Rick Rosner On, 13: Midterm Elections, Political Messaging, and the Graham Platner Controversy
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Personal SubStack
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2026/07/12
Scott Douglas Jacobsen and Rick Rosner discuss the approaching U.S. midterm elections, Republican fearmongering about communism, unreliable polling, and Democratic messaging failures. Rosner argues that Democrats should repeatedly emphasize economic inequality and Republican policies benefiting billionaires. They also examine the collapse of Graham Platner’s Senate candidacy following sexual misconduct allegations and controversy over a tattoo resembling a Nazi SS symbol, alongside Democratic concerns about preventing Susan Collins from winning reelection in Maine during the campaign.
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Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Anything new in the political arena?
Rick Rosner: There are roughly four months until the midterm elections. The Republicans’ and Trump’s new fear-based theme is the supposed coming of communism – that electing Democrats will allow communism to ruin the country.
There is a saying often attributed to Lincoln: “You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time.” You can fool MAGA voters all of the time. They will continue to vote for Trump and accept whatever bullshit he feeds them.
I do not know what percentage of independent voters will respond to Trump’s fearmongering. We do not really know what will work in a U.S. election until people vote because much of the electorate does not pay close attention until a few weeks before Election Day, if they pay attention at all.
We therefore do not know what works rhetorically. Surveys may overrepresent people who pay attention. Assholes and lunatics may be overrepresented. Liars might also be overrepresented. It is increasingly difficult to obtain a reliable picture.
At the moment, it appears that people are angrier with Republicans than with Democrats, but we have been fooled by that before. It would help if the Democrats had consistent messages that they repeatedly emphasized.
There are some effective messages available. One is that Republicans are taking your money and giving it to billionaires. People should hear that from Democratic pundits and candidates many times each day because we hear the same messages from Republicans many times a day. Democrats need to learn the technique of hammering the same message home again and again.
Then there is Graham Platner. Several women have accused him of sexual misconduct, and one former girlfriend has accused him of rape while he was intoxicated. Platner has denied the allegation. He has now withdrawn as the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Maine, allowing the party to select a replacement candidate under state election law.
This is also the candidate who had a tattoo resembling a Totenkopf, or “death’s head,” a skull symbol strongly associated with the Nazi SS. He said that he had obtained the tattoo while serving in the military and had not understood its Nazi association. He later had it covered, although some people did not believe that he had been unaware of its meaning.
In any event, his candidacy became severely compromised. People did not want to reward someone whose reported past conduct may have been as bad as the allegations suggested. Democrats also do not want Republican Senator Susan Collins to be reelected.
Jacobsen: Thank you very much for the opportunity and your time, Rick.
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