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Monthly Archives: June 2026

The one thing Democrats can do to win the election (besides voting)

Another Trump moment

With the 2026 midterm elections approaching, Democratic Party leaders and candidates have been focusing on the issues they think will work best to defeat the Republicans. For example, Democrats have been hammering “affordability” regarding gasoline prices, food prices, healthcare costs, childcare costs, etc., and that is certainly an important issue to stress.

At the same time, Democratic voters have a crucial role to play, besides just showing up to vote. One area where Democrats can make a difference is to get out their computers, tablets or phones and share pictures and videos of Donald Trump. We can hear you ask, “What? I already do that!” Well, we’re talking about specific pictures and videos showing Trump falling asleep, rambling incoherently, and in obvious declining physical and mental health.

This kind of focus on Trump’s physical and cognitive decline should work well for several reasons. First, Republicans (and their media supplicants) hammered President Joe Biden over his age, stamina, and fitness for office, often on very thin evidence, including Biden’s life-long stutter. During the 2024 campaign, Republicans repeatedly argued that age-related concerns about Biden raised questions of leadership and capacity. That messaging proved effective, helping make Biden’s age a defining story of the election cycle and driving Biden out of the race after just one debate with Trump.

Graham Platner and the New Democratic Machiavellianism

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine

Graham Platner‘s victory this week in Maine‘s U.S. Senate Democratic primary may be evidence that a new hyper-realism is taking hold in the Democratic Party. Faced with a crucial Senate general election against Republican incumbent Susan Collins, many Democratic voters appear willing to overlook Platner’s long list of personal controversies, instead focusing on the larger goal of winning a Senate seat in order to take back the Senate majority.

If this is the case, the shift is striking because Platner’s campaign has been shadowed by a series of damaging stories. including his tattoo that resembles the Nazi-era Totenkopf symbol, resurfaced online comments containing racist and sexist remarks, sexting other women after recently having gotten married, and accusations by former partners accusing Platner of abusive or intimidating conduct.

The political significance of Platner’s primary victory despite these controversies is not that Democratic voters believe all the allegations against him are false. Indeed, Platner’s Nazi tattoo and intolerant online postings were there for all to see, and he admitted to the sexting. Rather, many Democrats in Maine and elsewhere appear to have concluded that the stakes of the 2026 U.S. Senate battle outweigh them. Simply put, the Senate majority is up for grabs this November, and control of the Senate is all-important when it comes to approving or halting Donald Trump‘s legislative agenda, his judicial nominations (including potential U.S. Supreme Court nominations), and more.

The Graham Platner problem

Purple Senate battleground state of Maine

The campaign of Democrat Graham Platner, the oyster farmer and Marine veteran challenging Republican U.S. Senator Susan Collins in Maine, suffered more disturbing accusations over the past couple of weeks. One former Platner girlfriend alleged that during their 2013–2015 relationship, Platner engaged in physically aggressive behavior, including twisting her arm and preventing her from leaving the room during arguments. Another former girlfriend described Platner’s behavior in their relationship as “reckless,” while three women interviewed by The New York Times characterized him as physically intimidating or emotionally abusive.

Separately, reports published in the past month described sexually explicit messages Platner allegedly exchanged with multiple women while married. Platner acknowledged sending such messages, stating that he and his wife addressed the issue privately.

These are the latest in a series of troubling stories about Platner, which include a pattern of derogatory statements and/or actions that are offensive to multiple groups, as well as positions outside of the Democratic Party mainstream. For example: