Graham Platner Drops Out In Maine Senate Race

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Welcome to left, right and center, everybody. I'm David Green. As we know, Democrats hope to retake the Senate this fall. And the path to victory runs in part through the state of Maine. But that path has gotten a lot more complicated. Just a warning for everyone here. We are going to be talking today about accusations of sexual assault. Graham Platner, the Democratic pick to take on Republican Susan Collins in Maine has withdrawn from the race. We believe that for the movement to continue. It can't be made. And for that reason, we are suspending campaign operations. Now, earlier this week, Politico reported that a woman he once dated accused him of rape. Here she is, Jenny Rosicott. She was speaking with CNN's Jake Tapper. So he was aware that he was doing something wrong and saying sorry? I feel like he was in moments. Is there any... way that he thought this was consensual or no, just because... I don't believe that you can think that that scenario was consensual. All right, so obviously this is all completely reshaped the race in Maine, but... One has to wonder, how was he able to get this far into a candidacy? And can Democrats reverse the momentum from this news and still find an alternative candidate who can beat Susan Collins? Let's bring in our left, right and center usual panel. We have Moa Lathie on the left and Sarah Isker on the right. And Mo, I guess I want to start with you because this is quite a moment for Democrats. I mean... Graham Platner, as we've talked about together here, has had a string of controversial things come up about his past for months, and yet he still won that primary in Maine with 72% of the vote. Can you just take us sort of step back, take us behind the scenes? How does a candidate like him rise and bypass any sort of background checks vetting that might have caught this? A couple of things. Number one. Good riddance. I was never a Graham Platner supporter. This is a guy who the more we learned about him, the more uncomfortable I got with him. Frankly, I'm angry that it took this long. But I wasn't the target audience. People of Maine, people all over the country are upset with the establishment. And so we see this in both parties that when somebody can channel that anger, people will respond. And I think that's what happened here with Graham Platner. He was clearly not an establishment candidate. What we have learned in the reporting is he was a guy that was noticed by some professional consultants. They went up and pitched him on the idea of running for the Senate. They did not do the due diligence that a lot of campaigns do. These consultants were not the most experienced. They, I think, got excited about him. I think they also got excited about the contract that they would get from him. And they...

ended up pitching him while also taking on the responsibility of vetting him. And that's just not a good combination to have the pitch guys be also in charge of the vetting. Yeah, because you're incentivized to think that the vending is popping things up that might not, you know, we can let that go because we want this guy so much because of the mold that he's in. That's right. And they had had some success in previous campaigns. They let that success go to their heads. And so they bypassed a lot of the normal stuff that you do. So should the normal stuff been taking place? Like should the party have stepped in and said we need to do a more normal vetting process here? Can we be really clear? The party does not vet candidates in a primary. That's true on the Republican side. That's true on the Democratic side. Okay. We live in a weak party system. If this was the UK where the local party committee gets to choose who stands in their primaries, That's one thing. But we don't do that. And that's by design. And frankly, that's what voters keep saying they want. They want to have that direct choice. So the party doesn't vet. In this case, the Democratic Party is doing all the vetting, all the APO research on Susan Collins to be able to give to the eventual nominee. But when you have a competitive primary, The party isn't going to do self-opposition research reports because they're not usually can't do that for everybody unless they're going to do that for everybody. And even then, it gives the appearance that the party is weighing in on the primary process. So the party isn't going to do that. The vetting is done by each individual candidate in their campaign by. the press and by the voters. And in this case, the campaign didn't do its job. And what it did know, it hid. And that is the fatal flaw. Well, Sarah, I mean, to kind of just continue where we are, I mean, you've been critical for a while of Graham Platner and basically told us, I think, where there's smoke, there's fire. The party, as Moja said, seemed to. possibly ignore the smoke or sort of look the other way because they don't have a role, as Mo, you just said. But we've seen both Democrats and Republicans ignoring smoke from candidates. Is there an argument here that the parties should do more? And even if they wanted to do more, could they do more? Because Mo just set up a scenario here where it's like the system is what voters have asked for, period. Oh, we have so many problems to discuss here. Okay, number one, the pitch of Graham Platner was that this was the guy who could win back working class voters, right? That he's just a regular oyster farmer. And then when you actually looked at the polling, and by the way, we've seen this with tons of DSA-esque candidates, they aren't winning because they're getting working class voters. Their message... is about working class voters, but working class voters aren't voting for them. And it's super lopsided. So this was a New York Times Fox News poll in June. It was college-educated whites who were overwhelmingly in favor of Graham Platner, 56 to 41 in the Fox poll, 68 to 31 in the New York Times data. And then on the other side, whites without a college degree?

