Law, Power, and Justice

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FROM A CHILDLESS CAT LADY BEAVERING AWAY IN ONE OF THE SUB-BASEMENTS OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK: Graham Platner

8 July 2026

Article: Goldberg, Michelle (7/6/26) Lessons from the Graham Platner disaster. New York Times.

• Michelle Goldberg, opinion writer for the NYT, characterizes Platner’s race a “shameful catastrophe.”

• Platner has denied the accusation.

• “The Platner campaign represented an electoral insurgency against the Democratic Party; now there are going to be furious recriminations against those who launched it.”

Note: Goldberg was also part of the media gaggle (Joy Reid, Scarborough) who bitterly not only opposed Bernie Sanders but resented him and his movement. One of the commentators on MSNBC was removed for saying that Sanders “makes my skin crawl.”

• Goldberg blames Platner most of all for putting everyone in this situation.

Note: This is a long discussion, but people have a way of convincing themselves of the version of the story that allows them to live with themselves. I sincerely doubt that Bret Kavanaugh goes around thinking of himself as a rapist, but using the same standards used to convict Platner, he is one. And, Kavanaugh sits on the Supreme Court and tells the rest of us what we should do down to how we can and cannot take care of our own bodies.

Goldberg also blames the “progressive operatives who recruited Platner and were so infatuated with his identity.”

Note: The use of “infatuated” in this sentence intrigues me especially when you read the entire article and Goldberg literally apologizes for being taken in by Platner as if he were a charming serial killer.

They failed to do their due diligence.” (Look at this quote again) The WSJ reported that his campaign didn’t want to pay for a thorough background check.

Note: I am not sure what a “thorough background check” is. I would like to see what kind of standards there are for the use of this term. The “operatives” that ran Platner’s campaign are considered to be non-professionals. Well, if the “professional operatives” have a standard for a background check, I would like to see it, otherwise, throwing around accusations of “refused to pay for a thorough background check” need to be stopped.

• Goldberg also blames Chuck Schmer, who wanted to stop Platner and so tried to clear the field for his candidate, Janet Mills, Maine’s 78 year old governor. This cleared the field so that Platner could fill the vacuum.

Note: I find this very confusing. First of all, just how did Schumer “clear the field” for his candidate. And, if he cleared the field, why didn’t he clear Platner? Was Platner’s refusal to be “cleared” one of the reasons the Democratic establishment was so dead set against him?

And, if within their terms, Platner was so unsuitable why was there such a vacuum left when Mills was the only choice from the establishment Democrats? Why would people flock to Platner if the Democratic Party was so goddamn good at picking candidates?

• Another populist candidate, Dan Kleban, considered running but was made to believe that if he ran, Democrats in Washington would make it difficult for him because they were supporting Mills.

Note: This raises a lot of questions for me. What exactly does it mean? “would make it difficult for him” I would like to know just how they were going to make what difficult for him. Is this the party we are supposed to be supporting? Is this the self-righteous professional party we are supposed to be getting behind. Not me.

Wednesday 8 July 2026

It was beautiful here this morning, standing on the dock with our oldest cat, Jake da Mouth, watching the egrets fend for breakfast. There was a gentle breeze which displaced the usual insufferable daily heat and it tickled around your arms and shoulders. It was lovely.

Rahm Emanuel is in Tel Aviv, Israel telling Palestinians and Israelis they will “never have their way.” I have no idea what the deal is here, but whatever it is, it has to do with advancing Emanual’s career. That’s for sure. I will repeat what I tweeted something like a year ago: “The last thing the Democratic Party needs is Rahm Emanuel.” Emanuel, to my surprise, replied. I don’t remember exactly what he said. It wasn’t nice, however, and he wasn’t in the least interested in my reasoning.

It may seem that the stories about Platner and Emanuel are completely disconnected, but they are not. I said that the Rahm Emanual was what the Democratic Party needed least because he is just the sort of D.C. traditional operative that we have been losing with for decades. He is also one of the primary people in Obama’s cabinet who discouraged any left-leaning group from using the momentum of the Obama campaign to make real reforms. “Don’t push, don’t make Obama look bad, don’t jeapordize our win. So what happened? We skimmed over a lot of opportunities we had and simply didn’t use. People used to say that Obama and his crew gave away any advantage they ever had before the negotiating even started.

Rahm Emanuel is part of the crew, like Neera Tandum, who want things to stay just about the same and trade positions with the Republicans every four or eight years. They don’t want to rock the boat. In short, they don’t want change, they want security, for themselves, not us.

Shorts:

· Trump says the cease fire is over.

· In addition, he noted:

· The “Islamic Republic of Japan.”

· The fact that he was “number 1 at tic toc.”

· He then repeatedly asked the press, while holding his hand out gesturing to Zelensky who was sitting beside him: “Do you have a question for President Putin.”

Article: Pequeno, Sara (7/8/26) “I was wrong about Graham Platner…” USA Today.

· “The candidate has lost any grace he had earned through his politics.”

