So, Graham Platner will be the Democrats’ Senate nominee from Maine
Anyone surprised? I doubt it. Platner’s nomination is shocking but not surprising in the least, since he ran basically unopposed. He also fits the current profile of the Democratic Party in the political sense: very very far to the left.
Platner has a history containing just about everything the Democrats say they hate – Nazi symbols, misogyny and mistreatment of women, elite background while pretending to be just a working class guy – plus a few things they hadn’t thought of being against yet, such as a habit of masturbating in port-a-potties.
Whatever, they say now. He’s our guy to get the all-important Senate majority which will remake America to our liking.
Platner was very pleased with himself last night. His message is that the incumbent, Republican Susan Collins, is old and corrupt. Well, she is 73, which used to be thought of as old in politics but these days doesn’t seem all that geriatric. But Platner is 41 years old, and he was chosen in part for his relative youth, much like AOC and Mamdani.
Platner’s way of dealing with his murky past is to say he’s seen the light. It’s a tale of redemption, and he credits his wife – although he was reportedly sexting with other women after he married her:
“If you believe, as I do, that we can change our politics, and change our country, then you must also believe that people can change,” Platner said, speaking at a YMCA in his hometown of Blue Hill. “And the reason I believe that is because I have lived it — and the reason I have lived it is because of my wife.”
He added: “To all those who feel let down, disappointed, or disillusioned. It is my job to earn your trust, your faith, and your support. And I will spend every day of this campaign, and if I have the privilege, every day in the United States Senate, doing exactly that.”
As for Collins, he said that she is “just as spineless and corrupt as the establishment she now serves.” “Corrupt” is a funny word for the corrupt Platner to use, but he used it in the populist sense of being supported by money interests.
Note this as well:
“The truth is, Susan Collins does not serve us. She serves Donald Trump,” Platner said. “She serves the Epstein class. She serves her corporate donors and the corrupt political system that has rigged the economy against us. She does not serve us, and so we will defeat Susan Collins.”
“The Epstein class” is the newest catchphrase. It refers to a shadowy and ill-defined group that supposedly runs the world, is completely corrupt, and coalesced around the figure of Epstein. Sound familiar? Platner will be hammering this message home and directing it at Susan Collins.
Typical leftist rhetoric style from Platner. There is a vanishingly thin veneer of logic and rationality to it, so that his supporters can think, “See, I’m not a hot headed moron. There are reasons.” Never mind if they are really believable or if they can withstand any scrutiny.
It’s not true that Collins serves Donald Trump, but the corrupt donors and corrupt political system, yes. And she lied to us about supporting the SAVE Act.
I doubt she has anything to worry about, partly because Platner is pure Astrorturf and considering the amount of our tax money Collins directs to Maine, but they’ll only be hurting themselves if they get rid of her. It is unlikely that the Dems eke out a majority in the Senate this year, but even if they did, Platner would not take over from Collins’ as chair of Appropriations. Patty Murray would have that seat and Maine Dems could try whistling for their money, they’d be more likely to get it that way.
As it is Collins delivers for Maine Dems more than Platner could.
The Dems will continue the refrain they’ve been singing for the past two years: Trump bad! They think they don’t have to offer anything substantial or make any electoral promises: just say Trump Bad and they’ll get elected.
That will work for some candidates, but the irony in Maine is that Platner will be running against a Republican who will be singing a similar refrain: I’m my own person, not a Trump puppet. Will that satisfy Mainers? To be seen.
In any civilized society, having that tattoo (and lying about knowing what it meant) would have been the last straw. No candidate could ever come back from that.
Instead, it was the first thing they accepted. They decided that staying in power was more important, even at the cost of any ideals they claimed to have. And once you’ve accepted that, you’ll accept anything: Lies, misogyny, antisemitism, infidelity, sex messages to sketchy recipients, allegations of abuse. Allegedly pushing his girlfriend into a room and holding her there until she got “calm.” Possibly even worse. None of it matters — because when you’ve decided to support the tattoo guy, you’ve already given up any sense of moral boundaries.