Remember when Democrats picked Troy Jackson to replace Graham Platner in the race against Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and they thought it would save their chances of flipping that seat?
It’s not working out so well. Judging by the polls, he isn't firing up the Democrat base the way the Nazi-tattooed Platner did. Democrats know they need every vote they can get in this race. Collins holds a 0.2-point lead in the RealClearPolitics average, which sounds close until you remember 2020. That year, Collins didn't lead a single poll against Sara Gideon, and she won by nearly nine points even as Joe Biden won the state. Now he’s given voters one more reason to keep their distance.
In the interview, which was broadcast on Tuesday, Portland's NBC affiliate asked Jackson why some Mainers refuse to call the war in Gaza a "genocide."
"Yes, I restated that last week. You know, I mean, it's unfortunate that there are people here in Maine that don't like to use that term only because, you know, they're Jewish and, you know, what that means to them with the Holocaust," Jackson said. "You know, it fits that description, and, you know, it is, it's an unbelievable thing that's happened there, that people that are innocent are being murdered, and it is a genocide."
Did a candidate for the Senate really say that out loud? In Jackson's view, the only reason a Mainer would object to the word is that he or she is Jewish and they have this silly connection to the Holocaust that makes them unwilling to see what is what in Gaza.
The interviewer then pointed out that Hamas started this war on Oct. 7, 2023, when its terrorists massacred 1,200 Israelis, many of them civilians, women, and children.
Did that matter to Jackson? Nope. He played the “both sides” argument.
"There's people that are wrong on both sides of this issue, but in the end, you know, senseless murders, horrific murders are happening to both sides, and that has to stop," Jackson said. "The United States can't continue to send blank checks to Netanyahu to, you know, continue to perpetrate this."
So Hamas went house to house butchering families, and Jackson's answer is to scold Washington for helping the country that got attacked.
Jackson can't claim nobody warned him not to go there. Over the summer, the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine condemned "the irresponsible use of the term" in political rhetoric. Eleven rabbis signed the group's statement on July 31.
"We believe the accusation of 'genocide' against Israel — which is becoming a staple of rhetoric in Maine politics — is wrong," the rabbis wrote.
"The suffering of Palestinians in Gaza is immense," the statement continued, "but genocide is not a synonym for a terrible war, civilian casualties, or even alleged violations of the laws of war. It is the single gravest accusation that can be leveled against any nation or people. Using genocide as a political slogan does not advance peace in the Middle East. It erases essential moral and legal distinctions, diminishes the meaning of genocide, and inflames hatred for the local Jewish community. One can criticize the actions of the Israeli government without using the word 'genocide.'"
Jackson ignored it all and made his ridiculous comments anyway. Not only did he claim genocide in Gaza, but he also blamed Jews for not seeing it because of the Holocaust.
When the backlash hit, his team said he had "misspoken." On Wednesday, he put out a statement apologizing for the "pain" he caused.
"I believe what's happening in Gaza is genocide, and I also understand that word carries particular weight for many Jewish families given the Holocaust — the genocide of six million Jews," Jackson said. "In trying to acknowledge that, I misspoke and made a generalization about Jewish Mainers' views that doesn't reflect what I meant to say."
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"Mainers hold a range of deeply considered views, and I promise I will always listen and work to approach these conversations with the care and respect they deserve," he added. "In the US Senate, I'll fight antisemitism and work for lasting peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis."
Yeah, I believe that from him as much as I believe it from Zohran Mamdani. He didn’t even attempt to say he was wrong; he literally repeated the very accusation that started the controversy. Jackson is sorry he generalized about Jewish Mainers, and he still calls Gaza a genocide because he’s still pandering to the antisemitic base of the Democrat Party.