Susan Collins was smoking Graham Platner, 5741 in Fox and 5936 in The Times. So it's like it's a message cosplay to make the college-educated rich white voters feel like they're... down with the working class or something. But it's not actually those people supporting these candidates. We saw that in the New York races and the primaries as well. So I just want to like make this clear that these candidates are doing a lot of working class rhetoric, but they're not getting working class support. That's number one. Okay, number two is a little bit more controversial. And I just feel like a lot of listeners are going to. hear me or believe me, but I'm going to try to do it anyway. Mo, I don't know whether you're going to scream at me that this is totally wrong. In 2016, when the tape came out about Donald Trump, there was a real shot for Republicans to abandon Trump. And you saw several did. The RNC almost dropped him. They couldn't figure out how to do it. If that tape had come out before the ballot deadline, Donald Trump would not have been the Republican nominee. It was because it came out after the ballot deadline that, you know, Republican elites, the party, whatever you want to call it, had no choice. I posit to you that if this latest allegation had come out six days from now, they would have had no choice but to stick with Graham Platner. And you would see Democrats defending this. It is because they have the choice that they're not. Thank God. And that actually this will massively help the Democratic Party's chances of unseeding Susan Collins now because they have the opportunity to nominate someone who actually has a far better shot of winning in a general election. So Democrats right now are thrilled to dump Graham Platner. Before you dive in, Mo, just to be clear, Sarah, the ballot deadline, if that had passed, it would have meant that Graham Platner would have been on the ballot no matter what Democrats did. And they would have been stuck in this place of having to. convince people to vote for someone else, even though Graham Platner, who has a good bit of name recognition now, is actually still on the ballot, which would have been a mess for the party. Or abandon that Senate seat entirely, potentially abandoning the path to a Senate majority. They would not have done that. Got it. Mo, thoughts on what Sarah's saying here? It's an interesting question, and I'm glad we didn't have to find out the answer about whether or not what Democrats would have done if this came out. And frankly, there is reporting right now that Republicans in Maine are scrambling because they were sitting on some other bombshells that their opposition research did, that they were waiting to drop in the general election. And now they've got to figure out what to do because I do think that race is competitive once again without even knowing who the most recent polling shows that generic Democrat against Susan Collins leads by five points. And that's great. because that means that there is not all is lost. Had Graham Platner gotten to the other side of the ballot deadline and this stuff started to come out, there's nothing the Democratic Party could have done to replace him unless he withdrew. So Sarah raises an interesting question. I don't know what would have happened. I've got to say, I want a Democratic majority as much as any other Democrat does, but I had a hard time.

