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Audrey Moorhead
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Isaac Saul
Decisions made in Washington can affect your portfolio every day, but what policy changes should investors be watching? Washington Wise is an original podcast from Charles Schwab that unpacks the stories making news in Washington right now and how they may affect your finances and portfolio. Listen@schwab.com WashingtonWise
Audrey Moorhead
from executive producer Isaac Saul. This is Tangle. Good morning, good afternoon and good evening and welcome to the Tangle Podcast, a place where you get views from across the political spectrum, some independent thinking, and a little bit of our take. This is Associate Editor Audrey Moorhead and I am still coming down from the patriotic high of spending the 4th of July in Philadelphia I America's founding city. If you had told 7 year old Audrey that she would be here for our 250th anniversary, she would not have believed you. And better yet, there is still some more to come. The Declaration of Independence was originally read to the public in Philly on July 8th of 1776, so today the city's holding a public reading exactly 250 years later. I am an unapologetic nerd, so even writing that sentence gives me full body chills. That said, I do have something a little tougher to talk about as much as I've enjoyed celebrating America's history, I can't help but feel unsettled and distraught about our present, especially because today I'm writing about the sexual assault allegations against Graham Platner and what the ongoing saga says about our political culture. But after today's topic, we do have a more positive note about a drop in the US Death rate, a look back at the opening of Japan to trade, and some newly discovered historical documents. But before we get into it, I did want to remind everyone that Tangle is up for the first ever newsletter People's Choice Award and voting ends on Saturday. We are currently in the lead out of 112 nominated newsletters, but we definitely need your help to bring it home. So if you haven't already, we'd appreciate it if you could cast a vote for us. And just as a note, be sure to confirm your vote in your email after you submit the form. You can find the link in the show notes and thanks so much. Let's dive right in with today's quick hits. Number one President Donald Trump suggested that the U S Iran ceasefire is over amid resumed attacks by each side, saying, I don't want to deal with them anymore. As far as I'm concerned, it's over. 2 President Trump criticized member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization at the alliance's summit in Turkey, specifically questioning Europe's energy and immigration policies while resuming calls for the United States to control Greenland. Number three the Department of Homeland Security said an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot a Mexican immigrant during a traffic stop in Texas. The department claimed the man was in the country illegally and attempted to evade arrest. A federal judge nullified a Justice Department subpoena that sought personal information about thousands of Georgia election workers related to the department's investigation into the 2020 election. The judge said the statute of limitations for bringing potential charges had long expired. Number five Right wing politician Marine Le Pen said she will run for president in France after a court shortened the length of her ban on seeking elected office, part of her sentence for misusing European Union funds. New allegations against the embattled Democratic nominee for Maine's Senate seat, Graham Platner, this time of rape may finally force him from the race. It is a race that is critical to Democrats efforts to retake control of the Senate in November. One of Platner's closest allies, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, has joined the calls from party leaders like Senator Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Cory Booker, the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. They have all demanded that Platner bow out of the race. On Monday, Jenny Racico, a former girlfriend of Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner, accused him of raping her in 2021. Politico, which first published the report, corroborated aspects of Rasico's account after speaking with a man whom Rasico dated after Platner, as well as reviewing messages between her and her therapist and an acquaintance. Platner denied the accusation but said he is taking time to reflect on the best path forward. A significant number of congressional Democrats, including many lawmakers who previously endorsed Platner, have called on him to drop out of the race. For some more context, Platner is a 41 year old progressive Democrat and military veteran who most recently worked as an oyster farmer in Maine. In June, he won the Democratic Senate primary with 72% of the vote after Governor Janet Mill suspended her campaign in April. Platner has until Monday, July 13, to have his name removed from the general election ballot. If he chooses to drop