No kidding. It’s a real problem. Michael Harrington is rolling in his grave.
Which had been Harrington’s purpose for founding DSA.
Which set of facts do you want the voters of Maine to have when they decide?
This is guy who did not fess up to his campaign manager that he had that tattoo.
This is a guy who most probably lied about what he knew about that tattoo and when he knew it. ( And apparently never learned about Google image search.)
This is a guy who started highschool at a boarding school and finished it at a private school and presents himself as a working class guy. The educated like him, the less educated not so much.
This is a guy who sexted with multiple woman when his marriage was in trouble and blamed what he did in terms of ‘see what you made me do’. Wouldn’t have done it but for the trouble in the marriage.
Is accused of rape but is defended on the grounds that he was dead drunk.
His poll numbers were dropping before this last came out.
If he does not have the grace to withdraw he hands the seat to Collins and takes the DSA – justly or unjustly down with him.
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Read the Politico article. There is plenty of evidence to support the woman’s claims.
Agreed. TheDemocrats™ save their venom for progressives, and too often collaborate with Republicans to keep positive change from happening (see bankruptcy reform, welfare reform, Obama’s willingness to bargain on Social Security/Medicare to get his grand bargain, and more). TheDemocrats™ have been complicit for decades in dismantling major planks of the New Deal. With deregulation & Democratic fecklessness, things have gotten progressively worse since the end of the Vietnam War.
There are - already - cases of DCCC/DSCC being slow to show support for the winner of a primary when it’s not their preferred neoliberal.
All that said, we have no time to see if this is a hit job or not, and Platner needs to salvage what’s left of his reputation by stepping aside - now. Then, Maine progressives can push to have another progressive battle Collins. Their governor is not very popular, so I hope they find a solid progressive who is.
Well-stated. This is the last straw.
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The oppo dropped at this time as it only gives Platner a narrow window to fight back. The Democrats are unlikely to replace Platner with Janet Mills, not exactly a spring chicken.
NYT says the best options are Shenna Bellows, secretary of state, Troy Jackson, a former president of the Maine Senate, and Nirav Shah, a former director of Maine’s public health agency. Jordan Wood, who lost a primary for a House district covering northern Maine, is also a potential candidate.
Politico, a classic releaser of oppo did something of a similar innuendo leak without specifics in the Al Franken case. Indeed, “breaking dam” is a popular form of ending careers. Ultimately, former model Tweeden, who worked on and off for Fox, including Hannity, ultimately landed with conservative Cumulus Media on KABC as cohost with Dr. Drew. I think this is the coup de grace for Platner. As usual, the narrative will quickly become “how could he do this to us?.”
As new allegations kept coming, Traister said, “Al Franken was letting his caucus suffer.”
On December 1, 2017, seven female Democratic senators—Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Claire McCaskill, Mazie Hirono, Patty Murray, Maggie Hassan, and Catherine Cortez Masto—met with Chuck Schumer to tell him that most of them were on the verge of demanding Franken’s resignation. At least one of them had already drafted such a statement, and the group’s resolve hardened further when some of its members learned of an impending Politico story that contained a seventh allegation, by a former Senate staff member. The accuser, whose name is being withheld at her request, was known to some of the seven female senators. The woman said that, in 2006, when Franken was still a comedian, he had made her uneasy by looking as if he planned to kiss her. The senator she had worked for hadn’t known of the allegation at the time, but vouched for her credibility.
Then it’s good that there is still time to fix this for the Dems.