Podbit · The Bulwark Podcast
If Platner wins a D+14 state by 3 while Talarico loses a R+8 state by 2, the pundit class will declare the DSA model the winner. That's the same wrong lesson Democrats took from 2022 — when the non-red-wave was really Dobbs plus bad candidates, not a Biden mandate. Getting the narrative wrong now poisons the 2028 strategy.
Where this was said
At 51:40 · chapter starts 47:00
The Platner numbers frame a broader argument about what Democrats think working-class authenticity means. He's leading in Maine — a D+14 state — but the coalition is college-educated whites and young people, not the blue-collar voters the DSA model purports to target. [1] — David French "Graham Platner leads Susan Collins 49-47 in Maine but is losing white non-college voters 59-36. David French argues the DSA's logic — that …" 46:50 French is pointed: Platner has a Nazi tattoo, a history of sexting women who aren't his wife, was recently on a gross sex site while married, and allegedly manhandled a former girlfriend. The DSA consultant logic that this is 'authentic working-class' is, to French, deeply condescending — it implies working-class people are fine with scumbaggery. When French grew up, working-class values meant a man's word was his bond. Miller steelmans the case: the appeal was meant to be about centering working-class concerns, not the personal scandals. Then he pivots to the Texas comparison — James Talarico, a religious, broadly appealing candidate, is also losing white non-college voters badly (68-27) in a state where Paxton is the opponent. Neither model is working with this demographic, which suggests the problem runs deeper than candidate type.
A Siena/NYT poll shows Graham Platner losing white non-college voters 59-36 in Maine, despite leading Susan Collins 49-47 overall.
James Talarico is losing white non-college voters 68-27 in Texas, where he is nonetheless tied 47-47 with Ken Paxton.
Ten years ago, 90% of tech media coverage was relentlessly negative and Kalanick felt he couldn't speak freely. Today, the rise of independent podcasters and Elon Musk buying Twitter has fundamentally changed the game — and it's why he's finally willing to talk.
Kay Classman, 28, was arrested for repeatedly posing as a 16-year-old and enrolling in Bronx high schools across multiple districts. She wasn't a predator — just someone so sad and lonely she wanted her lost childhood back. That's somehow sadder.
Disney, Meta, and Paramount have collectively paid Trump roughly $60 million to settle what Galloway calls nuisance lawsuits — all routed to his presidential library. Newsrooms are folding. The White House is handpicking press pool participants. This is what the end of a free press looks like.
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A progressive organization with a stated mission to destroy Turning Point USA received millions from ActBlue and is now publicly pushing the narrative that TPUSA insiders and Israel murdered Charlie Kirk. Andrew Wilson traced the network of accounts all amplifying the same conspiracy in perfect unison.
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Andrew Wilson publicly offered Candace Owens $300,000 to debate her theory that Israel and TPUSA murdered Charlie Kirk. She refused. He argues that flat-earthers will debate anyone, but Kirk conspiracy theorists won't defend their claims under scrutiny.
Erika Kirk became the CEO of TPUSA while grieving her husband's murder in public, and now faces tens of thousands accusing her of conspiring to kill him. Andrew Wilson calls it mind-boggling psychological torture. The sparklers at the memorial weren't suspicious — they were a grieving widow doing her best in an impossible situation.
Joe Rogan and Andrew Wilson watch a bystander video of the Corey Ruiz police shooting in Madison, Wisconsin live on air. The video is so blurry they initially think a female officer fired the fatal shots. They later learn a male officer did, after Ruiz allegedly pulled a knife and stabbed officers. Their conclusion: you cannot have a hot take on a story you don't understand yet.
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