out. In that event, the main Democratic Party will have until July 27 to choose a candidate to replace him on the party line. Since entering the Senate race in August 2025, Platner's campaign has been marred by a series of significant controversies. He had a tattoo on his chest of a school symbol associated with the Nazi police, which he claimed not to know the meaning of when he had it done in 2007. Separately, his past activity on the social media platform Reddit has drawn scrutiny for his repeated use of slurs and disparaging comments made about various groups. In May, the Wall Street Journal reported that Platner's wife had discovered sexually explicit texts between him and multiple women. Last spring, the Journal also discovered that Platner has an active account on Kik, a private messaging app often used to arrange sexual encounters. Finally, in June, the New York Times published testimonies from three women who were romantically involved with Platner, including Rasiko, accusing him of volatile and toxic behavior in their relationships, which Platner has denied. Rasico did not accuse Platner of rape in her comments to the New York Times, but she told Politico that she decided to come forward after seeing that another accuser, quoted in the Times story, Lindsay Fifield, was dismissed by some commentators as being politically motivated. According to Rasico, on a night in 2021, Platner let himself into her apartment after she had told him not to come over. She said he appeared heavily inebriated and forced himself on her. Despite her explicit rejection of his advances. He then allegedly had sex with her against her will. Separately, on Tuesday, the Washington Post published a new account from Fifield in which she claimed that Platner had removed condoms during sex without her consent on multiple occasions, adding to her previous claims of physical abuse. In a statement on Monday, Platner called Rasico's accusation troubling, serious and false, but said his campaign is reflecting on the best path forward since the story broke. As Of Wednesday morning, 37 Democratic senators have called on Platner to drop out, including several former endorsers such as Senators Ruben Gallagher of Arizona, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont. The Maine Democratic Party also said he should withdraw. Neither Platner nor his campaign has made a public comment since his statement on Monday. Today we'll cover the latest controversy and the potential end of Plattner's campaign with views from the right and left. Then I'll give my take
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Isaac Saul
We'll be right back after this quick break. Hey everyone, quick thought before we get started. If you listen to Tangle, it's probably because you're trying to escape the media echo chamber. But even when you read broadly, it's hard to see which stories are being emphasized and which ones are being ignored. This episode is brought to you by Ground News. Ground News is not a publisher. It's an app and website that gathers reporting on every news story from across the political spectrum and shows you each outlet's bias rating, factuality rating and who owns it. It's more than just an aggregator. It gives you context on every perspective in one place so that you can make up your own mind. For example, a recent story about a bipartisan border deal collapsing was covered by 50 plus outlets. One left leaning headline read GOP sinks border deal under Trump Pressure was while a right leaning one said democrats block stronger border enforcement. Same event, very different framing. Ground News lets you compare that instantly and even flags blind spots, stories disproportionately covered by one side. If you want unlimited access to these features, subscribe to the vantage plan for 40% off@groundnews.com tn that's groundnews.com tn promo code tn again groundnews.com tn tn code tn for 40% off if you care about seeing the full picture, I think you'll really value this tool. One thing I love about summer is how easy everything feels. The days are a little more relaxed and I find myself reaching for the same comfortable go anywhere pieces again and again. And that's why I keep coming back to quints, they focus on well made essentials that naturally become those everyday staples you actually live in all season long. Quince's 100% European linen pants and shirts are breathable, easy to throw on and the summer upgrade your rotation needs starting at just $34. Their tees are soft to live in all day and the lightweight cotton sweaters are exactly what you want when summer nights cool down. In my quince rotation is three or four linen shirts and some Henley tees all in different colors. They just look so good, they feel so good. I love putting them in my rotation and I'm especially excited that it's now summertime so I can rock them whenever I want. So if you want to make your summer wardrobe easier, go to quint.comtangle for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's right now available in Canada too. That's Q U I n c e.com tangle for free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com tangle.
