A liberal political lobby announced Wednesday it’s going after Maine’s Angus King for going soft on President Trump.
But in reality King set up this Trojan Horse to distance himself from the ongoing ribbing he takes for being a Democrat in “independent” garb.
Nothing King does isn’t calculated.
For instance, he recently boasted that his vote to confirm an anti-abortion federal judge was “a mistake.” But was it really?
King likely knew exactly what he was doing. He’s actually pretty good at this game. The words “I made a mistake” are so endearing!
That’s exactly why Angus actually said “I made a mistake.” The apology comes out as a wash – both sides win!
And politics is about winning.
Angus is getting tired – real tired – of getting accused by conservatives of being a fake “independent.”
Sure, he usually votes blue so it’s easy to confuse him for a donkey.
But having built his successful political career in Maine on being an “independent,” he kind of has to actually be “independent,” at least often enough to keep voters confused.
The reason Angus first became an “independent” was, in his initial bid for statewide office – governor – against the well-entrenched, popular Democrat ex-Gov. Joseph Brennan I. 1994, Angus feared he’d never beat Joe in the party primary. So he declared as an “independent.”
It worked.
King not only won one, but two terms as governor using that tactic.
He also later used the “independent” label, in 2012, to successfully bypass another potential Democrat problem – U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree – to get himself elected to the U.S. Senate.
The talk on the street was that Angus had made a back-room promise with the Democrats that he would support them if they would agree to back his candidacy by letting him knock out of the picture the U.S. senator-in-waiting – poor Chellie Pingree.
But there can be too much of a good thing.
So Angus has recently successfully proved that he’s no Democrat – confirming a pro-life judge and also voting to end the Democrat-initiated government shutdown.
Those two votes have Democrats – the same ones who made a promise they would support him if he would vote with them – steaming.
A liberal group called Demand Justice is now going to spend $1 million in advertising targeting King along with senate Democrats John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire.
The group’s president, Josh Orton, said the blitz is only an opening salvo, according to The Associated Press.
Orton is threatening an escalation targeting lawmakers up for reelection and those with presidential ambitions unless they “find their moral compass, and stand up to Trump,” the AP reports.
“We want to change Senate Democratic behavior so that they begin acting in a more moral way and in a more politically expedient way,” he said.
Will Angus listen?
He really doesn’t have to. He’s not only not up for reelection but this fight gives him subliminal publicity to peddle his “Don’t Blame Me All The Time, I’m An Independent, Not A Democrat.”
That kind of an argument can keep his political future alive if he decides to seek re-election, a campaign whose success would depend on Maine independents, not just liberal Democrats.
This continuing claim by Angus that his voting to support an anti-women’s-rights judge was “a mistake” is all an act.
It’s no mistake that he’s repeatedly voted in polls to be Maine’s most popular politician.
A second goal Angus King could be angling to accomplish by suddenly not acting like a liberal is separating himself from his son, who is running for the 2026 Democrat nomination for Maine governor.
Angus III is being chided in some corners for simply trying to ride Daddy’s popular coattails into the Blaine House without doing any heavy lifting of his own.
The potential offensiveness of exploiting political dynastics could potentially persuade enough fence-sitters that they’re going to try a new brand: a real Democrat.
So if Democrat voters are looking for one of their kind – a real liberal – to succeed two-term Gov. Janet Mills, it might help the junior King look more leftist in a close primary if he gets compared to his suddenly-conservative father.
Angus King Jr. may once again pull off a caper – and help win his progeny the governor’s office by making the two of them seem like virtual strangers to one another.
The senior King has gotten pretty good at these shenanigans over the past 30 years.
