If political scandals still matter, why is Graham Platner so popular?

[0:00] A lot of drama coming from Plattner's campaign, and this is a must-win race if Democrats want the [0:06] Senate. Jake, it definitely is. I mean, mathematically speaking, it is very difficult, [0:13] if not impossible, for Democrats to win control of the Senate without winning Maine, and this is why. [0:18] Susan Collins is the only Republican member of the Senate who's up this year who's effectively [0:22] from a blue state, a state that Kamala Harris won in 2024. That's why Democrats have placed so much [0:28] hope in Maine. But at the same time, so much scrutiny is coming on Graham Plattner. He's an [0:34] oyster farmer. He's never been in politics before. He's endured one sort of self-induced controversy [0:40] after another. The latest, as you said, is a weekend of revelation about him sending sexual messages to [0:46] a woman while he was married. Well, his wife is pushing back on all of this, saying that those [0:52] are not the issues that voters are concerned about. I find it really shameful that there's a group [1:01] of media outlets and people who are willing to spread gossip instead of talking about real issues [1:12] that Graham is running on. What is your take on this Graham Plattner situation and the fact that [1:22] Democrats are doing what I would argue maybe Republicans have been doing since 2016 and just [1:29] saying, eh? Yeah. Because of last cycle and the ones leading up to, I think the bar for entry, [1:34] the Democratic Party, has been placed so low because we put it there. You know, Democrats right now just [1:39] want a candidate who can, you know, speak plain English and communicate to voters and be authentic. [1:46] But I think we have lost the plot on authenticity. I think Graham Plattner is cosplaying working class. [1:51] He wears it like a Halloween costume. And that has been placed on him by the same people who have [1:56] run a lot of progressive candidates across the nation. In this pursuit of getting to know the [2:01] everyman, we keep picking these people who I think show the worst parts of society. If I am to believe [2:07] that Graham Plattner can relate to everyday Americans, then that means I am to believe that [2:12] everyday Americans are okay with Nazi tattoos because they get them accidentally when they're drunk or [2:17] because they served in the military. They have very regressive views on race and on gender. [2:22] I just cannot accept the fact that to gain the working class, we have to dress up people who show [2:29] the lowest of our values. It does speak to how hungry Democrats are for new blood, though. [2:37] And give them real anti-establishment people. [2:39] You know, Governor Janet Mills is a very credible person. Governor Janet Mills is very credible and she lost. [2:46] Right. I mean, this is just just one, right? [2:49] Also someone under 50. [2:50] So who's driving that? [2:51] Voters have a say in this. And if you look at the numbers, Graham Plattner, he has only gotten more popular, okay, [3:00] since the controversy, since the tattoo, since all of it. That's a real thing. And then, you know, [3:07] down in Texas, you know, where Ken Paxton was going up against John Cornyn, all of the dirt is out there [3:14] on Ken Paxton. And I was looking at some favorability and unfavorability numbers for the two of them, [3:21] Paxton and Cornyn. And voters are just as favorable toward Paxton as they are to Cornyn. They are not the [3:27] same. But voters don't seem to care about the scandals. Well, I would, I would be very clear. [3:32] They are not the same. Ken Paxton was acquitted at his trial in the Senate of the crimes he was accused [3:37] of. But his wife has accused him of, of his wife has accused him of things that has led her to seek [3:44] a divorce on biblical grounds. So, I mean, I'm sure we're going to hear all about it. There's a lot of [3:51] corruption, but there's a lot of personal issues too with him. But just to be clear on the corruption [3:55] stuff that he was impeached by the Texas House, he was acquitted by the Texas Senate. So I think [3:58] we should be clear about that. That is not the same as someone who has exhibited a pattern over [4:03] 20 years. I mean, it's not just the Nazi tattoo. It's the, it's the, it's the, it's the, it's not [4:06] just the, it's the, it's the belief, the belief that women are responsible for their own rape. I mean, [4:10] that's, that's, that's a falling and absurd. To have someone believe that women are somehow [4:14] responsible for being raped, to have people who obviously, you know, sexually message that they're [4:19] women while they're married. Like, these are all bad things. And they just keep getting worse with [4:23] Graham Plattner. And I think Democrats, as you've seen a couple of them, make pretty strong [4:30] statements against him. I think they're realizing that the wheels are coming off the bus. [4:33] So