Thinking about the Platner candidacy, I'm... as a certain senator might say... "concerned" about the general election

[0rganism]

First off, and I do see this come up in online discussions from time to time, "it's a Maine voter thing, are you a voter in Maine?" Well, obviously and no, but the US senate is a deliberative body which has a high degree of control over which officials F47 gets to appoint to rape us repeatedly destroy this nation's institutions, and by how much. We all have an interest in the outcome, and considering the amount of interstate fundraising texts I receive from various political organizations, it appears the Democratic party generally agrees on this point.

OK, so here's what worries me. The primary campaign is well underway, and the Democratic frontrunner is getting slagged with a whole lot of scandal juice. Whether these scandals constitute a true set of "red flags" is a topic for further debate, of which we have several ongoing in this very forum. FWIW, I don't see these issues preventing him from winning the primary, but it does bode ill for the general. Once Platner's image as an unrepentant antisemite and misogynist solidifies, that presents a clear line of attack for the Collins campaign during the general. His campaign will already leak Jewish and female voters to Collins on the margins. She can already run as a stable "known quantity" statewide in contrast to a fresh face with apparent major flaws.

But this is still the primary. What are the Republican ratfuckers saving for the general? We know it's not nothing, and if it relies on pre-established "common sense" that Platner's an untrustworthy asshole, then that attack will be very efficient. If it hits hard in October, we'll be whining about how we suck at vetting candidates -- which is kind of true.

I think there is a way forward for Platner: present publicly as undergoing a strongly-positive character arc. He needs to embrace a repentant, redemptive position from which he can continue to call out Collins and enumerate her numerous flaws. He already has established himself with a broadly-popular platform, now he needs to build a character-driven narrative that can blunt whatever allegations come his way.

Unless -- and this is a weird take but the times deserve nothing less -- Platner's a stalking horse operating to lose a competitive senate race, fracture Democratic coalitions, and discredit progressive candidates generally. Then we're pretty well screwed anyway. However useless this line of thought may be, it does arise from time to time. So many people and organizations have turned against America and her people over the last decade, call it PTSD. But someone in the Democratic party leadership needs to get better at vetting candidates, 'cause we're withering under character attacks even when our candidates represent more popular policy platforms.