Category: Maine

Platner’s Progressive Götterdämmerung

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This week saw the final collapse of Graham Platner and what some have called his “Maine Kampf” Senate campaign. The causes and ramifications of that political debacle have been widely discussed. Miranda Devine:

The party of Me Too has shown its true face in the rolling Graham Platner scandal.
Now that a liberal woman has credibly accused him of rape, the rats have deserted the sinking ship and the Democrat-endorsed US Senate candidate for Maine has dropped out.
But it’s “Me Too” late to save face.
Conservatives always knew the left’s effort to assert moral superiority on matters of sex, race and ideology were play-acting but now it’s undeniable for even their most blinkered supporters.
The Democratic Party’s defense of Platner to the bitter end against an avalanche of rape and sexual abuse allegations, not to mention his Nazi tattoo, has left them exposed as hypocrites. . . .

(Hat-tip: Hot Air Headlines.) Some of us didn’t need this latest scandal to know the Democrats were hypocrites, but perhaps the Platner episode will convince some hitherto naïve persons that they shouldn’t trust claims of moral superiority from the party of Ted Kennedy, Bill Clinton, et al.

Among other things, we have learned that the progressive activist who recruited Platner for the Senate campaign has himself been previously accused of offensive sexual behavior, which is similarly not surprising. Thursday, before Platner announced he was ending his campaign, I became intrigued by how progressives were missing the lesson in all this:

Amanda Litman is a Democratic Party operative who worked on President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign and directed email fundraising for Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 presidential campaign. After that debacle, Litman launched Run for Something, a 501(c)4 “dedicated to recruiting and supporting young candidates running for down-ballot office. Its mission is to get young progressive candidates from non-traditional backgrounds to run for and win state and local offices, and create a next generation slate of political candidates that will seek higher office in the future.”
What drew my attention to Litman was, first, her assertion that “everyone made mistakes” regarding scandal-wracked Graham Platner, who won last month’s primary in Maine to become the Democratic Party’s challenger to incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Did everyone really make mistakes about Platner? Or by that sweeping categorical statement, did Litman mean just the Democratic campaign operative class of which she is a member? Because I am pretty sure there weren’t many Republicans who were mistaken about what a complete dirtbag Platner is. Certainly I was not.
But it was Litman’s second post that really intrigued me: Why is “beating Susan Collins … the top priority”? Did Litman even think about that sentence before she posted it? Susan Collins is the most liberal Republican in Congress, and the only reason any Democrat would regard her defeat as “the top priority” is because this is necessary for Democrats to win a majority in the Senate. . . .

You can read the rest of my latest Substack column and, as always, while you’re over there, please sign up for a free subscription (if you’re not subscribed already), or maybe consider upgrading to a paid subscription. So far, I haven’t put any Substack content behind a paywall, mainly because I hate paywalls, but at some point I might think up something worth categorizing as “premium content.”



 

The Unexpected Heroine Lyndsey Fifield

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When the story broke Thursday, I was stunned. The ex-girlfriend of Graham Platner featured in the lengthy New York Times story was someone I’ve known since 2010. I spent most of the afternoon calling and texting friends who also knew her, and they were similarly surprised.

Did any of us who knew Lyndsey back in the day, when she was fresh out of college and just trying to break into the world of politics, imagine that her name would become nationally known as the “Republican operative” whose tales of an abusive relationship with a D.C. bartender might tip the balance of the U.S. Senate? No. No, we never imagined this.

As I explained earlier this week, anyone who was paying attention knew that the opposition research file on Platner was voluminous, so that we could expect new scandalous revelations every week from now until November, presuming Platner didn’t quit before then. What I did not expect was that someone I’d known for more than 15 years would be the source for one of those revelations. In fact, it appears, it was Lyndsey who first got the word out about Platner’s Totenkopf tattoo, months ago. She related in a long thread on X Friday that she did not want to “come forward” about her 2013-2015 relationship with Platner, when she was working for the Chamber of Commerce. At the time, Platner was working as a bartender at the Tune Inn on Capitol Hill, a so-called “dive bar” popular with congressional staffers. The relationship was traumatic for Lyndsey, who describes Platner as a “narcissistic abuser.”

