Wednesday - June 24th, 2026
Apple News
×

What can we help you find?

Open Menu
June 2nd, 2026

The Normie Problem: Can Democrats Win with Platner?

  1. The Normie Problem: Can Democrats Win with Platner? Sarah & Beth 54:52

Graham Platner is running for Senate in Maine and trailing a string of controversies — a tattoo with Nazi-era symbolism, old Reddit posts, and now a Wall Street Journal exposé on explicit texts with multiple women. Sarah and Beth use his candidacy as a lens on what we actually want from politicians: how normal is too normal, what “progressive vs. moderate” names and misses, and whether emotional maturity is a reasonable standard to hold. Plus: a new Instagram obsession and significant news about changes at Pantsuit Politics.
Topics discussed:
– Graham Platner and the Maine Senate race
– Political scandals and changing voter tolerance
– “Normie” politicians and the unapologetic posture in American life
– Progressive vs. moderate framing in the Democratic Party
– What we actually need from candidates: policy, biography, communication style
– Emotional maturity as a political standard
– Partisan identity and double standards
– Bronte the Stylist on Instagram
– Team changes at Pantsuit Politics

Celebrate America250 with us at pantsuitpolitics.substack.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pantsuit Politics is a podcast for real conversations that help us understand politics, democracy, and the news - while still treating each other like thoughtful human beings. We take a different approach to the news; our political analysis blends hard facts with important social and cultural undercurrents so you don’t miss the big picture. Over years of discussing everything from abortion to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we established basic rules of engagement, which we describe in our books, Now What? How to Move Forward When We’re Divided (About Basically Everything) (2022) and I Think You’re Wrong (But I’m Listening): A Guide to Grace-Filled Political Conversation (2019). Listeners describe us as “America’s political therapists” and “our trusted, smarter friends who can help us make sense of the world.”