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Blame NY 'Progressive' Consultants and DC 'Moderate' Insiders If Susan Collins Wins
Because of Morris Katz and Chuck Schumer's failures, we're left with a broken Maine Democratic Party now scrambling to find a replacement for Graham Platner in less than two weeks.
Jul 10, 2026
The Maine Senate race may be the most consequential in the country. If Susan "Kavanaugh promised me he wouldn't overturn Roe v Wade" Collins is reelected to the Senate, it may guarantee a small Republican Senate majority that will approve young extremist right-wing Supreme Court Justices to replace Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas and control the law for the next 30-40 years.
But young "progressive" Democratic consultants like Morris Katz and old "moderate" Democratic politicians like Sen. Chuck Schumer (NY) may have collectively f**cked up the process.
Graham Platner was recruited to run with minimal vetting by Katz, a 20-something political consultant from Tribeca who produces brilliant campaign ads. Chuck Schumer used his political muscle to ensure that 78-year old Maine Gov. Janet Mills would be the other contender in the Democratic primary. After Platner took a commanding lead in the polls, Mills dropped out, virtually assuring that Platner would be the then-likely nominee.
Katz is a 26-year old (or maybe 28-year-old since he previously lied about his age)) who grew up in a Tribeca to family of writers and film producers. Katz produced a series of brilliant ads for Mandami that help propel him to the NY mayoralty. Katz had previously produced ads for Democrat John Fetterman's (Pa.) successful Senate campaign depicting Fetterman as a populist working class hero, although once in the Senate Fetterman turned Republican-lite.
But Chuck Schumer is even worse. His anointing of Janet Mills as the party-approved candidate was as disastrous as Katz's anointing of Platner as the working class progressive hero.
Last autumn Katz formed a Brooklyn-based political consulting firm, The Fight Agency. Based on Mandami's success, Katz seemed to have decided that he himself was the singularly best person in the entire country to "cast" progressives to successfully win office.
Katz focused much of his efforts on recruiting a progressive working class candidate who he believed could defeat Susan Collins in Maine. He was tipped off to Platner by some labor organizers and traveled to Maine to meet him. “Within a few minutes of talking to him, I was, like, ‘This guy owes it to the country to run for Senate'" Katz recalled of his first meeting with Platner.
Platner fit Katz's script for a rough working class guy with progressive politics, and he virtually immediately cast Platner as his leading man. Katz and his partners didn't bother to vet Platner, a process that takes several weeks and costs over $20,000. In three days, New York-based Northside Research was paid $6,250 to produce a brief, risk-assessment memo in lieu of a detailed research book—or the start of one—that can be hundreds of pages long. According to The Wall Street Journal, "The expedited research didn’t discover issues that would later hurt his campaign, including the full trove of Platner’s Reddit posts or sexually explicit texts Platner sent to other women while married."
Less than two weeks later, Platner released a brilliant populist launch video produced by Katz that went viral and catapulted Platner into prominence. He drew adoring crowds, and his polling showed him overwhelming Gov. Janet Mills in the primaries.
But while concerning revelations about Platner's personal life kept dripping out, Platner's consultants brushed them off arguing they were irrelevant compared with Platner's charisma and his populist politics. As Slate reported: "Each time a new and disturbing Platner story landed—the Reddit posts, the tattoo, the alleged physical abuse, the sexting, the rape allegation—Platner’s team responded with an almost Trumpian playbook. They disparaged the media, played it off as a targeted attack by a vengeful political establishment, and insinuated that each scandal only made Platner more authentically Maine."
I'm generally in agreement with the populist anti-oligarchy themes of Platner's campaign and those of his progressive consultants (and even sent him a contribution). But they were immature and deluded to not vet Platner and to cavalierly dismiss the charges against him. The unvetted revelations about Platner's abusive treatment of women eventually doomed Platner's campaign.
Adam Jentleson, the late Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's former chief of staff, characterizes Katz's view of the ideal progressive candidate as "a highly selective image of populism that is tailored to an Upper West Sider’s political sensibilities.”
Katz grew up in Tribeca. His father is a successful screenwriter, his mother is a successful children's book author, and his godfather was the late actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. After dropping out of college, he worked as a production assistant and wrote screenplays, before entering politics.
That's a good background for learning progressive politics but not necessarily one to designate yourself as the leading casting director for progressive candidates with a working class background. This failure was demonstrated by his casting of the unvetted Platner and of John Fetterman who turned into a corporate Democrat.
