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[Rush Lindell] Welcome back to the Rush Lindell Show.

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[Rush Lindell] I'm Rush,

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[Rush Lindell] and folks, we've got a wild one tonight.

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[Reagan] And I'm Reagan.

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[Reagan] Glad you're with us, because this story broke fast.

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[Rush Lindell] Graham Platner's Senate campaign is falling apart in real time.

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[Rush Lindell] And NBC News says the anger inside the Democratic Party is boiling over tonight.

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[Reagan] And the party's already lining up statements. We'll get into who exactly.

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[Rush Lindell] Let me tell you something.

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[Rush Lindell] I've already got a nickname for this guy.

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[Rush Lindell] And by hour's end you'll be using it too.

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[Reagan] I have a feeling it's not flattering.

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[Rush Lindell] Not even a little.

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[Reagan] We'll dig into the pattern of controversy that's followed him for months and whether it adds up to anything.

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[Rush Lindell] Then the fallout:

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[Rush Lindell] who's abandoning ship,

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[Rush Lindell] who's staying quiet,

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[Rush Lindell] and what it does to the map.

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[Reagan] And Maine's got legal deadlines bearing down fast and a couple names already floating as replacements.

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[Rush Lindell] And don't sleep on Susan Collins just sitting back while

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[Speaker 3] the world is going to hell.

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[Rush Lindell] Watching all this happen to her opponents.

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[Reagan] Let's separate the rhetoric from the reality on this one,

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[Reagan] starting with what actually happened last night.

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[Rush Lindell] Straight ahead,

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[Rush Lindell] the collapse minute by minute.

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[Rush Lindell] Before we dive in, a quick reminder.

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[Rush Lindell] We love hearing from you.

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[Rush Lindell] If you have questions or topics you'd like us to cover,

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[Rush Lindell] head to the link in the description and submit your question.

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[Rush Lindell] We read every single one.

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[Rush Lindell] Bath to Bangor,

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[Rush Lindell] the whole state of Maine woke up to one word this morning,

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[Rush Lindell] collapse.

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[Reagan] Good morning to you, too.

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[Rush Lindell] Graham Platner,

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[Rush Lindell] the oyster farmer turned Senate savior,

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[Rush Lindell] I'm calling him Captain Collapse, effective immediately.

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[Rush Lindell] His campaign is taking water and nobody's manning the pumps.

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[Reagan] Before we nickname the man into oblivion, let's say what actually happened.

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[Reagan] This is an allegation,

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[Reagan] serious but unproven.

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[Rush Lindell] Fair; say it straight.

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[Reagan] According to CNN,

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[Reagan] a woman he dated casually nearly five years ago says he raped her while intoxicated.

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[Reagan] He denies it.

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[Rush Lindell] And Al Jazeera's got the name "Jenny Racicot" telling Politico in an exclusive that this happened in late twenty twenty one,

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[Rush Lindell] non consensual and that she told him to stop.

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[Reagan] Politico's the outlet that broke it.

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[Reagan] That matters for who gets credited.

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[Rush Lindell] Here's what gets me,

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[Rush Lindell] Reagan.

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[Rush Lindell] Three weeks ago, you and I were on this show mapping the Democrats'

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[Rush Lindell] four-seat pickup path,

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[Rush Lindell] remember?

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[Rush Lindell] Platner was seat number one.

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[Reagan] I remember he was the closer.

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[Rush Lindell] Well, the closer just walked off the mound.

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[Reagan] NBC's reporting tonight that Democratic hopes for the majority may be going down with him.

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[Rush Lindell] Going down with him,

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[Rush Lindell] say it louder for the DSCC in the back.

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[Reagan] Speaking of, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand didn't sit on this.

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[Reagan] ness.

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[Rush Lindell] No way-both of 'em?

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[Reagan] Joint statement,

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[Reagan] calling the allegations incredibly disturbing.

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[Reagan] That's Senate Democratic leadership on record within hours.

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[Rush Lindell] Whistle!

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[Rush Lindell] That's not a slow leak-that's the whole dam breaking!

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[Reagan] And Platner himself?" NBC quotes him saying he's reflecting on the "best path forward.

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[Rush Lindell] Translation:

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[Rush Lindell] his lawyers are on the phone and his pollsters crying.

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[Reagan] Maybe.

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[Rush Lindell] So walk me through it:

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[Rush Lindell] does a guy in this spot actually survive?

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[Rush Lindell] survive or is this a body they haven't buried yet?

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[Reagan] That depends on whether this is a one-off allegation or part of something bigger.

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[Rush Lindell] Which is exactly the question, isn't it? Because this isn't the first headline with Platner's name on it this cycle.

