Platner Again

Graham Platner won. This is not a surprise - he was running unopposed, basically. I did not vote for him - primaries are where you get to vote what you want, whether it's policies or people or whatever grudges you might hold. I have no problem with primaries, even against entrenched figures - this is where you move the needle. And you don't get what you want - you nod your head and work on getting the nominee elected.

I should add - this is not the worst thing ever. For all my kvetching about him, he has his points. He has done bad things in the past - but they are in the past and people change. If he has changed - he has good points. He certainly talks a good game - tax the rich, clean up politics, etc - he seems to be on the right side in most cultural debates. His message is very appealing. I would be happier if he hadn't done or said the things he did and said, but I can live with them if he has really changed and if he delivers on his platform. If he does what he says, he could be a very good senator. And even if he doesn't, as long as he votes with the Democrats when he's supposed to - the party matters more than the person.

My most important worry is that he won't deliver on what he says. He has no political track record. He has plenty of personal track record, and most of it is bad. He can say anything he wants now, and once he's in, he's in. What then? Again - the D vote is worth almost anything, but you can never be sure of even that. There are too many precedents for people who talked well but didn't walk the walk, from Gabbard to Sinema to Fetterman (who's been beefing with Platner - Fetterman's hate might be a better endorsement than Sanders'.) So - that worries me. And it worries me that things keep coming out about him - are they done? Are they going to find anything really bad about him, that he can't explain away with a chorus of "I Saw The Light"? Can he, in short, really beat Susan Collins?

I don't know. I worry. But I am going to vote for him, barring some real disaster - and not going to hate myself for it. And if he is what he says he is - god bless him indeed!