But Chuck Schumer is even worse. His anointing of Janet Mills as the party-approved candidate was as disastrous as Katz's anointing of Platner as the working class progressive hero.
Because of both of their failures, we're left with a broken Maine Democratic Party now scrambling to find a replacement for Platner in less than two weeks. Let's hope it doesn't lead to Collins being returned to the Senate and helping confirm right-wing Supreme Court justices who could shape the law for decades to come.
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ICE Kills, DHS Lies: The New Normal of Trump’s America
Federal agents flood our neighborhoods; a poorly trained, gun-happy immigration agent kills someone; the administration alleges, without evidence, that the victim was responsible; no proper investigation is conducted; no one is held accountable. Rinse and repeat.
Jul 09, 2026
On July 7, an Immigration Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national. According to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, Araujo “weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer resulting in our officer firing his weapon in self-defense.” As of the time of this writing, the agency has yet to provide any evidence.
This shooting comes days after a massive surge in ICE arrests. Between June 26 and June 30, 10,000 people were reportedly detained by immigration agents.
This is a tragic story—one that we have seen many times before.
Silverio Villegas González: On September 12, Villegas González, a Mexican national, was shot and killed by an ICE agent. This occurred during the agency’s “Operation Midway Blitz” in the Chicago area.
Araujo was not the first of ICE’s victims. So long as the agency exists, he will not be the last.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) alleged that the ICE agent “was hit by the car and dragged a significant distance. Fearing for his own life, the officer fired his weapon.” DHS further claimed that the agent “sustained multiple injuries.”
These were lies. Bodycam footage collected by Franklin Park police officers show the ICE agent saying he “got dragged a little bit” and describing his own injuries as “nothing major.” Surveillance video shows that Villegas González did not drive toward or hit either agent. Several eyewitnesses further refute DHS’ narrative.
Marimar Martinez: On October 4, Martinez, a US citizen, was shot five times by Border Patrol agent Charles Exum. In a statement, DHS described this as “defensive fire.” They alleged, without evidence, that Martinez and her fellow “domestic terrorists” “ambushed” and “rammed federal agents with their vehicles.” On social media, FBI Director Kash Patel posted a video—from an unrelated incident—of a black SUV aggressively ramming an agent’s truck as "proof" of Martinez’s crime.
These, too, were lies. Bodycam footage shows the agents already had their weapons drawn as one of them turned the steering wheel toward Martinez’s car. One agent can be heard saying, “It’s time to get aggressive.”
Text messages reveal the “big time” support Exum received from then-Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks, and then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in the aftermath of this incident. Hours after the shooting, Bovino even offered to extend Exum’s retirement with CBP “in light of [his] excellent service in Chicago.” He added, “you have much yet left to do!”
In a group chat, Exum bragged about how he “fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes.”
Renee Nicole Good: On January 7, Noem alleged that Good, a US citizen, “weaponize[d] her vehicle” and “attempted to run” over ICE agent Jonathan Ross. This act of so-called “domestic terrorism” justified Ross’s lethal action.
Once again, more lies. Footage captured on that day definitively showed—from multiple camera angles—that Good was turning away from Ross as he opened fire. He was never in danger.
Six months later, her murder has yet to be properly investigated. This was always the government’s plan. The day after her death, Vice President JD Vance insisted that the officer had “absolute immunity.” A few weeks afterwards, six federal prosecutors resigned over the Justice Department’s reluctance to investigate Ross. An FBI agent who had opened a civil rights investigation into Good’s death also resigned after she was ordered to reclassify it as an investigation into an assault on the ICE agent.
To these names, there are many we can add: Ruben Ray Martinez (shot and killed), Alex Pretti (shot and killed), Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis (shot), Jesus Javier Gomez Islas (shot, left permanently blind in his right eye), Keith Porter Jr. (shot and killed), Carlitos Ricardo Parias (shot).
Trump’s bigotry, Congress’ cowardice, and the Supreme Court’s blind obedience; a government devoid of checks and balances at war with its own people—this is America after 250 years.
This is the new normal of Donald Trump’s America—federal agents flood our neighborhoods. A poorly trained, gun-happy immigration agent kills someone. The administration alleges, without evidence, that the victim was responsible. No proper investigation is conducted. No one is held accountable. A family is torn apart. A community traumatized. Rinse and repeat.
We do not yet know all the details surrounding Araujo’s death. Perhaps we will never.