Audrey Moorhead
First up, where the left and right agree Rioters on both sides view Racico's accusation as credible and disturbing, and most say that Platner should drop out of the race now for what the right is. The right criticizes Democrats for their response to Platner's controversies. Some see Platner's success so far as a sign of an immoral political climate. Others say Platner's lack of fitness for office has been obvious for some time. In National Review, Philip Klein argued Democrats have less leverage over Graham Platner than they think. If Platner drops out before next Tuesday, Democrats will be able to replace him by the end of the month. But it isn't that simple. It's quite possible that he will decide to stick it out. In reality, he holds all the cards. He won the Democratic primary and there is no mechanism for replacing him unless he decides to give up. The guy wouldn't have gotten as far as he did were he not a narcissist who ignored the advice of the party's power brokers. He knows that if he steps aside, he will be remembered forever as the guy who had to drop out after being credibly accused of rape, which will convince everybody that the accusations about him are true. If he holds on, however, Democrats will be stuck with him after next week. Given how negative partisanship works, the left wing tilt of the state and the control of the Senate at stake, it's easy to see Democratic voters talking themselves into the idea that they have to suck it up and support Platner. In Unherd, Emily Jaszynski called the allegations a test of Democrats moral limits. Even after the tattoo scandal, the Reddit scandal and the adultery scandal, Platner is leading and real clear politics is average. Platner's persistence remains a symbol of our political climate. Character concerns are a luxury that can now be overcome by energetic anti establishment politics and a weak opponent. A big chunk of the electorate has accepted that their vote is ultimately just a choice between the lesser of two evils. At this point, the calculation is really just when character concerns become too much of a risk if other options are available, even when those other options might lack Platner's populist flair. The lesson of Trump's arc is that Americans are now much more likely to be persuaded by arguments about their material interests, not abstract appeals to integrity and decency. Nobody believes politicians are qualified to make that case, so they might as well talk about healthcare, gas prices and rent in hot air, david Strom said. Who could have guessed that Graham Platner was a bad guy? What makes this controversy of interest is what it says about the Democratic Party today and how far off the rails it has gone. Graham Platner wore a Nazi tattoo for 18 years. His hobby before getting into the race was training transgender people at the Socialist Rifle Club of Maine on how to storm buildings with assault rifles. He derided women, blamed them for their own rapes and declared himself a communist. It would be one thing if the Democrats didn't already know that Platner was profoundly flawed, but they all did. Perhaps they didn't know all the specifics, but then again, all the specifics they did know would and should have been disqualifying. Democrats are campaigning with Hasan Piker. Kamala Harris is reaching out to Zoran Mamdani. Full blown communists who openly say that they want to destroy America and Western civilization are winning Democratic primaries. Where are the Democratic Party leaders willing to stand up and say no? Next up, what the left is saying Most on the left condemn Platner and call for him to withdraw. Some predict that a new Democratic candidate can still win the seat. Others say bad judgment caused Platner supporters to ignore red flags in the nation. Steve Phillips said Maine Democrats must replace Graham Platner now. We appear to be left with an impossible betray the survivors or sacrifice the seat. But it doesn't have to be that way. We have another option. The task before us is clear and achievable. Platner should take responsibility, recognize the larger good and withdraw before July 13, and everyone who lifted him up should now publicly call on him to step aside, withdraw their endorsements and rally around a new nominee. Pressure applied with clarity and conviction over a matter of days will make the difference as to whether Democrats lose this seat. If Platner does step aside, the next decision matters just as much. The energy Platner tapped, the willingness to challenge a sclerotic status quo, the championing of working people, the demand for transformative change is real, and it is why the surveys showed him running stronger against Susan Collins than Janet Mills did. Strip away the disqualifying conduct and that appeal remains. The way forward is to find a nominee who carries the energy without the abuse. In Bloomberg, Ronald Brownstein suggested Platner's fall could save Democrats from themselves, that it has come to this as a story of panoramic failure within the Democratic Party. Most surveys agree that Trump is more unpopular in Maine than he was in 2020. For that matter, the share of voters with a favorable view of Collins is also lower now. And yet in this must win race, Democrats were relying on a candidate who had never sought public office and whose mounting vulnerabilities had left them with no more than a coin slip chance of success to beat Collins. The job for Maine Democrats was not to find an exceptional candidate, but really just an acceptable one. Instead, the main Democratic Senate nomination became entangled in the proxy war between the left and center over the party's direction. The political consequence of Platner's fall is that very much despite themselves, Democrats will likely get a much better chance to oust Collins and a much clearer path toward