reconciling the notion that embracing Graham Platner was the path to that. When a guy shows you his Nazi tattoo, believe him. There was a lot about him that was troubling. And it was so disheartening to hear so many Democrats say, I don't like that stuff. But. But, and it's what. Sarah identified happened in 2016 on the Republican side, the number of Republicans who said, I don't like him, but. Well, can I ask you, Mo, like, that's why I'm wondering about Sarah's what she said about messaging cosplay, because there are some in the Democratic Party who believe that someone like Graham Platner is the way to get, like, working class voters to believe in the party again. I mean, is it, how do you, how do you feel about that narrative? I hear what she's saying. I don't necessarily 100% agree with it or not entirely. I think it's probably a lot more complex and layered than that. And I think where some of the appeal is to so many people about the modern progressive movement is they're forcing that conversation. They are talking about working class issues in a way that the establishment has forgotten to. And this is why you do see the rise of people like Graham Platner, but also some of these other, I don't want to lump him in with a lot of the others, just because you're a DSA candidate. I'm not going to lump you in with Graham Platner. But the reason that you do see them taking off so much is not because America or the Democratic Party is lurching to the left. It's because they have. put their finger on the pulse of where a lot of voters are, which is they want candidates who can once again reconnect with working class people. So I applaud them for being out there and talking about them. And hey, establishment, my wig of the party, wake up. But Sarah's absolutely right. Those candidates who are winning those primaries are not winning with a groundswell of working class support. There's the great paradox, right? They rail against elitism, but their base are really the elites. For now, if they continue to be the only ones in the party talking to working class voters, my guess is working class voters will slowly start to gravitate towards them. Right now, a lot of working class voters don't believe any Democrat who talks about working class issues. That's the fundamental problem and why there's this huge opening for these candidates. But if these candidates are forcing a real conversation about working class issues. and the establishment starts to respond in a genuine, authentic way, then this debate will have done the party a real service. All right. Well, if you have any thoughts on this, you should join the conversation as well by coming aboard the left, right, and center substack. We will send you an inbox reminder every week to hone up on the show. get to debating with one another and get to having a real conversation, um, even outside the show. You can join at KCRWLRC dot substack.com. Sarah Moe and I are going to be coming back, uh, after the break to talk about corruption. Um, you're listening to Left, Right, and Center.

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What do you think of this moment? Like, he decides to leave now when there were plenty of opportunities over time, Nazi tattoo and lots of other stuff, when this could have happened sooner. I mean, he beclowned everyone who supported him. Everyone who endorsed this guy. Everyone who defended all the little slash totally big. red flags along the way. I mean, someone said, this guy had more red flags than China. Like, you couldn't have a worse candidate on paper, and people kept defending it. But here's the part that I guess leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Again, I can't believe it's not the Nazi tattoo, but it's not. A woman came forward and said, he twisted my wrist and my arm. He put me into a bathroom and held the door so that I couldn't leave. But not only did... Did it not disqualify him when she came out publicly and said this, you know, she had records from the time that he had physically assaulted her? This is Lindsay, Lindsay Fifield you're talking about, right? Correct. Democrats instead attacked Lindsay Feifield, including a sitting U.S. Senator who attacked her. Why? Because of her political beliefs. Because she was conservative. And in fact, the woman now claiming that he raped her in 2022. said that part of the reason she came forward was because of the way that Lindsay Feifield had been treated. And first of all, like, I'm very grateful to both of these women for speaking up. We should be disgusted that we treated someone's politics as meaning that we don't believe what they say, even when they have records from the time that very much back up what they say. But it reminds me so much of the rob her. incident, right? Rob Herr as the special counsel who investigated Joe Biden's handling of classified information and in his report said the reason he did not believe that charges could be brought even after Joe Biden left office was that he did not think a jury would be able to convict. And as he described it, you know, an elderly man with a poor memory because of Joe Biden's mental facilities that he had witnessed during the course of these interviews. And did Democrats then take a real deep look of whether this should be their candidate heading in to 2024? No. They attacked Rob Her publicly, tried to destroy him publicly, and behind the scenes were trying to make sure he couldn't get another job. And it's like, hey, guys, believe it or not, sometimes people who don't share your political beliefs are still trying to do things for the good of the country, still trying to warn Democrats that they have a problem. Stop dismissing people just because they don't share your political beliefs as corrupt or unsurious or lying. Why can't we just assume good faith on behalf of other people, especially when they have the receipts, y'all? I think the answer to that question is because too many people right now are not showing good faith. I completely agree with everything you just said, Sarah. The problem is people jump to this because we just see too much in our politics right now of decisions being made purely for political reasons, people who are completely hypocritical. I am sorry, but all of the conservatives, not you, but all of the conservatives.