Joe, are affairs disqualifying? This one. [4:39] I'm telling you. [4:39] I'm telling you, I'm this correction. [4:40] I'm telling you, it was two judges. [4:41] I'm telling you, it was two judges. [4:41] I'm telling you, it was two judges. [4:41] I'm telling you, it was two judges. [4:41] I'm telling you, it was two judges. [4:41] I'm telling you, it was two judges. [4:43] To be clear, I think, I think the Nazi tattoo is disqualifying. I think, I think the idea that women [4:47] are responsible for their own rapes is completely disqualifying. And he should be punched in the face, [4:51] to be frank with you. I mean, that's an appalling thing to say. I think that's different from [4:55] someone who's accused of bribery and was acquitted. I think that someone who has issues with his wife [5:00] that we're going to all hear. We are going to hear all about Ken Paxton's divorce as the trial, [5:04] I believe, even starts while he's campaigning. It's going to be the season of that. [5:07] But this latest Graham Plattner scandal is over sexting with staffers. Let me just read, [5:14] I have to read this statement because this is from his wife. His wife told CNN and reporters, [5:20] I confided deeply personal details about my marriage to someone who I considered a friend. [5:26] In the months since, I've had to watch as she spreads malicious gossip to anyone who would take [5:32] her call. I trusted this person with the most private chapter of our lives, the early days of [5:36] our marriage before any campaign was on our mind. And I'm deeply hurt by her betrayal and invasion [5:40] of our privacy. I know who Graham is. I know the man that I married and the husband that he has been [5:46] to me on the best and worst days of my life. That hasn't changed and it won't. That is [5:50] what his wife says. But the piece of this is that it's adding to many things. [5:57] But do our voters sort of just, they just don't care about, I mean, and maybe I should go further [6:04] back because Donald Trump has cheated allegedly on his spouses before. He's been divorced several [6:12] times. There was also Bill Clinton. Are we done with this stuff? Do personal mistakes not matter in [6:19] politics anymore? Sadly, I mean, I'm nostalgic for a time when Bush getting a DUI or Obama smoking weed [6:25] was shocking and led the news for a couple weeks. And sadly, I think we're at a point in American [6:31] politics where it isn't disqualifying. And it's funny, I mean, I was kind of surprised to see [6:35] the reaction from folks like Cory Booker now sort of raising questions about support for Graham Plattner [6:40] in light of these affairs because frankly, adultery and infidelity now seem so ubiquitous [6:46] in American politics. So to me, that wasn't even the most shocking thing. I think Democrats though [6:51] now are trying to backpedal a little bit because they realize it's this constant drip, drip, drip. [6:56] It wasn't, it wasn't just the Totenkopf tattoo. It wasn't just the basically making fun of veterans [7:01] for getting shot at it. It wasn't the sexual acts and porta potty. It just, it's continuing to drip, [7:06] drip, drip, drip. And so I think they're kind of aware that maybe they've made this Faustian bargain. [7:10] And bear in mind, I think for so long, they tried to say, oh, we have the moral high ground because [7:14] Donald Trump, that was their argument for everything. And so now they've somehow embraced [7:18] somebody with a Nazi tattoo. I mean, it's kind of beyond the pale. And I would also note too, [7:24] but this is all, this is all in, in the name of getting out Susan Collins, who is the most moderate [7:31] Republican in the Senate. It's a really tough situation for them to say, oh yeah, elect this guy with the [7:36] Nazi tattoo to beat out Susan Collins. Right. These personal and professional failings by both of [7:41] these bad men are not disqualifying, but they might lose them in the election. It might be enough, [7:46] because not everyone cares that they're allegedly corrupt and allegedly taking, right. It is a [7:52] pattern with Paxton, by the way, a lot of different accusations, but some people do. And that could be [7:57] the difference in these tight races. And they didn't have to choose these people who have these problematic [8:01] records. And I'll just say one last thing. As someone, maybe the only tattooed person on the [8:06] panel that you know what your tattoo is. Yeah. Okay. No, I have two tattoos. I know exactly what [8:12] they mean. Okay. Because they're tattooed on my body. And if I got drunk and got something tattooed, [8:16] I wouldn't keep it for 15 years without checking it out. You know, you could Google it. Now you do a [8:21] Google image, 15 years, 17 years later, I don't buy it. I think people know what their tattoos are. [8:28] I'm here to tell you. Now I want to know what your tattoos are. [8:30] Yeah. [8:30] I know. [8:30] Yeah. [8:30] I know what your tattoos are.