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[Rush Lindell] Building on that collapse,

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[Rush Lindell] this isn't Platner's first brush with trouble,

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[Rush Lindell] Reagan.

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[Reagan] It's not.

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[Reagan] Al Jazeera's report today calls it a long string of controversies trailing this campaign.

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[Rush Lindell] We're talking a Nazi-style tattoo he had to explain,

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[Rush Lindell] sexually explicit texts that leaked,

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[Rush Lindell] and New York Times interviews where he came off downright unsettling.

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[Reagan] Each one alone survivable; stacked together,

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[Reagan] voters notice.

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[Rush Lindell] And now...

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[Rush Lindell] Wait for it; old Reddit posts are crawling back out of the grave.

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[Reagan] NPR's been tracking those,

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[Reagan] comments disparaging Black and LGBTQ plus people,

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[Reagan] and remarks mocking assault victims specifically.

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[Rush Lindell] Mocking assault victims,

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[Rush Lindell] and now he's the one accused of assault.

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[Rush Lindell] You cannot write this stuff.

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[Reagan] Hold on,

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[Reagan] I'll push back:

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[Reagan] a bad Reddit history doesn't prove Racicot's allegation is true.

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[Rush Lindell] I'm not calling it proof; I'm calling it a pile of matches next to gasoline.

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[Rush Lindell] Eventually the fire's not a coincidence.

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[Reagan] Fair,

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[Reagan] but juries don't convict on vibes and neither should we.

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[Reagan] Pattern isn't evidence,

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[Reagan] it's context.

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[Rush Lindell] Context that's still crushing him.

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[Reagan] CNBC," reported Platner,

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[Reagan] calling the new accusation "categorically false," and flagging the timing-a week before Maine's ballot deadline.

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[Rush Lindell] Skeptical for him to say-could be convenient for her,

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[Rush Lindell] too-cuts both ways.

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[Reagan] It does,

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[Reagan] and that's the scrutiny Democratic leadership

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[Speaker 3] isn't getting.

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[Reagan] is suddenly discovering they should have applied months ago.

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[Rush Lindell] Suddenly discovering.

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[Rush Lindell] Funny how that happens once the seat looks actually winnable.

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[Rush Lindell] So the DSCC just drew a line in the sand.

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[Rush Lindell] Finally.

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[Reagan] Schumer and Gillibrand told reporters, according to The Hill,

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[Reagan] the committee won't put a dime in Maine if Platner stays on that ballot.

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[Rush Lindell] Oh,

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[Rush Lindell] now there's a budget line; funny how conviction shows up right when the polling gets ugly.

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[Speaker 4] Mm-hmm.

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[Reagan] And it's not just leadership.

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[Reagan] Politico reported Ro Khanna and Ruben Gallego both yanked their endorsements Monday night.

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[Rush Lindell] Gone-poof-like they were never there.

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[Reagan] Martin Heinrich went further,

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[Reagan] calling the allegations "very serious," his words per that same report.

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[Rush Lindell] Very serious!

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[Rush Lindell] Wow-bold stance,

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[Rush Lindell] Senator.

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[Reagan] But notice who's missing from that list.

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[Rush Lindell] Wait,

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[Rush Lindell] wait.

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[Rush Lindell] Don't tell me!

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[Reagan] Elizabeth Warren.

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[Reagan] Axios says she stopped short of a hard break,

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[Reagan] still hedging.

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[Rush Lindell] Oh,

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[Rush Lindell] shocking!

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[Reagan] And Bernie Sanders?

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[Reagan] Silent.

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[Reagan] Nothing.

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[Reagan] Not one statement.

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[Rush Lindell] Bernie's probably still drafting it in longhand.

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[Reagan] Maybe,

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[Reagan] but look,

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[Reagan] credit where it's due,

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[Reagan] Democrats mostly landed in the right place on this.

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[Rush Lindell] Sure,

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[Rush Lindell] eventually.

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[Reagan] My issue isn't the destination,

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[Reagan] it's the clock.

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[Reagan] Nobody found their principal when the tattoo story broke.

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[Reagan] Nobody found it after the texts.

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[Rush Lindell] They found it the second the internal polling showed the seat slipping away.

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[Reagan] That's the pattern worth watching; conviction with impeccable timing.

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[Rush Lindell] Convenient conviction; I love it.

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[Reagan] Warren and Sanders staying quiet tells you something,

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[Reagan] too; they're waiting to see which way this breaks before spending capital.

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[Rush Lindell] Smart,

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[Rush Lindell] cynical,

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[Rush Lindell] and completely

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[Speaker 3] carnal.

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[Rush Lindell] easily predictable!

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[Reagan] Which raises the real question,

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[Reagan] if the top of the party can't move fast on something this obvious,

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[Reagan] what happens to the seat itself?

