Democrats’ Chances of Flipping Susan Collins’ Seat Get Major Boost—Poll

Manchin actually had more scruples than Collins. He had an open offer of a cleared primary if he switched parties but did not take it. And he took some tough votes to help Biden- I'll take him any day over Sinema, Fetterman, or Collins.

It must make her feel so important.

I f****** hate the mercenary senators. Goddamn lieberman f****** over the public option  Also why it still pisses me off when people say Obama had a supermajority, he never did. Joe and another part of the caucus was a merc senator, and it took forever to seat al franken

There’s more value in being the 51st vote than the 52nd. Like you pointed out, the “will they, won’t they” thing only happened when the vote was close.

I totally agree but it's a really good and meaningful word. We all have unavoidable daily living expenses and those drive the incentives that every person uses when making decisions about their employment. Theres no other word for it, lol

Surprisingly not! Culture war stuff is not as popular in Maine as the south or Midwest. There’s already a lot of generic attack ads running against Collins calling her out for raising healthcare prices. She has responded by running her own ad which touts the fact she voted for a bill that would provide better healthcare for firefighters and other first responders who get injured on the job. The ad goes on to ask you to call senator collins to “thank her.”

“That bird flew right into your head. Like it couldn’t avoid it. Never seen that before. A bird flyin into a woman’s head.”

People forget Trump took one of the Miane congressional districts that year.

Brilliant.

What's she gonna campaign on? That she didn't suck Trump's chode as much as other GOP sycophant slugs?

For sure, but I was just talking about the primary. I think she was recruited because of her electoral record, not because of a conspiracy against leftists. Yea, he definitely breaks the mold, but historically that doesn't end well.

One authentically uses the f sur and makes racist comments about black people, is that the authenticity you mean?

Schumer's love of Representatives and Governors is not really about blocking leftists. They are generally safer candidates who have already been vetted in big races so do not run the risk of scandal. Think NC Senate race 2020 which Tillis would have lost if the Dem nominee were not caught in a testing scandal and a dope about neither handling it well or stepping aside. I usually rag on Schumer but I understand the thinking on that.

I have a genuine fear that platner is a plant from the alt right and will join fetterman in being a wall against progress that may take years to remove.

Meh, the whole "don't platform people we don't like" movement really wasn't effective. 2026 Wokeristas need to remember that Gen X has generational brainrot due to the X-Files, talk radio, and lead exposure. You need to talk to people where they're at, even if it personally disgusts and offends you. And where a bunch of people are at right now are in right-wing echo chambers, from Joe Rogan to YouTube conspiracy shows. If you can make an effective showing in those places (and I don't honestly know if Platner did), then you will cut through the noise with your messages. The hyper-manicured Democrat that sticks to the party messaging isn't going to succeed. They need to get dirty and play with the pigs sometimes.

Seems like "conspiracy driven antisemitic podcast" is doing a lot of heavy lifting here; to the point that I think you are being intentionally deceptive. The podcast you vague referenced is Valhalla VFT. Its hosted by a former service member, which is probably why Graham is a fan. From what I can gather, the channel is current events; clearly antiwar and anti Trump. It has some "conspiracies", but no more than you see on r/politics or other left wing coded media. It criticizes Israel - which is not antisemitic (Israel =/= Jews). I didnt watch all Vahallas videos, maybe I missed something, but from what I see your post is six degrees of scandal purity test bs, which is far grosser than Graham going on a military coded podcast.

You don't have to "defend" everything you've ever wrote. If you're running for office, you do have to be able to place it in context, talk about how you or your views have changed, and accept with humility that it may be part of how you're viewed. Platner has done this, somewhat effectively, but then he shows up on some conspiracy driven antisemitic podcast and rips the scab off the wound. It's a lack of political discipline.

Probably not but I'm not a self-proclaimed 'military history buff' that up until a few months ago, spent the last 15 years walking around with a goddamned Totenkopf "accidentally" tattooed on my chest either.

I mean I’ve never called someone the f slur or said racist stuff about black people so it’s probably easier for me to prove that then him

I tend to align with you on this. I think he is very flawed but at the same time he may very well be the best left of center candidate in the race. At this point, even a flawed democratic senator helps us MUCH more than more Susan Collins.

I haven't heard anything like that on the campaign trail or recently. Can you share examples?

Do you mean the skull and bones? Those are pretty standard. I like the pirate flag stuff, if I had a boat I would definitely fly a pirate flag.

The “left’s” higher standards don’t seem to include things like being opposed to consolidating corporate power, empowering the military industrial complex to engage in in endless wars, opposition to the genocidal state of Israel, etc. I’d much rather have a flawed candidate who’s focused on making life better for average Americans than another corporate stooge.

try not to break your neck if you fall off that horse. It is very tall.

I buy the “getting it without knowing what it is” deal tbh. It’s a cool skull tattoo, if you’re in the military and getting a tattoo and don’t know that’s a nazi thing specifically… Not covering it up sooner is the more sus part. It’s not not a red flag but tbh I’m not sure it’s his biggest one? I’d call working for blackwater as the actual red flag here.

I had no idea what a totenkopf was until the platner story came out. Did you?

I'd rather have him in congress than 75% of democrats. You care about optics but care not of policy. Policy is all that matters. So go ahead and judge someone by the tattoos on their skin rather than the content of their character. If you're gonna attack him, do it on his policies.

He was a young, dumb 22 year old in a tattoo shop in the balkans with his fellow marines. I genuinely believe him when he says he had no idea the history behind it. Hell, I think if you showed the totenkopf to a random selection of 100 Americans on the street or at your job 98 or 99 of them would see nothing beyond "edgy skull tat." He got it covered up when he learned the history behind it and has publicly and forcefully disavowed any sympathy for that ideology. Unless and until there's something that comes out about him beyond a skull tattoo, I'm inclined to believe him.

That he got covered up

You've managed to nail exactly what this article was about. https://www.newstatesman.com/world/europe/2018/10/how-left-enabled-fascism >The leader of the left, adored for his “authenticity” and destined for cult status, saw himself as a fighter for radical change. His transformed party was the biggest of its kind in Europe, and bursting with youthful vigour. >On the other side of the political spectrum lay the far right and its sinisterly absurd demagogues, thugs and ideological lunacies. Naturally, the leader of the left regarded these people with contempt and viewed his party as the only authentic resistance to them. For strategic reasons, however, he was willing to help them achieve a key part of their dream, which he shared. The dream was to break the loathsome old liberal order. Such a break, reasoned the leader, would create conditions under which the left would sweep to power and transform the country for the better. Leftists seem to love nothing more than removing all roadblocks for Fascists to gain absolute power. What you said in your post, it's f****** uncanny.

oh if you prefer you can have a empty suit. get outta here with this nonsense. People have legitimate concerns and you write that?

*Who better to build a working people's coalition than a former nazi turned progressive* I have no words 😐