· “Democrats…have abandoned Platner.”

· Jenny Racicot, alluded to the alleged assault in an article in the New York Times, but then went further in an interview with Politico. (Note: She felt that another of Platner’s accusers had been treated unfairly because she (the other accuser) was a Republican and political motives were ascribed to her.)

· Platner is still denying the accusations.

· The reporter, Pequeno, writes that she wrote previously that she was “willing to overlook the thornier areas of Platner’s past.” She says that Platner also “won me over” with his “perceived willingness to take accountability for previous wrongdoings.” She sees him no longer willing to do this.

· The Democratic party is the only one having these conversations.

Article: Sommerfeldt, Chris and Erin Doherty (7/8/26) “Platner campaign quietly polls…” Politico.

· Platner’s staff is quietly polling to see who might be best to replace him. Included were match ups between Collins and former Maine state Senate President Troy Jackson, and Secretary of State, Shenna Bellows. Jackson is a former Platner ally and he tested best of those considered.

· Platner also cancelled all planned fundraisers.

· When Platner’s team contacted the Maine Democratic Party to consult over a replacement, it resulted in “a conversation that turned contentious.”

· The party says they are committed to an “open, transparent and inclusive” process to select a replacement and stressed that no candidate would be chosen by just one individual campaign.

· On Wednesday, campaign manager Ben Chin sent a text message to volunteers “accusing the state party of bringing in the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee” and effectively cutting the Platner team out. They want to make sure that an establishment-picked candidate doesn’t take Platner’s place.

· The state party reacted as if they had been attacked, accusing the Platner campaign of “distracting from the job of defeating Susan Collins.”

Podcast: (7/8/26) “How a must-win race…imploded.” Apple News Today.

· Apple News calls it “nothing short of a political earthquake.” Nothing in state law dictates a particular path of choosing a replacement.

· Since there is not enough time to put this before the voters it would have to be a situation in which “party elites effectively choose a candidate that they want…”

· The party backed candidate Janet Mills was already rejected by the voters in the primary.

· The details of this “political earthquake” mimic those of a larger split within the Democratic party.

· (Note: It is obvious Democratic voters are furious with the party elite and recent votes demonstrate that they want someone who is new and different.)

· The party is saying, this is what happens when you get somebody new and different, Graham Platner. The “You” in this sentence is the left wing of the party.

Article: Merica, Dan, alexei Koseff and Joanna slater (7/7/26) “Democratic factions vie…” Washington Post.

· The establishment wing of the party blames the Platner campaign for jeopardizing their chances to beat Collins. They are, therefore, not exactly thrilled about the idea of the Platner campaign having a say in who would replace Platner.

· (Note: But, Planter is the only candidate who has been picked by the people of Maine. Whatever he has done, it can be argued that he should have some say about the politics of his replacement. Otherwise, the situation is one with which the Democratic base is all to familiar, and which has generated real anger and distrust of the party elite. Anybody they choose will have that taint. The only way to get away from that is to allow the Platner campaign to have a say, and present a united front with the Platner campaign. This looks impossible at the moment.)

· Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson has characterized the Planter campaign’s efforts as an “attempt to put their thumb on the scale of what this process looks like.” Murphy-Anderson said that the Platner campaign has “no role.” One could argue that they very much deserve a role given the vote they bought in.

· Planter and other left wing interests want to ensure that if Platner leaves “his replacement is ideologically aligned with Platner’s progressive politics.”

· (Of all the irritating, failure prone, annoying of the Democratic elite, Neera Tanden, head of the Center for American Progress, responded in a typical manner: “People who got us into this mess – who vouched for this candidate after three different scandals and kept telling us there were going to be no more – may want to take a break from Maine strategizing” she said in a social media post.

· All this exposes the lack of trust between the party and the base and what is referred to as the “insurgent wing” represented by Platner.

· Potential candidates: Nirav Shah, a former Maine health official who finished second in a gubernatorial primary. He proposed a televised debate and multiple town halls as a process for replacing Platner. He is “viewed skeptically” by some of Platner’s supporters.

· Troy Jackson, who also ran in the gubernatorial primary is a former state Senate President. Many of Platner’s supports have gravitated to him.

· Jackson told a reporter that he would be the best person to replace Platner.

· Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif) texted that Jackson share Planter’s “opposition to foreign wars, support for Medicare for all and focus on removing money from politics.

· One interviewee in Main said: “Platner may be over, bur the campaign isn’t over.” John Raby, 82, said ‘felt like somebody had punched me in the gut.” (Note: I have to admit to feeling that way myself.)

Article: “Several possible Platner replacements are saying ‘no thanks.” Portland Press Herald.

· “Platner often spoke on the campaign trial about engaging in a “politics of power”; Unswerving advocates of the working class had to seize control of American government from the political establishment, Republicans and Democrats alike.” (Note: this explains Neera Tanden’s ire.)

Often mentioned is Professor Heather Cox Richardson, but she has declined