recapturing a Senate majority. In the argument, Jerusalem Dempsas described what Graham Platner's defenders refused to see People sometimes treat moral failures as separable from errors of cognition. This is wrong. Moral failures sprout directly from bad practical reasoning. The problem, of course, is that Platner's defenders have done some bad practical reasoning. They have decided that the world is sorted cleanly into friends and enemies, which means evaluating claims as a matter of figuring out which team you're on, not whether the argument has merit. That's why every time people raised concerns with Platner's behavior, it was shot down as an attack on a friend by an obvious enemy. This is how bad judgment accumulates. It calls itself loyalty, forgiveness, realism, nuance and anti establishment revolt, or refusing to play by the enemy's rules. All of those things can be virtues, but sometimes they're just rationalizations. Platner himself is likely finished in democratic politics, but the habits of mind that put him a hair's breadth from power are what really need to be defeated. There will be other Grant Platners, other people who seem like they are on your team, but for some pesky red flags, the point of good judgment and all that annoying virtue is that it prevents you from making the mistake of trusting them. That's it for what the right and left are saying now. Here's my take. I've never had a rosy view of politics and its practitioners, but man, things seem especially gloomy these days. With that said, I do want to start with the only possible positive spin to take from this story the courage of Lindsay Fifield and Jenny Rasico, two of the women who have accused Graham Platner of a range of misconduct in recent months. These women spoke up about some of the worst things that had ever happened to them, while knowing they were certain to face backlash and scrutiny. I imagine that Fifield knew the truth of her account would be questioned, since she's a right wing staffer. Sure enough, many pundits accused her of exaggerating or even fabricating her flames in a hit job, attempting Never mind that if she really wanted to execute a hit job, she would have come forward after the July 13 dropout deadline, when Democrats would be stuck with Platner. But she didn't, and instead of going silent or hiding in the face of the subsequent attacks, Byfield convincingly defended herself, criticizing the New York Times for misleading her about the direction of their story and for misrepresenting the claims she made to them. Byfield claimed that she thought her story would be just one of several rather than the focal point of the article. Instead, other women aside from Rasico remained anonymous, their accusations presented as less serious. Fifield bore the brunt of the skepticism and anger that always follows serious sexual misconduct allegations against popular public figures. Enter Jenny Rasico, one of the other women quoted in the Times piece. According to Politico, Rasico said she initially didn't want to accuse Platner of sexual assault because she shared his politics and didn't want to be seen as a rape victim. But after watching the fallout from the Time story and watching Fifield's name get dragged through the mud, Rasico decided to put her qualms aside and come forward again. Though Rasico continues to face some disbelief, it seems like most people are taking the picture she painted of Platner seriously. I'm glad to see that, even if I remain frustrated about how Fifield was treated. My initial reaction to basically all of Platner's scandals has been anger, slowly building as they stacked on top of each other. In my perfect world, each scandal would have been more than enough to sink his candidacy. Instead, each was waved off, justified or absorbed by many in the commentariat. Even as his polling numbers seemed to slip in recent weeks. Nothing seemed to truly imperil Platner's campaign until Razicko's rape allegations this week, after, of course, he had already clinched the Democratic nomination. But after taking two days to cool off, I can admit that it's not really fair of me to be so angry with people who supported Platner. Up to this point, forming my political consciousness in an exclusively post Trump world has given me no illusions about the kinds of people who seek and gain power. It also made me understand that perfectly decent people can vote for perfectly indecent candidates if they see politics as a zero sum game. If I step back, it's easy for me to see how each successive allegation against Platner could be waved off. The Nazi tattoo and Reddit comments, presented together as mistakes from the past create a picture of a man whose military service fundamentally changed him and and who's now trying to get better. Who would I be to deny him a chance at redemption? Apparent infidelity is a line I would draw personally, but his wife spoke out to support him, saying that they were working through things and she wouldn't want to marry anyone else. That honesty and forgiveness earned my grudging respect. Platner's profile on the messaging app Kik, known as a gathering place for young people, rings alarm bells, but no evidence of predatory behavior has surfaced beyond the existence of the account. Finally, candidly, I have never been a believe all women type when it comes to allegations of abuse and violence. I'm too cynical to think that allegations would never be embellished and weaponized for political or personal reasons. And however it might reflect on me now, I remember reading Lindsay Fifield's initial accusations and thinking, well, that's not as serious as I was expecting, especially since the other women didn't allege anything worse. It was only after Fifield defended herself online and other writers I trusted spoke up to corroborate her claims and support her, that I became