Transition to the Maine Senate Primary Discussion

More than seven million Americans marched peacefully in the streets. Republicans are palpably spooked about it. And courage is proving contagious: In this episode, Matt and Brian discuss:

* How Trump’s king-like abuses are, for the first time in a decade, becoming hard to distinguish from kitchen-table issues;

* Whether, given the galvanizing power of No Kings, Democrats should pivot to the theme (away from health care) and make a national scandal of Trump’s demolition of the White House to build a palace ballroom;

* The importance of message amplification in getting people to care about anything when their day-to-day lives are unaffected by political scandal.

Then, the Democratic establishment comes for Graham Platner with…some pretty explosive opposition research. How much grace does he deserve? What does he need to do to earn it? And how is it that people make decisions about what is sincere and insincere when it comes out of the mouth of a politician. All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.

Further reading:

* Halina Bennet’s report from No Kings DC.

* Brian’s piece, from December 6, 2024: The New Gilded Age Will Be Streamed.

* Seth Masket on the political class’s over-interpretation of gaffes.

* Graham Platner responds to the oppo dump on Crooked Media.