dunking on Graham Platner and attacking the Democratic Party for standing by him and then turn right around and stand by... Donald Trump, they have created a cynicism that has just led people to assume the worst. When in a case like Lindsay Fifeield, absolutely she was credible. She should have been listened to. She should have been respected to. Some of us did. But the reason so many people do not assume the good faith is because too many people in the system right now are showing bad faith. Yeah, I guess maybe we should just treat each other like individuals instead of like members of some party blob. Agreed. Lindsey Fifeield did nothing to warrant the cynicism, to warrant not believing her, to think that somehow she had been a hypocrite or anything else. Agreed. And that is what leaves a bad taste in my mouth about what has gone on, that there were a lot of red flags. I think the Democrat should have ditched him before. I think primary voters shouldn't have voted for him. Well, can we talk for a minute about what's next? Graham Platner, as he suspended his campaign, and I want to listen to this, said that determining his replacement should be a democratic process. The process needs to assure that what comes next is reflective of the Mainers who on June 9th turned out and showed that they are desperate for a different kind of politics. It needs to be driven not from backrooms, but by the will of the people. I mean, and there's already talk. It sounds like Mo that there's going to be like a state party convention that determines this and not direct voters. I mean, what is important here in this moment when we're talking about all this stuff? Like, you know, how we got a candidate like Graham Platner, what the people in Maine who vetted him could have done differently and also assuming good faith. Like I feel like many of Graham Platner's... supporters or people who won a different kind of politics who he's saying are going to assume bad faith when it comes to the party in this process. I mean, how can they make it feel like it's motivated by the right things and what's right for the people of Maine? Because this feels like an important moment for that. It is an important moment for them. And they've got two weeks, right? That's it. That's not a long time to submit a new nominee. No, it's no time. I think what's important for the Maine Democratic Party to do right now is to be, one, transparent about the process. Two, give Maine Democrats a chance to actually hear from all of the candidates who are going to jump into this race now. So there needs to be party-sponsored debates, as many as they can fit into this two-week period. There just needs to be opportunities because you're right. It is unlikely that there's going to be sort of a primary type of process because there's no time and there's no funding for a full-on primary. Every state handles these kind of situations a little bit differently, and I don't know what the exact rules are in Maine, but either the state pays for primaries or the party pays for primaries.

I don't know that the state is going to pay for a whole new one, which means that the party is going to have to fund this process. So for all the reasons, it's going to be complicated. So having an open convention where as many people as they can allow to be a part of it, where everyone's heard from the candidates, is going to be important. It cannot look like Chuck Schumer or the National Democratic Party are ordaining a candidate. And as much as he, it seems like he wants to, Graham Platner cannot ordain his replacement. This needs to be as open as open of a process as possible. And I think having as many debates between the candidates is going to be a key part of that. All right. You're listening to left, right, and center from KCRW. Mo and Sarah and I have been talking about Graham Platner dropping out of the Senate race in Maine and what's next. And, you know, one of the things that you. brought up, Sarah, is how in our politics today, we're just assuming bad faith everywhere with people that we disagree with. I was really struck by this when it comes to President Trump and the phone call that he made to FIFA to overturn the suspension of one of the best players on the U.S. men's national team. You know, let's just listen to a little bit of what the president said here about that phone call and what he did. You know, it's one thing to penalize somebody for the game. But how do you penalize them for a game that hasn't been played yet? It's very unfair. You can't do that. So, yes, I asked for a review. by FIFA? I heard so many people saying that they were like literally paralyzed by this because they were so happy that this red card was kind of overturned and they were grateful that whatever President Trump did made it happen. But they're also like, but that means that President Trump is literally as corrupt or more corrupt than FIFA is able to. pull this off. And, you know, we're in this moment now where the narrative is, this is the latest example of a president who, you know, constantly tries to use his power for influence to gain popularity, to get attention on himself. Just last week, the president disclosed that he's pulled in $2.2 billion since returning to office. And most of that money has come from his family's cryptocurrency. businesses. I mean, the narrative right now for people who do not like Donald Trump is that he and his family are more corrupt than we could possibly imagine. And that is the end of the story. Sarah, I just wonder, how does that fit into sort of the always assume bad faith in people who are not on your side of the political aisle? Yeah. Oh, my gosh, everyone. Take a deep breath here. Here's the folks I actually want to address. The people who... Say, if you believe in process, then you have to not be okay with this. I...