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[Rush Lindell] And that,

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[Rush Lindell] Reagan,

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[Rush Lindell] is exactly where we go next,

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[Rush Lindell] because Maine's got a clock ticking and it's not a metaphor.

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[Reagan] Shifting to the math,

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[Reagan] Democrats need a net four seat gain to flip the Senate.

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[Reagan] That's the number that made Maine matter in the first place.

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[Rush Lindell] Right; and,

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[Rush Lindell] Reagan,

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[Rush Lindell] you've got the calendar in front of you-walk me through it.

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[Reagan] Under Maine law,

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[Reagan] Platner has until July thirteenth to withdraw (five p m,

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[Reagan] second Monday in July).

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[Rush Lindell] The DMV closes faster than that deadline approaches.

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[Reagan] If he steps aside by then,

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[Reagan] the state party has until July twenty seventh to pick a replacement.

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[Reagan] A REPLACEMENT

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[Rush Lindell] Two weeks to find someone who isn't radioactive?

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[Rush Lindell] Tight window.

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[Reagan] The names floating around include Troy Jackson and Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, though Governor Mills has ruled herself out of an endorsement.

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[Rush Lindell] Mills won't even weigh in after losing to the primary guy who's now imploding?

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[Reagan] That's the read—she's staying out of it entirely,

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[Reagan] at least publicly.

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[Rush Lindell] All right,

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[Rush Lindell] here's my call back weeks ago on this show.

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[Rush Lindell] we ran the Senate firewall segment—four seat flip,

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[Rush Lindell] tight map,

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[Rush Lindell] no room for error.

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[Reagan] I remember,

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[Reagan] you said Maine was load bearing.

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[Rush Lindell] I did.

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[Rush Lindell] Now ask yourself:

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[Rush Lindell] does the four seat math survive if Democrats have to install a replacement candidate in two weeks with zero name recognition against a five term incumbent?

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[Reagan] Susan Collins has run state wide five times; a newcomer starts from a

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[Speaker 3] dead stop.

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[Reagan] From a dead sprint,

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[Reagan] not a jog.

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[Rush Lindell] So,

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[Rush Lindell] my verdict:

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[Rush Lindell] the firewall didn't crack; it shattered.

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[Rush Lindell] You don't patch four seats with a rushed nominating meeting.

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[Reagan] I'd say it's damaged,

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[Reagan] not shattered.

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[Reagan] Jackson and Bellows both have real infrastructure in the state.

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[Rush Lindell] Infrastructure doesn't buy you name ID by November.

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[Reagan] Mm-hmm.

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[Reagan] Fair,

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[Reagan] but calling it dead on July sixth is premature.

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[Reagan] We've got three weeks of runway before we even know if he was

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[Reagan] P.

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[Reagan] WITHDRAWN.

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[Rush Lindell] Three weeks-that's the whole runway for the whole plan!

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[Reagan] And Platner hasn't announced anything yet,

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[Reagan] just that video about reflecting.

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[Rush Lindell] Oh,

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[Rush Lindell] don't get me started on that video.

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[Rush Lindell] Oh,

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[Rush Lindell] Kash!

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[Rush Lindell] Reagan,

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[Rush Lindell] we've got the tape-Platner's big statement-let me do this properly.

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[Reagan] Oh,

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[Reagan] no

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[Rush Lindell] I am-

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[Speaker 4] Taking the time to reflect on the best path forward.

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[Reagan] Riveting.

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[Speaker 4] A path forward towards what,

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[Speaker 4] Graham?

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[Speaker 4] A press conference?

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[Speaker 4] Witness protection?

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[Speaker 4] Forty five seconds of nothing dressed up as courage?

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[Reagan] It's a whole genre; statements built to sound sincere while committing to zero actual words.

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[Speaker 4] Captain Collapse has entered his reflection era.

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[Reagan] Cha,

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[Reagan] there it is.

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[Speaker 4] That's the nickname folks.

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[Speaker 4] Sticking.

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[Speaker 4] Every Democrat who needs three weeks-

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[Speaker 4] And a lawyer is now officially in a 'reflection era.'

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[Reagan] I'll allow it; but strip the theatre,

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[Reagan] and what's left is a campaign with no message and a clock running.

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[Speaker 4] Which is exactly why this stopped being a 'Maine-only'

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[Speaker 4] story.

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[Reagan] The longer he reflects,

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[Reagan] the longer the other side gets to just watch.

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[Speaker 4] And wait till you hear what Susan Collins just said about all this.

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[Reagan] Oh,

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[Reagan] this ought to be good.

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[Speaker 5] Susan Collins finally spoke,

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[Speaker 5] and man, it's a master class in staying out of the blast radius.