Fortunately, Lyndsey later met a nice guy, married him, and now has two young daughters. She is widely known and respected in D.C. political circles and is certainly not any kind of “MAGA extremist,” having worked in 2023 for Nikki Haley’s primary campaign against Trump. In fact, Lyndsey has explained, her husband is a liberal. She was asked on X why she ever dated Platner and explained that, in the pre-Trump era, the dating scene in D.C. was much more “bipartisan.” Although people tended to date within their own political camps, young singles in the capital (Lyndsey was 27 when she started dating Platner) weren’t litmus-testing potential partners. As Lyndsey has said, she was shocked when her ex-boyfriend became a Senate candidate in Maine, and felt a duty to do something, even though she didn’t want to get publicly involved. She’s a suburban wife and mom who doesn’t need that kind of attention. However, staffers for the New York Times somehow got her phone number — I’ll give you three guesses how, and the first two don’t count — and persuaded Lyndsey to cooperate with their plans for a story.

My friend Will Upton, who likewise has known Lyndsey for years, has an excellent story in the Daily Caller explaining the “soft catch-and-kill” strategy of which this New York Times story is a perfect example:

The term ‘catch and kill‘ refers to a shady practice where a public relations firm or consultant works with a friendly news outlet that was pitched or ‘stumbled’ upon a negative story about a client to effectively ‘catch’ and then ‘kill’ the story — or delay it until it no longer has impact.
A ‘soft catch and kill’ works similarly, though it mostly involves the publication still running the story in a timely manner, but the details are softened or buried deep in the narrative to soften the bite. The outlet can claim it did its job, but they’ve given the target just enough wiggle room to survive.
The Times’s goal here was not to fairly give hearing to allegations against Platner; it was to play Fifield for a sucker, give her story just enough air that the Democrat Party’s cretin media and consultant class could zero in on it and crush it.

Lyndsey is very much leaning on her Christian faith to help her survive the predictable onslaught of attacks. Among these attacks is what Debra Saunders has called “a long guilty-by-association tweet” from Ryan Grim of Drop Site News. This is actually an answered prayer for Lyndsey, because one of the items that Grim cites is a 2016 interview with Red Alert Politics, when she was named to their “30 Under 30” list. It’s impossible now to find that interview online (Red Alert Politics got bought out by the Washington Examiner, and most of its former content has disappeared), but Grim somehow got a copy of it. And in that interview, talking about her career goals, Lyndsey described her desire to “emulate the late conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart’s approach to online activism.” Dear reader, Lyndsey Fifield knew Andrew.

It was in New Orleans, in April 2010, at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference (SRLC) that Andrew Breitbart and Lyndsey were hanging out. You can see her reaction to one of Andrew’s stories about his undergraduate days as a student at Tulane University. The guy in the background, second from left, is Dave Weigel, who was covering the SRLC for the Washington Post. After Lyndsey became suddenly famous Thursday, I checked my archives and found those pictures in my April 11, 2010, post, “Breitbart Party Voodoo.” (Breitbart was telling us, “I don’t believe in voodoo anywhere else, but in New Orleans? It’s real!”)

Did I have any clue at the time that 24-year-old Lyndsey Fifield would one day make headlines? No way. She was just some silly girl fresh out of college, but I have to admit that I’m getting a bit choked up while writing this. She has shown such courage and, Lyndsey, if you’re reading this, please just know: Andrew would be so proud of you!

UPDATE: Welcome, Instapundit readers!



 

How We Got Here: ‘Susan Collins, One of the Most Evil People in Public Life’

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When I wrote about Trump Derangement Syndrome over the weekend, it was while following the discourse over the latest scandalous Graham Platner revelations. These are certainly not the first such revelations, nor will they be the last, as GOP operatives reportedly have a vast pile of opposition research on Mr. Nazi Tattoo they’re waiting to unload when the time is right. But the reaction from liberals to what came out over the weekend was to double-down, to dig their entrenchments deeper, to rationalize the necessity of defending Platner at all costs, no matter what.