And the president is maybe one of the most corrupt people ever to occupy the Oval Office. So this whole incident was like a marriage made in hell. They were meant for one another in this moment. I was rooting for Team USA. That doesn't mean I have to like the process by which the red card was overturned. I don't. But let's also be clear it was not. The only moment in this tournament where FIFA's corruption was on display. Right. I mean, Christine Ronaldo's red card was overturned. Messy didn't get a red card for the exact same thing. There wasn't supposed to be the video review. Like the number of things that were wrong about this that have nothing to do with Donald Trump? Right. And that's what I'm saying. FIFA's corruption is evident in so many ways and so many places that have not. Nothing to do with Team USA. I'm looking right at you, Argentina versus Egypt. But I'm pretty worked up by Donald Trump's corruption, but on the list of things in the past week. to get me worked up about Donald Trump's corruption, this doesn't make the top 10. I mean, the problem is there is so much corruption coming out of this administration that they frankly get away with. They're going to push the envelope everywhere, including the World Cup. Then what is there? Like, you've been so committed to trying to get the Democratic Party to have a consistent, a disciplined message, focusing on people's lives, the economy. Like it, people love Donald Trump getting up there and saying, like, I can pick up the phone and I can make sure that, you know, this red card is overturned. Like, what is the counter message to that in this political moment that sort of ties into the larger discipline message that you're looking for from the left right now? Yeah, that this moment shouldn't be a part of the message. Don't talk about FIFA. Okay. Talk about the fact that Donald Trump's own disclosure forms show that he made over a billion dollars. in crypto, an industry that he is supposed to be regulating, that it was by selling these meme coins, he and his family profited immensely from, on the back of the investors, right? The investors lost a ton of money. He made a ton of money, all while promising to put more money in your pockets and failing. Your prices are gone up. Gas prices went up again this week because of the ceasefire seemingly falling apart. Grocery prices are still high. Everything costs more today than it did before Donald Trump became president. He promised to put more money in your wallets, but it seems like the only pockets that are getting heavier.

are his and his families. That's the message. That's what connects the corruption of this administration to everyday people's lives. Because in the absence of connecting it to people's everyday lives, that he is benefiting at your expense, it doesn't connect because for decades now, most voters believe everybody in politics is corrupt. And in fact, part of the message of Donald Trump's campaign in 2016, was I can play the game better than anybody else. People already assume that he's corrupt because they assume everyone in politics is corrupt. Are you going to still fight for me or not? Has become the threshold question. And when you can point to the fact that he is actually not fighting for you, he is making your life more difficult all while he benefits, then that's the problem. And that should be the democratic message. All right, Sarah and I are going to come back and take a couple of your questions. Sarah, some of them have to do with what our message has been about Congress not doing anything and it being on voters to change things. They have questions for us about the message that we have been sending. And we will listen to them when we come back with more left, right, and center.

