Troy Jackson, the Maine Democratic Party prospective nominee for the Senate, is Graham Platner lite. Platner withdrew from the race to face incumbent Republican Susan Collins following allegations that he sexually assaulted two women, charges he has denied. At least Platner was consistent in his Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) views. Jackson resembles a flip-flopping fish out of water.
Jackson has changed parties faster than he changes clothes, going from Republican to Independent to Democrat. He reminds me of the line by Groucho Marx: "Those are my principles and if you don't like them ... well, I have others."
Once, Jackson was pro-life, earning a 100 percent rating from Maine Right to Life when he was a state senator. Now, Planned Parenthood has given him their 100 percent approval. Jackson, who was raised Catholic, "explained" his flip to The New York Times: "I was always conflicted. I had a hard time getting to a place I felt comfortable. But as time went on, I had a lot of conversations with people."
That isn't a moral argument, as the status of the unborn didn't change. He now favors a federal right to abortion, even after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, allowing states to regulate the procedure, or even ban it. Jackson is guilty of political pragmatism, even cynicism, at its worst.
Jackson also once opposed same-sex marriage. Now he embraces the entire LGBTQ-plus agenda. He has gone whole hog on the rest of the DSA platform, favoring Medicare for all (without saying how he would credibly pay for it), abolishing ICE, and you know the rest.
"I'm running," he told the Times, "because of income inequality, poverty, unfairness, corporate greed and political cowardice." That last one qualifies as the ultimate in hypocrisy. The rest are all political buzzwords. Someone should ask him why all these problems he mentions were not fixed when Democrats held the White House and both branches of Congress? Trillions of dollars have been spent on anti-poverty programs. If they aren't working, perhaps it's because the causes of poverty are something money alone, or money mainly, can't cure.
Corporate greed? Another favorite buzzword Democrats love to spout. It is a euphemism for covetousness, which is a violation of the Tenth Commandment - not that anyone pays attention to that, or the other nine, these days. Socialism would make everyone equally poor. It robs people of any incentive to work and succeed. Capitalism offers the opposite—the opportunity to achieve one's goals consistent with their talents and willingness to work. If people are taught persistence, instead of envy and entitlement, they would achieve levels of success socialism can never give them. Were that to occur, there would be less need for politicians. If that need evaporated, so would the careers of many of them, which in my view would be something good for them and the country.
In case Jackson hasn't noticed, corporations provide jobs. Job holders pay taxes, even though government wastes much of the money. People with jobs take care of themselves and their families. They acquire dignity that goes with a job and career.
As for "inequality," we are all unequal in that we have different talents, goals and incomes.
An old political slogan says: "As Maine goes, so goes the nation." It used to mean the state is a reliable predictor of national voting trends. With the candidacy of Troy Jackson, one hopes that is not true. If it is—and it may be, given recent DSA election victories—Maine and the country will ultimately come to regret it.
Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for Cal Thomas' latest book "A Watchman in the Night: What I've Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America" (HumanixBooks).
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