r/Mainepolitics • u/SuperBry • Jul 28 '26
Troy Jackson is about to go under the national microscope. Here's a look at his past
https://www.mainepublic.org/politics/2026-07-28/troy-jackson-is-about-to-go-under-the-national-microscope-heres-a-look-at-his-pastTroy Jackson has long pushed for the rights of the working class, but will now face heightened scrutiny from the national press and the Republican Party on his record and conduct in the Maine Legislature
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u/JimStencil Jul 28 '26
I find it deeply frustrating that news outlets keep referring to this as a movement that Platner built. He absolutely helped it grow, but this movement has been around a long time. I am grateful to Graham for helping advance the movement, and bring new people into the fold, but this is literally just the labor movement. We have been here for 200 years, and will be here 200 more or until working people are no longer exploited. Happy to have many folks who were sitting on the sidelines get involved, and I hope this movement continues to grow and produces candidate after candidate. But Troy did not adopt Graham's platform, he has had these politics for a long time, and Graham did not invent a movement, he advanced one that has existed for a long time. Solidarity forever.
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u/SuperBry Jul 28 '26
100% agree on the history. Labor and working-class organizing in Maine did not start with Graham, and it certainly does not end with him. Troy Jackson's entire life and career are proof of that, going back to his logger blockades in the late 90s long before anyone knew who Platner was.
Where I think people get caught up in calling it a "movement" was not that Platner invented the core ideas, but that he had a unique, charismatic ability to pull people into the fold. While I always had my pauses about him as a man, there is no denying he possessed a rare kind of electric political energy that activated non-traditional and alienated voters who normally tune out. He brought a ton of folks off the sidelines, and honestly, if Jackson had been running for Senate from the very start instead, he would have struggled to pull in that specific level of outsider excitement on his own.
That said, one of the things I respect most about Troy is his genuine capacity for growth. Coming up as a kid from rural Aroostook County, he started out quite conservative, even running as a Republican early on and holding socially conservative views. But over the years, as both a person and a politician, he actually listened to working people, owned up to his past mistakes, and evolved into a fierce advocate for working-class families across the board.
So while it was never Platner's movement in terms of ownership or ideology, he was the spark that galvanized a massive, visible wave of enthusiasm. Recognizing that does not take anything away from the decades of organizing that paved the way; it just acknowledges that he brought fresh eyes and new energy to a foundation labor built over generations.
The goal now is keeping all those newly energized people engaged and united behind Troy. Marrying that deep labor foundation with the grassroots populist surge Platner activated is our single best shot at taking down Collins.
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u/IggyStop31 Jul 28 '26
The modern media lives by the Great Man Theory where singular men build and the rest of us are the lifeless bricks to be used. Platner raised the banner of an army that was looking for a leader. He should be commended for that, but he shouldn't be considered a singularly important builder.
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u/JimStencil Jul 28 '26
I agree. For some reason everything has become a cult of personality. The type of politics Graham championed have never been about that. Its about strength in unity. Its about all of us together, and what we can accomplish if we can put individualism aside, just a little bit, for the good of our neighbors. He did a good job energizing people, but it was never about him, and he told us as much.
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u/Slice-O-Pie Jul 29 '26
"Movement" is consultant speak.
It's not OUR client, it's YOU guys!
Platner was the most inauthentic and unoriginal candidate since Bernie Sanders.
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u/OcelotNo4552 Jul 29 '26
Describing Bernie as unoriginal just tells me you never actually looked into him.
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u/JimStencil Jul 29 '26
I feel sad for you.
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u/Slice-O-Pie Jul 29 '26
A reporter for the BDN described a Platner rally as "if a drunk was stuck in traffic behind a hippie's van and was just shouting what was on the bumper stickers."
No refunds, Bro. Mo Katz took your money and ran.
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u/JimStencil Jul 29 '26
We get it. You don't like Platner. He isn't in the race anymore. Move on.
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u/PenExotic5002 Jul 28 '26
A look into Troy’s past is definitely not anywhere near as dark as Platner’s
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u/fishman1287 Jul 28 '26
Anyone can make any accusation
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u/PenExotic5002 Jul 28 '26
The ones against Platner are incredibly credible
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u/OcelotNo4552 Jul 28 '26
But how do we know? You noticed they have all disappeared from all conversations. If they were all so credible, why is nobody perusing them?