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We're talking about the period from January 2023 to 2025. Lawmakers passed 274 bills. That is the fewest number of bills for any Congress in over a half century. As for the current Congress that we have right now, that is on track to be even worse. Since January of 2025, they have passed 102 bills. Whose fault is that? And that brings us to some of our listeners this week. Sarah, you have often said that the problem is because voters keep sending the wrong kind of lawmakers to Congress. We had two listeners who are sort of weighing in and wanting to challenge us. And let's listen. My name is Andrew. I currently live in Dallas, Texas. And I consider myself a relatively moderate liberal. But my question is for Sarah. Sarah, I agree with 95% of everything you have to say, but I always get a little peeved when you mention that it's the voters' fault that Congress isn't legislating. I understand that we vote congressional members in, but the fact that the media has essentially radicalized the voters is an opinion that really hasn't been talked about. Who pays for all those ads that tell voters that this is the next essential crisis? Who is the people that actually convinces voters to vote one way or another? So maybe it's the Super PAC's fault. Maybe it's the Democratic and Republican Party's fault for pushing candidates forward that we maybe don't even want. So stop blaming the voters because honestly, it's not their fault. Okay. So before we weigh in, I want to listen to one more voice here. Sarah, you made a great comment a few years ago before the first Trump election about the American electorate's partisan divide in this country. And if we wanted to stop it, we should just stop electing people that contribute to it. I'm wondering then when you're going to say the quiet part out loud that the vast majority of the American electorate is really quite stupid. And we could all benefit from a brush up on civic skills to learn how government actually functions and work, how we can move together the country. Okay, so the first one was Andrew from Dallas, who is a moderate liberal who agrees with 95% of what you say, Sarah. We should not let that. go by without mentioning it. The second voice is actually another listener who said his name is Andrews. We have two Andrews. Sarah, one says it's not our fault. The other is saying that voters are just stupid, which I do not agree with in any way, shape, or form. But the floor is yours. Andrew from Dallas. You're wrong, and I'm right. Twas ever thus. And thank you for joining us on left, right? Yes, go ahead. I totally take your point. But I just don't think there is some, like, Grand Wizard of Oz who is pulling the strings for these voters. What we're really talking about is the small dollar donor problem. These candidates go on social media or on cable news, and they are leaning on anger and outrage to turn on a very small segment of the voting base who gives them $5, $10, $20. That's where the vast majority of these candidates' money is coming from. It's not a super PAC. not the political party. It's this 2% of voters who actually give money. And by the way, they vote in primaries. Oh, boy, do they? And when you get a voter to give you $5, that $5 may not seem very valuable, but you have guaranteed that they will show up to vote. It's like betting on a game. You're going to watch the game. It gives skin in the game. So the problem is the voters.

I will acknowledge to you that some of the voters are more of the problem than other of the voters. The people who are turned on by the anger and outrage and are sending in these small dollar donors are not representative of the vast majority of voters. So maybe it's more their fault. On the other hand, what about the 90% of voters who aren't showing up to vote in a primary? I actually blame them more. Not showing up to me is a greater sin than showing up in a way that I may not like. So... I'm obviously so right. Second point on Andrew two, as we'll call him here, this is like one of those things that I am evolving on over time for the last like 15 years. There was this enormous push to do more civic education that like that was the problem. I don't think it is. Like I think we've kind of run the course on that and things have not gotten better. They've gotten worse. So why is that and why can those two things coexist at once? I don't think voters are stupid. I think they have other things going on in their lives that are more important. Like they're worried about paying the mortgage. They can't actually afford to, you know, take their kid out to their favorite restaurant for their birthday this year. And at the same time, you know, their boss is a jerk and they've got to get to the soccer game and there's traffic. And yeah, that doesn't lead a whole lot of time to sit there and ponder the, you know, Fed Reserve's economic policies. That doesn't make someone stupid. That makes them busy and that they have other priorities in their life that are more important, I would argue. I went to a rotary club meeting the other day. and just had the best time. These are people who are choosing to spend that time investing in their micro, you know, local community rather than in the national political community. And I think that's the right use of time. And again, it doesn't make them stupid just because they don't know something that's happening out in the world or exactly how a bill becomes a law or how the reconciliation process works to get around the filibuster in the Senate. We don't need more civic education on that. We need to meet people where they are and they shouldn't have to spend time on national politics. I want a lot less focus on national politics and a lot more on what's going on at the bank across the street. I totally agree with that. And I agree that it's not stupidity, but it does the fact that so many people are busy makes them vulnerable because they don't have time to sort of fact check and think through everything. There's a vulnerability there. That's not, yeah. Mo, thoughts on Andrew and Andrew? Yeah, I'm sorry Sarah hates you all so much. She clearly has no respect. No, just kidding. Look, I think Sarah's right. Politics is an incentive-driven industry, as is the media. And as long as voters are incentivizing, right, whether they're clicking on that $25 donate button or not showing up to a primary. That's what determines the incentive structure. And so for me, it's not a matter of blaming voters, but we get what we ask for. And if we are only incentivizing those who stoke our anger, then that's what we get. They're not giving money to the unknown member of Congress who's keeping their head down, not living on cable news, and doing the hard work.