The author of that remarkable sentence is a columnist for The Nation, and when he got ratioed, his response was to double down again.

“TRUMP! TRUMP! TRUMP!” The deranged obsession so warps David Klion’s perception that, when challenged on his over-the-top rhetoric, his response is to post a syllogism, the first premise of which is, “Republicans are evil,” and believes that he has thereby vanquished his critics.

His defense of Platner will not suffice:

The Democratic primary in Maine is June 9, less than two weeks away, and the question now is whether Graham Platner will get shoved under the party’s bus before it’s too late to find another candidate to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
Hit by scandal after scandal in recent weeks, Platner’s status as “rising star” is now at risk because Democrats have belatedly realized that there might be even more damaging revelations to come — worse than his SS Totenkopf tattoo, which somehow Democrats had convinced themselves wasn’t really a scandal at all. What they’re realizing now is that Republican sources weren’t just bragging when they told Marc Halperin that their opposition research files on Platner were so toxic that he was not only guaranteed to lose to Collins, but “he’ll have to leave the state.” Frantic social-media drama from Democrats in recent days suggests that party insiders have confirmed what those GOP operatives were hinting at — Platner is unelectable; if he is the Democrat on the ballot in November, Collins will win in a landslide. . . .

You can read the rest of my latest Substack article (it’s free) and if you could, please subscribe while you’re over there.



 

Maine Manhunt Ends as Authorities Find Body of Lewiston Massacre Gunman

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Surveillance video showed gunman at a bowling alley.

Robert R. Card II “was found dead Friday from a self-inflicted gunshot, ending an intensive two-day search that had the state on edge. . . . Card was found at 7:45 p.m. near the Androscoggin River . . . at a recycling center from which Card had been fired.” In addition to updating that information, I also wanted to clarify that the death toll was 18, and not 22, as originally reported — the inaccurate death count repeated here Wednesday (“Mass Murder in Maine: At Least 22 Killed, Dozens Wounded, Suspect at Large”). In breaking news situations like this, the early reports always have to be considered tentative. Twitter gets flooded with unsubstantiated claims, and even reputable news organizations get facts wrong (e.g., NBC News had the death toll at 22 Wednesday night).

This was what I wrote in an update on my Wednesday post:

Various sources are saying that Robert Card is twice divorced, that one of his ex-wives had a restraining order against him, and that he is a registered sex offender. I haven’t been able to find this information in actual news reports from reputable outlets, and with the “fog of war” factor in the immediate aftermath of an incident like this, one should be cautious about such things. But there are enough people saying this stuff on blogs and social media that I thought I’d share it, with the caveat that it’s not officially confirmed.

It turns out that the Internet sleuths had it wrong — the divorced Maine sex offender is Robert W. Card, not Robert R. Card II, but that’s the kind of mistake that often happens in such situations. So my warning about the “fog of war” factor was vindicated. Background on the gunman:

