Believe it or not, this is not a post about the NY Times. On Sunday, former Democratic congresswoman and Michigan senate primary candidate Haley Stevens immolated what remains of her political career by endorsing and appearing in public with rightwing Republican Michigan senate candidate Mike Rogers. What most people are trying to figure out is why Stevens would do this. By way of Atrios, we get some inside skinny from another Michigan senate primary candidate Mallory McMorrow’s husband, Ray Wert:

What I would like to know is how Stevens ever got traction in the first place. If Wert is correct about Stevens, she was a disaster waiting to happen (at least with someone like Fetterman, part of his shift can be attributed to his stroke–and has been). And it’s not like she’s a political virtuoso with some flaws. She’s basically a replacement-level Democrat. Somewhere along the way, someone should have realized this is not a person you want running for the Senate, especially in an important race.

Worse, unlike Platner, she’s not an outsider. She was the establishment’s preferred candidate. Yet somehow this latent dumpster fire was able to survive and thrive in the Democratic Party*. We need better vetting.

*Stevens has links to Steven Rattner, but I have no idea if that played any role whatsoever in her political ascent.