There's a reason why prime time on cable news is dominated by loudmouths because that's where the ratings have been. So until we start incentivizing different behavior, I think this is what we continue to get. And on the second point, our voter's stupid. No, they're not stupid. But let's be clear, they are self-interested. What you both just said about how there are too many other things going on in our lives, they will vote for people who can alleviate some of the pressures in their lives. The ones who are the least self-interested? That's a luxury to be not so self-interested. I love Sarah's point about how I wish we could think about politics less. When Colorado Senator Michael Bennett ran for president in 2020, part of his stick was, I want to be the president you don't think about. He didn't get very far in that election. And he just lost a primary for the United States Senate this year. Shows you how that message is being received. People right now. That message doesn't resonate. People are thinking about politics in the context of how is it going to impact me? And that gives a lot of room to people that scratch that itch in the most unpleasant ways. All right. One thing I want to make abundantly clear, your name does not have to be Andrew to send in a question. But it helps. But yeah, I mean, we obviously, two Andrews, two great questions. But whatever your name is, we would love to hear from you. You can send a voice memo to us. Keep it to around 30 seconds or so. Drop us your first name if you can. Tell us where you're calling from and just send that voice memo to LRC at kCRW.org. We have reached the moment for rants and raves. Sarah, I'll let you kick us off. I want to rave about people who write notes. Like written notes or text messages are included. Like we're talking about written notes. Handwritten notes where you put a stamp on it. Got it. I like to think of myself as being a good friend to my friends and that like my love language that I speak in at least is time. But boy, I have to give just like a major shout out to the people who like write a note that you can then keep. I have a drawer where I stick, you know, little keepsakes and I'm going through that drawer before we move. And. The notes are just bringing me so much joy. And it means that someone spent the time to write the note, right? Like, one of them I found was someone who left a sticky note on my door at DOJ when I clearly wasn't there one day. And the note says, came by while you were away. What a time to be alive. I love that. I'm so glad she wrote it. I'm so glad I kept it. So if you've got a spare seven minutes today. write a note to someone you love and just say hi to them and how much you appreciate them. And maybe 10 years from now, they'll find it in their drawer and it will bring them joy. Mo, I feel like if you and I don't send Sarah a note at some point in the near future, she's going to, we're literally dropping down in the hierarchy of friendship. Yeah, no kidding. Pressure's on. Pressure's on. Mo. Last week, we previewed Fourth of July and shared some thoughts about what it meant to us. And I actually wanted sort of revisit it on the other end. My family.

both of my kids and some of their friends, we went to a rooftop in the Georgetown neighborhood in D.C., where there was a clear, unobstructed view of the fireworks. It was a crowded rooftop. And I showed up, I was a little cranky. I'd been thinking about the 4th of July and all of the cable news chatter about it. I was super cranky. at the fact that the fireworks were scheduled to start so late that the weather forced them to start even later. And a very long presidential speech meant that majority of the fireworks were displayed on the 5th of July, not on the 4th of July. I was lamenting all of the young kids in the D.C. area who missed seeing out on seeing. fireworks on America's 250th birthday and had to wait until the next day. So I went in super cranky. That crankiness disappeared as soon as those fireworks lit up the sky and the festive nature of this community of people who did not know each other hanging out on this rooftop, chanting USA, singing patriotic songs, singing other songs, it just turned into a big party. And it just reminded me that, you know, we didn't listen to the president's speech. We didn't watch the cable news coverage of the day. We just got together to watch fireworks and chant USA. and show our love for this country and just be together in community. And it just reminded me that when we turn off the noise, we can appreciate the simple things a lot more sometimes. I love that image. I really love that. All right. So I am going to rave today about a legendary voice in public radio and also a dear friend of mine, Don Gagne. Don has decided to step away from NPR and move to his next adventure. NPR and its programs will not be the same without his voice. I met Don when we were covering George W. Bush's White House together. I was a newspaper reporter, but at the beginning of the second term, I moved to NPR and I took the plunge into radio. Don was a proven star on the White House beat, also at NPR, also busy as hell in that grueling job. And yet he took time. He took so much time to teach me the craft. He's a genius storyteller who told me that every radio story should begin cinematically, like the opening scene of a movie, you know, draw the audience in and they'll stay. And he did just that when he was reporting on George W. Bush's second inaugural. The president seemed to want to savor the moment today. He paused before stepping up to the podium, looking back at the Capitol Dome to the family members and dignitaries arrayed all around and in front of him, and finally out to the crowd. He opened with a reference to the 9-11 terrorist attacks that occurred just eight months into his first term. At this second gathering, our duties are defined not by the words I use.

