cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/38323356

https://archive.ph/wip/7kgpn

Oct. 31, 2025, 5:02 a.m. ET Michelle Goldberg

Andy O’Brien, a former Democratic state legislator and newspaper editor, told me that outsiders didn’t fully understand how radicalizing the second Trump presidency has been for ordinary Democrats. Even senior citizens, he said, were becoming “fire-breathing leftists. They’re just pissed off.”

These voters understood that Platner had made mistakes, but they saw him as a fighter. “Five years ago, he would have been dead in the water, I think,” said O’Brien, who now works with the labor movement. “But this is such an unprecedented time. I think a lot of people really believe that we need somebody who can effectively fight against fascism.”

Maine is an overwhelmingly white state, but it’s not just white guys who feel this way. “We’re sticking by him,” said Safiya Khalid, a Somali American activist and former member of the Lewiston City Council.

    • NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip
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      5 days ago

      Stop listening to your favorite podcasters.

      Actually go look at how many established Democrats have been interviewed and actively glossed over or ignored all the bullshit with Platner.

      He is “anti-establishment” in the same way trump was. Yeah, he probably isn’t the first choice. But The Party clearly support and endorse him. Contrast that with a Mamdani or Abughazaleh where most established Democrats actively ignore them because The Party actively does not want them to win.

      • waddle_dee@lemmy.world
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        5 days ago

        Whoa, dude lmao okay. I’m just a guy who looks at the facts and makes a decision based off the information I have. The only podcast I listen to is a local one from public radio for local politics lmao. Why you have to be so mad?