convinced that her accusations were true and that they might even be more serious than I initially perceived. Knowing all of that, I have to ask myself if I thought Graham Platner was critical to my political goals in some way. If I thought he was key to controlling the Senate or passing crucial legislation or even just shaking things up by unseating an establishment senator who'd been in office for 30 years. Would I too have waved things off until I couldn't anymore? I like to think that I wouldn't have that. The moral standards I hold myself to are genuine and unwavering. But the truth is, when the chips are down, I'm as human as anyone else. My opinion on Platner's die hard supporters and on the party that ultimately enabled him is more complicated. While a handful of Democrats spoke out against Platner and warned voters about his character, Maine voters had a different opinion. Of course, the moment Platner became, the odds on favorite party opposition all but disappeared, with very few elected Democrats separated still opposing him. And while the party can more credibly claim that they actually oust accused sex abusers, in this case they were forced to far later than the Nazi tattoo and domestic abuse warranted. That delay doesn't sit well with me. These problems obviously aren't unique to Democrats either. Republicans have had their own fair share of candidates with sordid pasts, some of whom resigned or were voted down, but one of whom currently holds the highest office in the land. And the allegations of sexual misconduct against the president are just as bad as and more numerous than those against Platner. Yes, Republican Party leaders once upon a time tried to stop Trump, but they've shown little but fealty since his 2016 rise to power. So I'm not exactly interested in hearing from former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy about how the GOP walks away from bad candidates. The uncomfortable truth is that for all the attempts to create more decent politics, we still live in an era where political expediency comes before virtue on some level. There's clearly an electoral appetite for the Donald Trumps, Graham Platners and Ken Paxtons of the world, perhaps because in a political system full of establishment fakers or rigid ideologues, voting for the amoral jerk feels like a middle finger to the status quo, or a safe bet to protect oneself from being on the other end of an ideologue's accusation of immorality. I'm just not sure how we come back to this. I'm also not entirely sure where Maine Democrats go from here. For one thing, as of this writing, Graham Platner hasn't yet dropped out. He's facing immense pressure from all wings of the party to do so, and I sincerely hope that he caves to that pressure. But he may not. He's reportedly attempting to exercise influence over the state party's choice of replacement. And while the party is making a big show of calling his bluff, Platner holds the cards. If he doesn't drop out by July 13, his name will be on the ballot whether Democrats want it there or not. And while I hope he has more character than I give him credit for, I think he's exactly the type to do a disservice like that to the people of Maine. If Platner does stay in, I have to wonder what happens next. Does Maine's party apparatus try to organize around a write in candidate? Does the national party abandon Maine and pour their money into other races? Or do they do what Republicans did not so long ago and begrudgingly fall back in line because of sheer political math? If that happens, what will the people of Maine do? Will they reject Platner, or will they too make the same political calculus that countless other voters have made? I doubt Platner would actually win with all of this baggage, but if the race is even close, it's just another ill omen for the direction of our politics. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.
Isaac Saul
We'll be right back after this quick break. Decisions made in Washington can affect your portfolio every day, but what policy changes should investors be watching? Washington Wise is an original podcast from Charles Schwab that unpacks the stories making news in Washington Washington right now and how they may affect your finances and portfolio. Listen@schwab.com WashingtonWise
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Audrey Moorhead
That's it for my take, so here is our under the radar story. On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shared provisional data that showed the death rate in the United States decreased to a record low 689.2 per 100,000 people in 2025. The rate dropped 4.6% from 2024 and decreased for all demographic groups except American Indian and Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander and Asian people. According to the report, the top causes of death remained heart disease and cancer, with influenza, pneumonia and kidney disease entering the top 10 after being absent in 2024. The report identified some vulnerabilities in the data, such as varying timeliness in death certificate submissions, but said it offers an early signal about shifts in mortality trends The Hill has the story and you can find the link in the show notes. Now we have a this Day in History segment. By the mid-1800s, the United States had doubled down on its Manifest Destiny ideology after establishing a foothold in the west and expanding into territory won in the Mexican American War. Seeking additional routes for economic opportunity amid rapid globalization, President Millard Fillmore became interested in establishing new spheres of influence in Asia. Portuguese explorers were the first Europeans to discover Japan in 1543, and in the century that followed, missionaries from Portugal, Spain and other Western countries attempted to engage in trade and convert the population to Christianity. By