Congressman Jared Golden (D ME-2) is a brave man. He is also very clear-sighted.
What he sees is that Democratic support amongst blue-collar whites is imploding.
This is a lethal problem for Golden. Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, besides being geographically the largest east of the Mississippi, is according to Wikipedia 90.2% white. They are overwhelmingly blue collar and uncool. Cool Mainers are concentrated in the State’s 1st District. This narrow strip of southeastern coast contains Portland but only a fifth of Maine’s area. Wikipedia observes that the size of the 2nd District makes its Representative a “statewide figure.”
President Trump won the 2nd District in 2016 51%-41%, the first GOP Presidential winner since 1988. He then carried it 52%-45% in 2020. Maine’s 2nd District had never broken with the rest of the State before. Under Maine law, winning a Congressional district gives the victor an Electoral College vote.
Golden has responded to this ominous trend by taking his political life in his hands and publishing Donald Trump is going to win the election and democracy will be just fine, [Bangor Daily News, July 2, 2024]:
…the outcome of this election has been clear to me for months: While I don’t plan to vote for him, Donald Trump is going to win. And I’m OK with that.
…Democrats’ post-debate hand-wringing is based on the idea that a Trump victory is a unique threat to our democracy. I reject the premise. Unlike Biden and many others, I refuse to participate in a campaign to scare voters with the idea that Trump will end our democratic system.
No doubt in an effort to quell Democratic screaming, Golden goes on the make some partisan remarks about the January 6 Hoax.
Screaming happens anyway:
I guess @RepGolden thinks this is going to keep him out of the campshttps://t.co/mLJqdKjMJb
— Rich Mintz (@richmintz) July 2, 2024
He also makes the interesting argument that Congress, not the Biden Administration, deserves the credit for various positive actions since 2020. His (correct) implication is that the Presidency is far from all-powerful.
Conspicuously lacking is any reference to Foreign Policy or Immigration.
This is deceptive. Golden has already been making patriotic signals on immigration as I noted in Mass Deportation Opinion Map Explains Rep Jared Golden’s (ME-2) Vote Stunt: Immigration Is Turning Maine Red
Politico’s Inside Congress Live reported on May 1:
Thirteen House Democrats joined with Republicans in backing a resolution denouncing the Biden administration’s immigration policies, which passed the chamber 223-191.
One of these was Jared Golden (ME-2). The next nearest Democrats voting for the measure were in North Carolina and Illinois. Golden also voted for a real immigration restraint measure in April, one of only 5 Democrats to do so.
As we all know, the Democrats are dead set on the great Replacement. Golden’s is a lonely position.
What will become of Jared Golden is an open question. Maine Democrats appear, like the national party, to have swung far to the Left. The Secretary of State tried to keep President Trump off the 2024 ballot.
However, it seems they do not feel confident that they can fool their peasantry into following them. They started “Electing A New People“ many years ago and have recently become very aggressive: Great Replacement Update / Maine: Governor Signs Order To Continue Browning Mostly White State.
As several of the Bangor Daily News comments suggest, it is probably time for Golden to change parties. But the fact he did not mention immigration in his op-ed despite having taken steps to improve his position suggests to me he is some way from this step. How much dare he enrage his Democratic colleagues in one essay?
What is more important, though, is that a professional observer with a lot personally at stake has recognized that the Great Replacement repels non-elite whites and that the immigration issue is the Queen Of The Battlefield in U.S. politics.