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[Reagan] She called the allegations appalling, but added that it's not her job to pick the Democratic nominee.

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[Reagan] Careful,

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[Reagan] lawyerly,

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[Reagan] exactly what you'd expect from a five-term incumbent.

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[Speaker 5] Smart.

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[Speaker 5] Why grab a live wire when your opponent's already on fire?

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[Reagan] And CNN reported Monday that Senate majority PAC is pulling money out of Maine unless Platner or Court.

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[Reagan] and are quits-real dollars,

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[Reagan] not just a statement.

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[Speaker 5] That's the tell,

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[Speaker 5] Reagan.

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[Speaker 5] When the super pack walks,

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[Speaker 5] the party's admitting the math doesn't work with him on the ballot.

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[Reagan] Fair,

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[Reagan] but walking from Platner isn't the same as walking from Maine.

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[Speaker 5] Maybe not,

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[Speaker 5] but remember Kamala Harris only carried that state by about seven points in 2024.

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[Speaker 5] Collins was already the underdog in a blue leaning seat before any of this.

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[Reagan] Sure,

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[Reagan] but if Democrats swap in someone clean by the twenty seventh?

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[Reagan] That cushion doesn't just evaporate.

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[Speaker 5] It shrinks; it doesn't vanish.

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[Speaker 5] That's the real fight here.

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[Rush Lindell] Right.

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[Reagan] And every day this drags out,

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[Reagan] Collins runs essentially unopposed—free airtime for an incumbent.

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[Speaker 5] Which is exactly why I'm calling this Susan Collins Lifeline—clean nominee or wounded one,

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[Speaker 5] she's the only campaign in Maine that hasn't lost a single day.

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[Reagan] That's a lifeline built entirely out of somebody else's disaster—that's not a mandate, Rush.

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[Speaker 5] I'll take a gift horse over a mandate any day of the week.

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[Speaker 5] Building on that,

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[Speaker 5] the calendar's the real headline now:

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[Speaker 5] six days to July thirteenth,

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[Speaker 5] then the clock hits July twenty-seventh.

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[Reagan] And every hour that passes without a withdrawal makes an orderly transition messier.

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[Speaker 5] My prediction:

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[Speaker 5] Platner's out by Friday,

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[Speaker 5] Democrats scramble,

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[Speaker 5] and Collins walks into November with the wind at her back.

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[Reagan] I'd stop short of that.

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[Reagan] Bellows or Jackson steps in clean.

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[Reagan] Maine's fundamentals don't just evaporate overnight.

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[Speaker 5] Fundamentals don't matter much when your nominee is radioactive and your bench needed three days just to admit it.

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[Reagan] Three weeks of runway is still three weeks.

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[Reagan] Ask me again after the filing deadline.

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[Speaker 5] Noted for the record,

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[Speaker 5] official Senate Firewall scoreboard update.

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[Reagan] Scoreboard duly noted,

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[Reagan] Rush.

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[Speaker 5] We'll be back the moment Augusta makes it official.

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[Speaker 5] Until then,

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[Speaker 5] that seat's a jump ball.

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[Reagan] A jump ball with a very loud crowd watching every bounce.

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[Speaker 5] So Captain Collapse—that's where we land tonight.

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[Speaker 5] One allegation and the whole Maine map shakes.

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[Reagan] And I'll say it again for anyone just tuning in,

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[Reagan] it's an allegation,

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[Reagan] serious but unproven; that distinction still matters.

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[Speaker 5] Fair,

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[Speaker 5] but Schumer and Gillibrand didn't wait around to make that distinction,

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[Speaker 5] did they?

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[Reagan] No,

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[Reagan] they didn't," dryly.

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[Reagan] Conviction moves fast when the polling does.

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[Speaker 5] Exactly; and remember our Senate firewall segment?

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[Speaker 5] Platner was seat number one; that firewall's got a crack in it now.

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[Reagan] July thirteenth,

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[Reagan] July twenty-seventh—those dates decide whether Democrats patch it or lose Maine outright.

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[Rush Lindell] Right.

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[Reagan] My money's on Collins keeping the seat; Reagan's holding out hope for a clean replacement.

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[Rush Lindell] I am; will know soon enough.

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[Reagan] Warmly:

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[Reagan] That's the show.

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[Reagan] If you liked it,

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[Reagan] subscribe; drop us five stars; tell a friend who needs to hear it.

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[Rush Lindell] New episodes every weekday.

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[Rush Lindell] Thanks for spending this one with us.

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[Reagan] Grinning,

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[Reagan] stay sharp out there.

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[Reagan] We'll see you tomorrow.

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[Speaker 4] .