the mid-1600s, the ruling Tokugawa Shogunate decided the risk of foreign meddling was too high and effectively sealed Japan from most foreign visitors and external trade save for the trade oriented Chinese and non proselytizing Dutch. On July 8, 1853, U.S. commodore Matthew C. Perry sailed into modern day Tokyo Bay with a fleet of warships with the charge to put an end to 200 years of Japanese isolationism. Under orders from President Fillmore, Perry arrived in peace. Though his four American warships were as much of a showing of military might as they were a coercive tactic. After the initial engagement, Perry returned the following year to present Japanese leaders with gifts that represented Western industrialization, including a telegraph, a model locomotive train and barrels of whiskey. For the Japanese, these new relations with the outside world sparked rapid globalization, and the introduction of new technologies from the west created a deep divide between the proponents of modernization and protectors of the past. The tension sparked a sociopolitical transformation, fully restoring and centralizing imperial power with Emperor Meiji and ending the centuries long feudal military power held by the Tokugawa Shogunate. Several monuments to Parry still stand across Japan at the site where Perry and his men first landed in Kurihama, Yokosuka. The monuments generally refer to Perry's role in opening Japan's doors to the world and remember him as a catalyst for modernization and the introduction to the world economy in 19th century Japan. Finally, our have a nice day story one day in 2024, Professor Christian Tornow received a telephone call with a request for help translating a 12th century manuscript of six Latin sermons by the scholar Augustine of Hippo. The work led Tournow to an unexpected surprise. Two of the sermons appeared to have been previously undiscovered. To verify their authenticity, Tornow worked closely with fellow scholar Clemens Weidman, then convened a summer school in 2025 with 20 other Latin scholars. Ultimately, the group concluded that the texts were genuine. Tornau is now working on a critical edition of the new sermons coming in late 2026. The University of Wurzburg has the story and you can find the link in the show notes. That's all for today's podcast. If you would like to support our work, head over to readtangle.com, where you can get a newsletter subscription, a podcast subscription, or a bundle subscription that gets you a discount on both. In the meantime, we'll be right back here tomorrow. This has been Audrey Moorhead and on behalf of Isaac and everyone else, have a nice day and peace.
Isaac Saul
Our Executive Editor and founder is me, Isaac Saul, and our Executive Producer is John Wall. Today's episode was edited and engineered by Dewey Thomas. Our editorial staff is led by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman with Senior Editor Will K. Back and Associate Editors Audrey Moorhead, Lindsey Knuth and and Bailey Saul. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet75. To learn more about Tangle and to sign up for a membership, please visit our website@retangle.com. He's dribbling the ball with everything on the line. He's driving down the pitch. He's facing price hikes and cuts past him Carrier contracts tries to block him.
Audrey Moorhead
Oh he leaves him in the dust
Isaac Saul
he's at the edge of the box he cuts past the non stop group chat trash talk. He clears on goal. He shoots unlimited data for $25 a month forever.
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Audrey Moorhead
Customers will pay $25 a month as
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Date: July 8, 2026
Host: Audrey Moorhead (Associate Editor, for Isaac Saul)
This episode covers the latest sexual assault allegations against Graham Platner—the Democratic nominee for Maine’s competitive Senate seat—and analyzes what the ongoing controversy reveals about the current U.S. political climate. The show presents reactions and arguments from both the left and right, discusses implications for the Democratic Party’s Senate chances, and offers a candid host reflection on partisanship, morality, and political expediency. Later in the episode, there are quick stories on the drop in the U.S. death rate, the historical opening of Japan in 1853, and a recent discovery of Augustine sermons.
1. Democrats’ Response Criticized
2. Broader Political Climate
3. Critique of Party Leadership
1. Universally Calling for Withdrawal
2. Replacing Platner May Help Democrats
3. Accountability and Judgment
On Courage of Accusers:
"These women spoke up about some of the worst things that had ever happened to them, while knowing they were certain to face backlash and scrutiny." — Audrey Moorhead (20:03)
On Partisan Calculus:
"Perfectly decent people can vote for perfectly indecent candidates if they see politics as a zero sum game... If I thought Graham Platner was critical to my political goals in some way... would I too have waved things off...?" — Audrey Moorhead (22:55)
On Moral Standards and Political Expediency:
"For all the attempts to create more decent politics, we still live in an era where political expediency comes before virtue on some level." — Audrey Moorhead (24:20)
This episode delivers a thorough, honest conversation about the Graham Platner sexual assault allegations, scrutinizing how both parties and their supporters process (and justify) red flags in the pursuit of political power. The commentary goes beyond a simple news report, offering self-reflection on tribalism, political necessities, and the struggle to maintain virtue in a cynical era. The episode closes with a rapid rundown of positive and historical news to counterbalance the otherwise sobering subject matter.
For further details and perspectives, visit the Tangle newsletter at readtangle.com.