re: Platner - But if personal imperfection disqualifies a candidate, Washington DC should empty itself immediately.

[Metaphorical]

89. I'm going to take an unpopular position

We need more Platners.

Here's the reality - Mainers has always been independent. The Democrats there are going to hold their nose and vote for him, because it gets Collins out of the Senate. Where Platner is going to make a huge difference is in the independent and even soft MAGA republicans, who have looked askance at Collins for several votes in the past that seemed fairly moderate (even if she is pretty much in lockstep with Trump) and Trump has not gone out of his way to endorse here, and may actually prefer a Platner because he seems more "MAGA" adjacent.

Will Platner be another Fetterman? I doubt it. I honestly think Fetterman is exhibiting personality changes that are consistent with strokes, and that take a while to fully manifest. I'd say it's a near certainty that Fetterman's going to cross the aisle after the election, but I also think that Lisa Mulkowski will declare herself an independent and caucus with the Democrats if he does. The other difference is that Platner is a fighter. He wouldn't get elected in California or Washington State, but he's not running for office there - he's running in Maine, which is mainly working class, a fair number of military, and yes, independent.

We need to get out of the purity test trap. It's people seeking perfection in generalized candidates, when in fact what we need are people that are willing to take the fight to the Republicans. I frankly am tired of seeing people like Al Franken tarred and feathered on the basis of innuendo and rumor, mostly spread by people who have turned out to have less than noble goals themselves.