Pride Before The Prattfall

The results from California are (mostly? almost completely?) in. They are mixed, and extremely consistent with pre-election polling. Naturally, Republicans are subjecting the country to a blizzard of lies.

In this episode, Matt and Brian discuss:

• The results, and the merits of the California election system, which maximizes ballot access, but at the expense of quick ballot counting.

• What should California Democrats, and the national party, do about the scourge of GOP election lies?

• Would Democrats really have been better off if they’d managed to lock Steve Hilton out of the governor’s race, like they locked Spencer Pratt out of the LA mayor’s race?

Then, how do you solve a problem like Graham Platner? How do you catch an oyster, and snarf it down? How embellished is his self-depiction as a blue-collar outsider? How consistent is a clear, chronological recitation of his checkered past with his redemption story? Are we even anywhere near the point where it would make sense for Democratic voters in Maine to stay home or vote for Susan Collins, rather than Vote Blue No Matter Who as a harm-reduction strategy?

The answer to the last question is “no,” but the answers to the rest are available in full to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.

Further reading:

• Matt’s 17 thoughts about Graham Platner, from before the latest developments.

• Brian argues California Dems should streamline their election process and simultaneously disqualify proven election liars from ballots in the state.

• Andrew Weissmann’s Liar’s Kingdom.

• Brian’s 2017 piece on the pitfall of embracing “believe all women” as a political standard (tl;dr, some women are committed Trump loyalists with MAGA ethics).