Analysis: Pappas, Platner, And The 'Wimp Factor'

By Michael Graham, NH Journal

When George H.W. Bush ran for president in 1987, he was hounded by “The Wimp Factor.” Despite his heroic service in World War II, the New England pol’s tone and manner as vice president raised questions about whether he had the decisiveness, independence and toughness to be a leader.

Bush overcame those questions and, with a little help from Massachusetts Gov. Mike Dukakis’s photo op in a tank, won the White House in 1988.

Watching from the governor’s mansion in Arkansas, Democrat Bill Clinton understood what was happening. One of his most famous political observations: “When people feel uncertain, they’d rather have somebody who’s strong and wrong than somebody who’s weak and right.”

Four years later, Clinton beat an incumbent president in part thanks to a display of pure political guts.

Unfortunately for Democrat Chris Pappas, his performance handling the Graham Platner controversy failed the Clinton test. The mild-mannered Congressman has been both weak and wrong.

As a result, he’s given Republicans an opening to hit him on what may be his biggest vulnerability: the perception that Pappas isn’t tough enough for the harsh, hardball politics in the U.S. Senate.

Washington in the Trump era is no place for the faint of heart. It’s non-stop political warfare between the two parties, not to mention the battle royale inside Pappas’ own party as Democratic Socialists take on the traditional Democrats who oppose them.

The latter trend inspired a group of Democratic House members, including New Hampshire’s Rep. Maggie Goodlander, to join an effort to push back against the far-Left socialism from the Mamdani wing of their party. They’ve publicly declared their opposition to socialism and their patriotic love of country.

Who hasn’t joined this cause? Chris Pappas.

Admittedly, most of Pappas’s fellow Democrats were sitting out this fight, too. No comment when an unapologetic socialist who hates Israel was elected mayor of New York. No comment when a former Al Qaida ally won a congressional race in New Jersey. No comment when “defund the police” and pro-Hamas extremists won federal races in New York.

And most glaringly, no comment when a Nazi-tattooed, self-described “communist” with a history of racist, sexist and homophobic statements was running for U.S. Senate next door in Maine.

Even Pappas’s biggest fans must concede he’s hardly been a tower of courage when it comes to Graham Platner. Despite being dogged by reporters for weeks, Pappas refused to say whether Platner was fit to serve in the U.S. Senate. Even when confronted with Platner’s bizarre threat to deal with home intruders by raping them — “but not in a gay way” — Pappas still refused to take a stand on the Maine Democrat’s candidacy.

If Pappas isn’t willing to stand up for himself, how is he going to stand up for New Hampshire?

Once again, Pappas was hardly alone. The rest of New Hampshire’s all-Democrat delegation also sat out the Platner story. Like Pappas, they waited until after the latest story of Platner’s abusive treatment of women to hit before finally saying he’s unfit to serve.

“The allegations against Graham Platner are reprehensible, and he must step aside,” was Pappas’ entire response.

On the one hand, it’s hard to understand how Pappas, who’s openly gay and has made his LGBT status a center piece of his campaign, would choose to stay silent in the face of Platner’s blatant homophobia.

On the other, it’s hard to imagine Pappas doing anything else. He has a hard-earned reputation as a pliant political hack who’s never met a fight he couldn’t avoid.

John E. Sununu, on the other hand, is already known for being crosswise with his party’s president, and he will gleefully recount his confrontations with Republicans during the George W. Bush era. Sununu isn’t a political wild man, but he’s no wallflower, either.

Sununu’s the underdog in the U.S. Senate race because New Hampshire voters don’t want to send any help to the Washington GOP. If the contest comes down to partisan support, Sununu’s toast.

But if the election is about which candidate has the stones to stand up to his party, who is mentally tough enough to take New Hampshire’s fight to Washington, that’s an entirely different race.

Before Sen. Jeanne Shaheen decided not to run again, some campaign pros speculated that Pappas would actually be a stronger candidate in 2026, because his age wouldn’t be an issue and — as one NHGOP operative reluctantly admitted — “Everybody likes him. He’s a nice guy.”

Good analysis, but remind yourself: Where do nice guys finish?

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.