Saturday's Final Word

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Always something greener on the other side of that hill, I was born a blogger and a tabber, and I guess I always will ...

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Ed: What are the Democrats thinking? They're going to lose women by pushing an abuser, and now they will lose veterans by claiming that it's normal for military service to turn you into a violent Nazi-tatted creep. Again, if the NRSC and NRCC aren't making Platner an issue in every single midterm contest, they need to disband entirely. 

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Politico: “If he were running in Jersey, he’d either be thrown off the ballot or buried under the Meadowlands,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) said Friday, citing the latest allegations. “I think people in Maine should consider a different candidate right now. You know, Janet Mills is still on the ballot. I think people should be voting for another Democrat next week.”

Moderates like Gottheimer who were already not big fans of Platner were in the minority in speaking out publicly to say his past is disqualifying. Behind the scenes, however, there’s growing concern about his viability in November, especially given the importance of turning out moderate, middle-aged women that are a crucial bloc of Maine’s graying electorate. ...

“In a seat that we critically need to pick up to have any chance of taking the Senate, this just isn’t good,” said a longtime Democratic fundraiser, granted anonymity to discuss the race candidly. “Doing a last-minute sub might be the best option, or the only option, but it certainly doesn’t give a lot of comfort to those of us who ask people to write checks.”

“If we have to wait till after the primary and hope they can talk him into dropping out … that would appeal to me,” said the fundraiser, who is also a major donor.

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Ed: That would require Platner to voluntarily withdraw, though. As long as Khanna, Bernie Sanders, AOC, Elizabeth Warren, and other hard-core socialists stand behind him, why would he?

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Ed: See also, "Talarico, James," "O'Rourke, Robert Francis," etc. 

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NY Times: Mr. Platner said from the stage that he had gone through a period of “darkness” after his military service.

“Now, as every single piece of that past and journey gets dug up, litigated and weaponized, you have my back,” he said.

Outside the theater, Democratic anxieties were growing about Mr. Platner’s chances in a race seen as key to the party’s chances of reclaiming the Senate.

Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire told Punchbowl News that the allegations were “serious and deserve scrutiny.” Representative Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania told CNN that Mr. Platner had “disqualified himself.” Still other Democrats dodged questions about Mr. Platner or tried to downplay their concerns.

Ed: Er, what else does Platner have to run on except his past? What has he ever accomplished? He's come out of nowhere, with a manufactured "working class" narrative that belies his utter lack of accomplishment. Did someone tell Platner that his past was off-limits as a candidate, especially one without any notable qualities for public office at the level of the US Senate?

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This kind of claim fits the level of concern apparent on the faces of Platner and his wife in the "Hostage Video" they released in the aftermath of the first WSJ story.

There is something yet to come far more serious than an ex-girlfriend's claims about him being an abusive ex-boyfriend.

Ed: There's more coming. Platner tried to claim there wasn't when meeting with Senate Dems earlier in the week, and they ended up with egg on their faces. They'd better invest in cases of wet-wipes at this stage, because we haven't even seen the Kik threads yet, and I'd bet there are more ex-girlfriend stories, too. The six-year gap between Lyndsey Fifield and Jenny Racicot leaves lots of time to explore. 

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California Globe: The 2026 Fortune 500 list shows Texas leading California in Fortune 500 companies 57-56.

Data from the 2026 Fortune 500 list show Texas leading with 57 headquarters, compared with California’s 56, marking a reversal from two years ago, when California held the lead, Fox Business reports.

“Additionally, corporations in Texas generated $2.8 trillion in revenue, while those in California reported $2.7 trillion in revenue.” ...

California has been bleeding residents and their tax revenue for many years with moves to states with no income tax or very low income tax: Florida, Texas, Arizona, Idaho, Tennessee, South Carolina, Nevada, and even Washington State. And this isn’t “California Derangement Syndrome” as Gov. Gavin Newsom claims. This is the economic reality by businesses to California’s toxic business climate.

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Ed: The state cannot even conduct an election in a rational and credible manner. Their tax and regulatory policies make it increasingly difficult to do business in the state, let alone turn a profit. Capital moves to where it can be used most efficiently and with the highest return.

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MURPHY: “Part of what the allegation is, is that they are killing stories that would be embarrassing for the president. So it’s hard to know what you’re missing in a censorship environment.”

MAHER: “But I’ve seen ones that are not very favorable to the president… I don’t know if I would have noticed anything different if I hadn’t been reading about it.”

“Companies change hands all the time… ‘Oh my God. 60 Minutes has a new cast!’ So does Saturday Night Live.”

Ed: The irony is that 60 Minutes has the opposite of a "new" cast. It's the same old narrative minders minus one. How anyone can watch the show and think that it's now MAGA is a sign of either insanity or demagoguery. With Murphy, it might just be stupidity. 

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Jonathan Turley: Minnesotans are familiar with the perils of “snow blindness,” a temporary blindness caused by overexposure to ultraviolet rays from the reflection from snow and ice. It appears that Minnesota politicians and prosecutors have a type of mob blindness, where they cannot see crimes committed in front of them by the far left. That condition appears to be tragically evident in St. Paul, where City Attorney Irene Kao made an absurd denial of any criminal activity at the demonstration in the City Church on Jan. 18th. While claiming that there were no observable crimes, Kao’s decision just happened to be enormously popular with the mob-driven politics and polling in her state.

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In January, dozens of anti-ICE protesters, and former CNN journalist Don Lemon, descended upon the church and disrupted a mass because a church official had connections to ICE. ...

These demonstrators entered a church, refused to leave when told to do so, and abused parishioners while stopping the services.

Kao offers little more than a shrug: “Following a careful evaluation of the video footage, investigative reports, and other available materials, prosecutors determined that the current evidence is insufficient to meet that standard for criminal charges under Minnesota state statutes.”

There are 39 people still charged by the federal government under the FACE Act.

Ed: And they will be prosecuted to the full extent, almost certainly. The DoJ may be even more motivated by the refusal of local prosecutors to enforce the law. Leftists want to weaponize prosecutions against conservatives while letting their allies off the same hooks, and that will not end well if it continues. Shame on Kao and on the voters in St. Paul who elected her. 

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Ed: This is the true attitude of entitled progressives who feel voters owe them their offices. I defer further comment to renowned election consultant Peter Venkman from Ghostbusters 2. 

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Last night's lyric: "Renegade" by Styx.

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