In an interview Thursday with The Daily Beast, Card’s sister-in-law said he has had acute mental health struggles over the past year. Card started wearing powerful hearing aids, but began hearing things like people “bashing” him, including at the bowling alley and Schemengees, and he would “get mad” when he was told the voices were just in his head, according to the interview.
Card graduated from Mount Ararat High School in Topsham in 2001. He studied engineering at the University of Maine from 2001 to 2004 but did not graduate.
He was licensed as an electrician’s helper from 2004 to 2006, with no disciplinary action on his record. It appears his father, Robert R. Card of Bowdoin, was a master electrician, licensed from 1998 to 2024.
A spokesman for the U.S. Army on Thursday confirmed Card’s military status. Bryce Dubee said Card’s rank in the Army Reserve is sergeant first class, and he is a petroleum supply specialist who enlisted in December 2002 and has not been deployed to combat zones.
Dubee said Card has received awards for his service, including the Army Achievement Medal, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, and Army Service Ribbon.
A former Army Reserve colleague of Card’s told CNN that Card is a skilled marksman and outdoorsman who was among the best shooters in his Army Reserve unit.
Military commanders in the Army Reserve’s 3rd Battalion, 304th Infantry Regiment, said they observed Card acting erratically while the unit was training at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in New York. Card was taken to the Keller Army Community Hospital there.
Card was taken by police to be evaluated following erratic behavior in July, according to The Associated Press, which spoke to a U.S. official who asked to remain anonymous.
The police bulletin sent to law enforcement after Wednesday night’s shootings in Lewiston noted Card had been at a mental health facility for two weeks this summer, and he had reported “hearing voices and threats to shoot up” the military base. No information was provided about Card’s treatment or diagnosis.
Sagadahoc County court documents indicate Card has an 18-year-old son with a woman he divorced in 2007, with the couple having shared parental responsibilities and rights. The divorce was granted on the grounds of irreconcilable differences. . . .
An additional amendment to the divorce judgment in 2013 ordered “all weapons in either party’s home shall be under lock and key at all times during which they are not being used.”
Card’s criminal record in Maine shows one prior offense: A misdemeanor-level charge of operating under the influence in Topsham in 2007. He pleaded guilty, was sentenced to 48 hours in jail, and fined $500, which he paid.

Crazy People Are Dangerous.



 

Mass Murder in Maine: At Least 22 Killed, Dozens Wounded, Suspect at Large

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What is known so far via The Daily Mail (UK):

A massive manhunt is underway in Maine for an Army reserve firearms instructor who was sectioned this summer for mental health reasons, and is suspected of shooting dead 22 people on Wednesday night at multiple sites in Lewiston.
Robert Card, 40, from Bowdoin, Maine, was named by Maine state police as the a ‘person of interest’ in the shootings at a bowling alley, restaurant and Walmart distribution center.
He was sectioned after saying he was hearing voices, and threatening to shoot up his National Guard base in Saco, Maine.
Card was armed with an AR 15-style rifle with laser optics when he burst into the bowling alley at 7:15pm to begin his rampage.
He was driving a 2013 white Subaru: Eric Samson, sheriff of Androscoggin County, announced at 11:20pm that law enforcement officers have found the vehicle in Lisbon, about seven miles southeast of Lewiston – but Card was not inside.
Mike Sauschuck, a law enforcement spokesperson in Lewiston, said Card ‘is considered armed and dangerous.’ . . .
Lewiston city administrator has confirmed that 22 were dead, local councillor Robert McCarthy said, with 50-60 were injured. Maine’s hospitals said they were declaring a mass casualty event. The death toll, which could rise, is the largest from a mass shooting this year.
The three locations were Sparetime bowling alley; Schemengee’s bar and grill; and a Walmart distribution center – although a spokesman said that the shooting was not on the site itself.
McCarthy said he had been told that a children’s bowling party was taking place at Sparetime at the time. . . .

UPDATE: New York Post:

Robert Card, 40, was stationed out of Saco, Maine and reported “hearing voices” and threatened to shoot up the National Guard Base where he was stationed, the sources said.
Card, originally of Bowdoin, Maine, should be considered “armed and dangerous,” and was reportedly committed to a mental health facility over the summer and was released after a two-week stay, the sources added.

Why is it, when people start “hearing voices,” the advice they’re getting from these voices is never helpful? Like, the voices are never saying, “Have a beer, dude. Chill out a while. No biggie.”

UPDATE II: Various sources are saying that Robert Card is twice divorced, that one of his ex-wives had a restraining order against him, and that he is a registered sex offender. I haven’t been able to find this information in actual news reports from reputable outlets, and with the “fog of war” factor in the immediate aftermath of an incident like this, one should be cautious about such things. But there are enough people saying this stuff on blogs and social media that I thought I’d share it, with the caveat that it’s not officially confirmed. What is confirmed, at least to my satisfaction, is that this guy was daft, deranged, demented, berserk, bonkers, off his rocker, a few fries short of a Happy Meal and cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. And, of course,  Crazy People Are Dangerous.