But by the history we have seen together. Don and I have seen so much history together. 9-11, Afghanistan, Iraq, Katrina, presidential elections. I've just been so honored to learn from him and witness up close truly one of the most impactful careers in the history of covering politics. But what makes Don special what listeners connect to is his humanity and his relatability and his humble curiosity. I mean, Don loves politics. He might love music more, though. He began his career as a country music DJ in his hometown of Monroe, Michigan, and he loves taking time away from politics to revel in his music passion, like when he was reporting on this Bob Dylan Jim. I can't recall the first time I ever heard like a Rolling Stone. I was probably a kid in Michigan with my transistor tuned to AM Radio Powerhouse, CKLW, not long after the song came out 50 years ago. There's that opening drumbeat, then the organ. Then that voice. Once upon a time to dress so fine, do the bunch of time in your prime. But this is no once upon a time fairy tale, lyrics with imagery and vitriol, a tough take-no-prisoners sound. Now, with all of these previously unreleased tracks, we get to join Dylan and the studio musicians from his first fumbling attempts to nail the song. Now got lost, man. It didn't get lost? They didn't get lost. You know, I think my favorite Don Gagne story, though, is his farewell to the old Tiger Stadium in Detroit. He is a devoted Tigers fan and just generally a professor of baseball. And he took us on an audio journey to the old ballpark before it closed. Don and his family, they would always park for games in the same unofficial spot. I have for as long as I can remember, parked my car at Irene Sember's house. Irene lives two blocks from the ballpark, and she has lived in this house for 55 years. I don't know if she'd mind me telling you. She's 78 years old.

She gets my $5 to park every game. And after taking us to the stadium before heading home, Don remembered back to this game when he pulled up, and Irene was surprised. I have to tell you one more story about Irene. It's a tradition in our house. My wife and I always go to the last game of the year at Tiger Stadium. And two seasons ago, for whatever reason, Lori couldn't come. So a friend of mine goes with me. And he always parks at Irene's. And he always brings his wife to the last game of the year as well. So he and I go and we come out to get our car after the game. And Irene says, well, where are your ladies tonight? How come they didn't come? And we explained that, you know, for whatever reason they couldn't make it. And Irene says, well, I got something for him. And she walks us over to the corner of her property. And she's got this gorgeous rose bush growing up the side of her fence. And she clips off a dozen roses. And she says, take that home to them. That'll make them not feel so bad about missing the game. And, um... I don't know. The new stadium's going to be nice. I've had a look at it as they've been building it. But I don't think the parking lot attendant at the new ballpark is going to give me a dozen roses to take home to my wife at the end of the day. I don't know. But I'm going to miss that stuff. Well, Don, we are going to miss you in the stadium that they call NPR. But like your beloved Tigers, it is on to a new ballpark, a next adventure. And I am right here a devoted fan who's going to be cheering you on. Mo, Sarah, I could not have literally asked for a better colleague covering the White House beat and a better friend. Don is just an extraordinary human. That is the time we have for today. Mo, Sarah, thank you. I really want to thank the team that puts the show together every week. Leo Duran is our producer. Our executive producer is Arnie Seiple. The show is recorded by Mike Stark and mixed by Nick Lampony. Big thank you to Shannon Harrison, the whole team here at Houston Public Media, for letting me come in and bug them and record from here today. Todd M. Simon composed our theme music. Left, Right and Center is a co-production of KCRW and Fearless Media, and we're distributed by PRX. I'm David Green. Come back next week. We will be here for more Left, Right, and Center.

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