In the 1980s, U.S. Senator Gary Hart from Colorado was a rising star in the Democratic National Party. He was first elected to the Senate in 1974, having never run for public office before.

Hart beat-out the two-term Republican incumbent, Peter Dominick. Hart’s win was a harbinger of his rapid rise in future Democratic politics. Hart entered the Senate in January 1975, having just turned 38 the previous November.

Gary Hart’s win over Dominick was more than impressive on its face. He unseated a popular World War II Army combat pilot who served in the House of Representatives before running for the Senate in 1963.

It’s sadly ironic that had Dominick won his 1980 reelection bid, he would have died of a heart attack in March 1981, after just two months into his third term.

Hart entered the 1984 Presidential Primaries against former Vice President, Walter Mondale. Mondale won the Democratic nomination that year, but Hart got some positive, national exposure. Maybe a 1988 run for the Presidency was in the cards?

Of course, Mondale lost the 1984 election to incumbent President, Ronald Reagan. Most pundits predicted the former Vice President’s loss, which was a “no brainer” against the popular President Reagan. I thought at the time that Mondale must of felt like he had been handed the poison chalice!

Over the next two years following Mondale’s loss, Senator Hart’s notoriety started to climb; by 1986 he had decided to make a concerted bid for the Democratic Party’s nomination for President in 1988.

Hart’s candidacy was serious enough that he did not seek reelection to his Colorado Senate seat in 1986.

It has been common practice for politicians on both sides of the aisle in the Senate to run for the Presidency after two or four years of Senate service. This allows a Senator to retain their seat in the upper chamber if their Presidential bid fails.

Hart raised some eyebrows when he eschewed a Senate reelection bid in 1986. Although he was popular, he had never fought a tight, national race in politics. News outlets reported that he had a lot of moxie in declining to run for a third term.

During Hart’s years in the public eye, he had the reputation of being a straight-up kind of guy. Scandal was not in his checked luggage, so to speak.

Hart declared his official candidacy in April 1987. Lois Romano, from The Washington Post, asked if he cared to comment on the buzz coming from other campaigns that he was a “womanizer.” Hart bristled, remarking that competitors were “not going to win that way, because you don’t get to the top by tearing someone else down.”

Once the story got some legs in the media, an unnamed source in Florida contacted the Miami Herald to throw gasoline on the smoldering embers. The informant said the “other” woman was Donna Rice, a pharmaceutical executive and an erstwhile, occasional actress in South Florida.

Hart and Rice met in Aspen, CO, at rocker, Don Henley’s house on New Year’s Eve, 1986-87. Rice was interested in joining Hart’s fund raising team.

Prior to Hart’s candidacy declaration in April, the Miami Herald’s informant notified them that Rice was flying up to Washington D.C. to meet with Hart at his townhouse.

After Hart made his campaign announcement, Rice booked a flight to D.C. and the Herald reporters got on Rice’s flight and followed her to Hart’s home.

The Herald ran the story. The reporters admitted later on that they had no details on what might have occurred in the house, although Rice spent the night. They also admitted that she was not seen leaving the house, but could have left by the back door.

After the story broke, Hart suspended his campaign in May due to all of the negative press. The media over saturated the airwaves and print publications. It was a feeding frenzy.

Hart and Rice were hounded relentlessly. Other than a photograph of the two of them on a boating trip with numerous friends, no concrete evidence ever surfaced, nor could anyone claim they saw the two in any sort of PDA.

Later on in December 1987 when the news cycle moved on, Hart restarted his campaign, but it was too late. Whoever wanted Hart out of the race had succeeded. Michael Dukakis ultimately won the Democratic nomination.

Fast forward to 2026 and the scandal surrounding Graham Platner’s Maine Senate campaign. Whereas, Hart was never caught doing anything inappropriate, other than poor judgment, he was nevertheless tarred, feathered, and run out of town on a rail!

Platner, on the other hand, has corroborated evidence and public witnesses to a myriad of disturbing actions. There’s the Nazi tattoo he claimed he was not aware of its negative implications. Then there’s his public trashing of a Purple Heart recipient. Multiple women have gone on record to report his serial toxic male behavior, and assault. He’s had numerous affairs.

Even after all of these incidents, he still was the overwhelming winner of Maine’s Democratic Primary, and will face the incumbent, Susan Collins in November.

Aside from the fact that Platner has documented, questionable behavior, he is still in the Senate race with numerous high profile endorsements.

I’m not a Maine voter, so I don’t have a dog in this fight. But, I do have a dog in the fight against America’s serious decline in political ethics and morals.

Applying the standards assessed in Platner’s candidacy to Gary Hart in 1987, he would have a better than even shot against Dukakis for the 1988 Democratic nomination for President. He may not have beat George Bush for the Presidency, but it likely would have been a lot closer than Dukakis’ poor performance.

I’m all for giving people second chances, maybe even a third chance. At some point when the swamp is drained, morality, religious values and personal integrity will finally matter.

I’m a Vietnam Veteran, and I doubt that I will still be here when, or if, our country ever gets its moral spine back. ‘Nuf said. 🤨