UPDATE III: Y’know, it’s generally bad taste to try to score political points in the wake of an atrocity that has no obvious political point, but the gun-grabbers can’t resist, so it’s important to make this point:

It is clearly evident that Robert Card was what law-enforcement calls a “prohibited possessor.” In other words, he was violating existing law, and it is therefore foolish to suggest that some new gun-control law could have prevented this crime. But no one should expect logic or honest arguments from the enemies of the Second Amendment.



 

The Unlubricated Truth

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It’s 3 a.m., and I don’t have a Mercedes sports coupe to take on a 100-mph joy ride, so why not get reckless on Twitter?

Nothing is more dangerous than the truth.

Except maybe what Democrats do with their butts.

 

Politico Story On Maine Leaves One Wondering: Why Dodge Andrew Ian?

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by Smitty

Seriously. Anyone who’s paid attention in the blogs or at CPAC the last couple of years has met Andrew Ian Dodge. Which was why I saw a Politico bit on Olympia Snowe with this teaser:

Snowe has been at odds with Summers since he refused to endorse the 33-year Capitol Hill veteran over a prospective tea party challenger when she was still considering running for reelection.

Only. . .the Politico story wasn’t about Dodge, but someone I’d never heard of, Scott D’Amboise. Shock. Dismay. Blog post. Go get ’em, Ian!

Dodge for Senate

Alongside a superior job as a Senator, I’ve got a cup of coffee says he can make Harry Reid wet himself.

via The Corner

Legalize Fireworks Now!

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Maine’s York County Journal Tribune editorializes in support of a pending bill that would legalize consumer fireworks in that state, to which I say not merely yes, but hell, yes!

Consumer (1.4G) fireworks are much safer today than in the 1960s, when most state fireworks bans were passed. Back then, the great danger was M-80s — quarter-sticks of dynamite — which actually originated as military-issue ordinance used to simulate artillery blasts in training excercises. After World War II, many army surplus stores sold M-80s, and they became popular as fireworks, so that every so often some kid would blow off his fingers. Cherry bombs were another popular high-explosive firecracker, and it was the injuries caused by these that caused the panic that led to so many states completely banning fireworks.

M-80s and cherry bombs have long since been prohibited for sale to consumers by federal law, and yet many state anti-fireworks laws remain in effect, outlawing the beautiful aerial effects of rockets, mortars and multi-tube repeaters which — when used according to safety directions — are as no more dangerous than your backyard barbecue grill.

Professor Glenn Reynolds lives in Tennessee, where consumer fireworks have never been prohibited. This time of year, highways in Tennessee are lined with booths and tents selling fireworks by the truckload. Utterly contradicting the fear-mongering of the anti-fireworks fanatics, fireworks-related injuries are no more common in Tennessee than in states where fireworks are banned.

Why is this? Because when fireworks are outlawed, only outlaws will have fireworks. That is to say, prohibiting fireworks only tends to discourage their use by the responsible and law-abiding, while the rowdy scofflaws will find some way to get their hands on the stuff. Worse yet, sometimes bans on fireworks will cause idiots to try to rig up their own homemade fireworks, often with disastrous results.

Being a stone-cold fireworks freak myself, I’ve written extensively about this issue:

You can see some photos of me and the kids assembling the 2008 show here. Alas, my friend’s video of our 2008 show has been deleted, but here’s video of the 2009 show I shot at Camp FUBAR on Lake Weiss in Alabama (which starts getting good about the 3-minute mark):

And here’s the monster two-minute finale of the big 4th of July show I shot, with the assistance of my then 12-year-old twin sons, in 2005:

If the current “Make My Wife Happy” fundraiser is successful enough to pay the overdue bills — and many thanks to all the readers who have contributed so far — perhaps Mrs. Other McCain won’t mind if I take the kids on a little Alabama vacation for the 4th of July.

So hit the tip jar — it’s for the children (and maybe the fireworks, too).