree with your much of what you said, but want to share a slightly different take. In my view, Mainers aren’t shrugging off Platner’s baggage because Trump set so low a bar. I think Mainers are hungry for public servants who are not obviously and shamelessly full of shit."

"About me: I am a women, 67, Jewish, and have lived in Maine for 40 years. I have/had all the reservations about Platner you would expect. I did not rank him first, but I am not sorry he prevailed. Like most Dems, I will vote for him in November regardless."

"Platner, I think, can and should turn the character test on its head. Character is more than just the absence of personal failure. It should mean fidelity to the Constitution, commitment to civic virtue and shared community, and progress toward a more perfect union. Collins has failed that character test in many ways and Platner knows it."

"The specifics of her betrayals (her Kavanaugh vote (she just said she doesn’t regret that vote because she also voted for the three liberals on the Court); the calculated tap-dance in which she and Murkwoski always engage (vote to advance a bill, e.g., HR; but ultimately vote against it in a barely disguised game of cover-your-ass) are almost immaterial at this point. Platner is smart enough to fit these failures into broad themes: her participation in hollowing out the middle class, shielding Trump’s from the consequences of his heinous policies affecting women and members of minority groups, and the damage done to America as a result of Republican adventurism in Afghanistan and the Middle East."

Continued at link:

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/another-perspective-from-maine

9 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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'Another Perspective From Maine' (Original Post) sop Tuesday OP
K&R ms liberty Tuesday #1
It's their senator JustAnotherGen Tuesday #2
EXACTLY how I feel about it. I think of all the bright people I know who couldn't run for office before Big Dog's ... marble falls Tuesday #3
Yup ! dave99 Tuesday #4
I hope Platner wins. SamuelAdams Tuesday #5
I think the people of Maine are finally getting tired of Suzie's schtick. Ray Bruns Tuesday #6
"I did not rank him first" Nixie Tuesday #7
Sweet mother of Mary MaineNative Tuesday #8
You KNOW what she means! marble falls Tuesday #9

JustAnotherGen

(38,179 posts)
2. It's their senator
Tue Jun 16, 2026, 08:37 AM
Tuesday

As long as his fans and supporters don't denigrate Senator Cory Booker from the great state of NJ - I don't care.

Platner represents a rural state.

Booker represents Admin Assts and Pharma and Tech and Aerospace and Defense. He's looking out for us.

marble falls

(73,306 posts)
3. EXACTLY how I feel about it. I think of all the bright people I know who couldn't run for office before Big Dog's ...
Tue Jun 16, 2026, 08:40 AM
Tuesday

... days because they had pot in their past or minor records because of anti-war activity. All lot of the "clean" officials elected in their place were dim bulbs with no imaginations led by Reagan and Trumpesque leaders.

"Character is more than just the absence of personal failure. It should mean fidelity to the Constitution, commitment to civic virtue and shared community, and progress toward a more perfect union." - how can it make more sense than that?

SamuelAdams

(319 posts)
5. I hope Platner wins.
Tue Jun 16, 2026, 09:50 AM
Tuesday

The issue is his failures are as recent as last year. This isn't stuff that happened decades ago when he was in high school. His supporters didn't know he existed more than a year ago. Now they're experts on his mind? His wife clearly didn't know him perfectly. But you all do? I hope he wins and is now who he says he is. But his supporters sound like someone who went on a blind date tonight and is already planning the wedding and how many kids to have.

Ray Bruns

(6,921 posts)
6. I think the people of Maine are finally getting tired of Suzie's schtick.
Tue Jun 16, 2026, 10:03 AM
Tuesday

And it’s been old for decades

MaineNative

(106 posts)
8. Sweet mother of Mary
Tue Jun 16, 2026, 10:50 AM
Tuesday

I love this post. She speaks volumes to me. I am a 66-year-old woman, born and raised in Maine, with 10 years in the military, active duty and USAFR, 2 in DOD, and 10 in the FAA. I've known people like Graham, tattoos and all, the difference, in my humble opinion, being his ability to practice introspection. I will admit that in 1978, I got drunk with friends on Wild Turkey, we stumbled into a Texas tattoo parlor, and got branded. We were 18, had three squares a day, a place to sleep, some money in our pockets, and not much in the way of adult supervision once the workday was through. I cringe when I think back on some of the crazy things I did, but I can't run from it; I have to face it head-on, and that's what Graham appears to be doing.

Several of the Army guys I've known, especially during my time in Colorado while I was stationed near the huge Army base, Fort Carson, remind me of Graham as I look back. The difference being that some of them lied or conflated their combat assignments,
I guess, to impress us and perhaps to bolster their egos? We will be voting for Graham in spite of the MSM and DNC trying to paint him as an abuser.

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