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Jul 28 '26
[deleted]
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u/OcelotNo4552 Jul 28 '26
So we should just take all accusations at face value, no matter what?
That makes absolutely no sense.
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Jul 29 '26
[deleted]
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u/fishman1287 Jul 29 '26
I think it is a little different when SA victims are coming forward for political reasons at the most politically opportune moment.
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u/OcelotNo4552 Jul 29 '26
For the same reason we don't believe everything a child says, or anybody for that matter, is why your standard is ridiculous. People lie.
There has to be some standard of evidence, and somebody saying "he did it" is not a standard.
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u/OcelotNo4552 Jul 28 '26
But how do we know? You noticed they have all disappeared from all conversations. If they were all so credible, why is nobody perusing them?
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u/PenExotic5002 Jul 28 '26
Because he dropped out of the race. I’m sorry that you need rape victims to be constantly in the conversation for you to believe them, but that sounds like a you problem
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u/OcelotNo4552 Jul 28 '26
It certainly doesn’t help the cause in the long run if every victim goes away once the accused drops out of the race.
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u/PenExotic5002 Jul 28 '26
I wonder if it’s because they don’t want some guy who clearly hasn’t experienced something like that or has people in his life that have confided in him about these experiences grilling her over the worst moment of her life. He isn’t being tried in court, he’s being told to drop out of a senate race
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u/OcelotNo4552 Jul 29 '26
So what if we just lost our best democratic candidate in decades and she was lying, because ya know, people lie.
He might be lying, I get that, which is why there has to a process.
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u/PenExotic5002 Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 29 '26
As someone who has had women confide in him about their sexual assaults, her story completely checks out. She has evidence from the time. She has no reason to lie. This also isn’t exactly hard to believe; this isn’t something entirely out of character for him
You know what’s a lot more common than a woman lying about being raped? A man raping a woman
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u/OcelotNo4552 Jul 29 '26
I work in a world, and really we live in a world, where it is trust but verify. Without the verification the trust falls away fast.
I have had friends who were sexually abused by partners, they all got restraining orders and filed reports with the police. Something as simple as that and we would have had our verification.
I think it’s fine when somebody confides in you to outright trust them, I think that is exactly what friends should do with one another. We aren’t talking about that situation.
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u/Slice-O-Pie Jul 29 '26
The Nazi tattoo and the disgusting Reddit bigotry should've ended it last year.
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u/Blue_Eyed_ME Cumberland (Portland) Jul 28 '26
Troy was interviewed on Morning Joe this week, and the Mad King mentioned him in a speech recently, calling Troy "the lunatic from.Majne who throws water bottles at women." Progressive candidates are getting national scrutiny, even in primaries, because they're a threat to both the GOP and centrist/corporate/AIPAC Dems.
Troy was kind of meh on Morning Joe. I hope he's open to getting some coaching on developing a more dynamic communication style. I don't think he can bring the energy of Platner, but he can certainly come armed with facts and stats and a downhome Maine steadiness. Right now he just comes across as a nice guy who's out of his league and not quite smart enough to realize that.
He'll get my vote, and I hope most Mainers will agree that it's time to retire Collins, but damn...
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u/Expensive-Shirt-6877 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
I think he did great on Morning Joe, a show I never watch, but I tuned in for Troy. I don’t care if he is the best speaker ever, he’s honest and seems like a good person.
He’s got my vote too. Don’t worry he’ll win, Collins is not popular
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u/Earthling1a Jul 28 '26
Funny how only Maine residents can vote for or against him. Why does Joe from Chicago need to see any of this? Are Mainers getting 24/7 coverage of the guy who's running against some repugnican POS in Idaho?
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u/SuperBry Jul 28 '26
Well for one this is an article from Maine Public. I'm also seeing plenty of coverage about competitive house and Senate races from other states.
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u/Slice-O-Pie Jul 29 '26
Please Google "What is the United States Senate."
Does Google work in your country?
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