Commentary: What a scandal! (Or not.) How things have changed
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A few weeks ago, Katie Porter’s campaign for California governor was reeling.A day after an irritable TV interview went viral, an old video surfaced of the former Orange County congresswoman cursing and berating one of her aides.Around the same time, the race for U.S.
Senate in Maine was shaken by a number of disturbing online posts.In them, Democratic hopeful Graham Platner disparaged police and Black people, among other crude remarks.
Soon after, it was revealed Platner had a chest tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol.Meanwhile, in Virginia, several old text messages swallowed attorney general nominee Jay Jones in a cumulus of controversy.The Democrat had joked about shooting the Republican leader of the state House and blithely spoken of watching his children die in their mother’s arms.Once — say, 20 or 30 years ago — those blow-ups might have been enough to chase each of those embattled candidates from their respective races, and maybe even end their political careers altogether.But in California, Porter has pressed on and remains in the top tier of the crowded gubernatorial field.
In Maine, Platner continues to draw large, enthusiastic crowds and leads polling in the Democratic primary.In Virginia, Jones was just elected attorney general, defeating his Republican opponent by a comfortable margin.Billionaire Tom Steyer and Rep.
Eric Swalwell are the latest — and maybe not the last — candidates to jump into the contest.The lack of a prohibitive front-runner signals opportunity.Clearly, things have changed.Actions that once caused eyes to widen, such as the recreational puffs of marijuana that cost appeals court judge Douglas Ginsburg a Supreme Court seat under President Reagan, now seem quaint.
Personal indiscretions once seen as disqualifying, such as the extramarital affair that chased Gary Hart from the 1988 presidential race, scarcely raise an eyebrow.And the ol...