For now, there are two things we can take as certainties: First, any official narrative put forth by ICE, DHS, or the Trump administration cannot be trusted. They have repeatedly lied to the public, defended their killers, and blamed the victims. In their view, if you are killed by ICE, protest ICE, criticize ICE on social media, or even write a strongly worded email to ICE, then you are the criminal. You are the “domestic terrorist.”
Second, Araujo was not the first of ICE’s victims. So long as the agency exists, he will not be the last. The next victim could be anyone. Regardless of race or legal status, we are all vulnerable to Trump’s taxpayer-funded secret police.
This is the reality that we all find ourselves in—one that is nurtured and sustained by every aspect of the federal government: the Trump administration’s militarized immigration enforcement and crackdown on political dissent; a Congress that continues, despite the deaths, to provide billions to ICE and DHS; and a Supreme Court that gives ICE agents legal immunity to racially profile minorities and that paves the way for DHS to strip noncitizens of their protection status.
Trump’s bigotry, Congress’ cowardice, and the Supreme Court’s blind obedience; a government devoid of checks and balances at war with its own people—this is America after 250 years.
On Facebook, Araujo’s son, Ronaldo Salgado, wrote: “My father has been in this country for nearly 35 years, working in construction to provide for myself, my two brothers, and my mother. He was in the process of obtaining his work permit through the legal process. He was on his way to work, picking up his workers. My father did not deserve this.”
None of ICE’s victims deserved this.
We cannot allow ICE to continue tearing families apart. We cannot continue to suffer politicians and institutions that prioritize war and violence over helping the people they are meant to serve.
Despite the dangers, we must continue to protest ICE. We must advocate for progressive candidates and policies. The situation is bleak, but things will only get worse if we do nothing. The White House will not save us. The Supreme Court will not save us. Congress, as it stands, will not save us. We must save ourselves.
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'At Least He Admits It': Trump Says Pro-Democracy Resolution Would Destroy GOP
"The Supreme Court’s attacks on voting rights are about rigging elections for Republicans," said Rep. Greg Casar, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Jul 06, 2026
US President Donald Trump on Sunday attacked a pro-democracy resolution recently introduced by key House caucus leaders, warning that the measure's adoption would strike a fatal blow to the Republican Party.
"They do this, and the Republican Party is DEAD!" Trump wrote in a social media post, citing a Politico story on the resolution. The proposal, unveiled last month by the heads of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, calls for the restoration and strengthening of voter protections gutted by the US Supreme Court as well as court reforms—including possible expansion of the number of justices and term limits.
Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), chair of the CPC, wrote Sunday that Trump's post amounted to an acknowledgment that "the Supreme Court’s attacks on voting rights are about rigging elections for Republicans."
"At least he admits it," the progressive leader wrote on social media.
This is what Trump says about my resolution with @RepYvetteClarke, @RepEspaillat, and @RepGraceMeng to restore voting rights, end the filibuster, and reform the Supreme Court.
At least he admits it: the Supreme Court’s attacks on voting rights are about rigging elections for Rs. pic.twitter.com/GgQzhlwo4Q
— Congressman Greg Casar (@RepCasar) July 5, 2026
Politico reported that while the resolution "stands virtually no chance of adoption" in the current GOP-controlled Congress, "it is the latest indicator of how the Congressional Black Caucus and other key Democrats want to respond to the April decision that cleared the way for Republican states to redraw their congressional maps and eliminate majority-minority districts"—a reference to the Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais.
Trump seized on the ruling to push state-level Republicans to aggressively gerrymander their maps ahead of the critical 2026 midterm elections. The president is also pressuring congressional Republicans to force through legislation known as the SAVE America Act, which would impose strict voter ID and documentation requirements nationwide, potentially blocking millions of American citizens from casting ballots under the pretext of cracking down on noncitizen voting—something that is already illegal and rare.
Trump is currently holding a bipartisan housing affordability bill hostage in a bid to get the stalled SAVE America Act through Congress.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) affirmed on Sunday that Republicans intend to attach the assault on voting rights to a filibuster-proof budget reconciliation package in a last-ditch effort to get the measure through the Senate, where it has not received enough support to clear the upper chamber's 60-vote threshold. Trump has called for elimination of the filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act, but Senate Republicans have thus far declined to remove the barrier.
The progressive resolution that Trump attacked on Sunday also proposes "the elimination of the 60-vote threshold in the Senate"—but it specifies that the action should only be taken "under the next pro-democracy governing moment."
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