Graham Platner Should Drop Out of U.S. Senate Race. Dems Should Vote for Janet Mills, Who Reminded Maine Voters That Her Name Is Still on the Ballot.
“People have the impression that I ‘withdrew’ or ‘dropped out,’ but I simply suspended active campaigning. I am still on the ballot,” Mills told the Portland Press Herald earlier in the week.
If Platner wins the Democrat primary, the DSCC should spend $$$ on races elsewhere and endorse a self-funded independent to take on Collins. He would just be a drain on resources and even if Susan Collins somehow collapsed against a relative unknown philandering oyster farmer with a Nazi tattoo, Platner could turn out to be just another Fetterman on crucial Senate vote. One Fetterman is bad enough.
Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer blew it on this one and Sen. Bernie Sanders compounded that error by backing Platner. Mills would be 80 years old when the 120th Congress opens their session on January 3, 2027. Schumer couldn't find anyone else in the whole f*cking state of Maine to take on Collins?
And Bernie? It's not so much as backing the 41-year old Platner who not only has NEVER served in elected office and wants to jump right into the U.S. Senate. But the fact that Platner, prior to running for the Senate, has had about ZERO involvement in politics other than behind an activist with Acadia Action, an organization so obscure that its website consists of a request for your email address.
At least Platner has voted in past elections. Of course the problem there is that he admits he voted for SUSAN COLLINS!
When he was 18, Platner was quoted in the Bangor Daily News after protesting President George W. Bush and at an appearance by the President at Bangor International Airport: "I started yelling, 'Don’t attack Iraq. If our best generals tell us not to go to war, why should we?'"
Apparently, even then he couldn't be taken seriously because he enlisted in the Marines in 2003 - just in time for the invasion of Iraq. He was deployed in 2005 and served eight years in the military.
Asked why he served in the Iraq War after protesting the lead up to it, Platner responded, "I thought I could do some good. And I wanted to play soldier. I might have read too much Hemingway."
A key plank of Platner's campaign is Medicare for All. No wonder Bernie got interested in him. Who cares about Nazi tattoos and allegations of intimidating and disturbing behavior by women if you got Bernie backing you, right?
🤬
Some of the women interviewed by The New York Times described Platner as fun, caring and safe to be around, though others detailed “toxic” relationships they had with him.
Lyndsey Fifield, 40, who said she dated Platner from 2013 to 2015, told the Times that Platner was “cavalierly contemptuous of women’s emotions, of our ‘weakness.’” Fifield also accused Platner of being rough with her while he drank, clarifying to the Times she was never struck by him but was regularly grabbed by the shoulders.
Jenny Racicot , 41, who said she dated Platner between 2019 and 2021, referenced controversial online posts he made in the past about sexual assault and rural white Americans, saying she “recognized a version of him that I had experiences with.”
Last weekend, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, reported that Platner's wife, Amy Gertner, told his Senate campaign last year about sexually explicit texts he sent to several women to ensure they didn’t impact his campaign. Former Maine state legislator Genevieve McDonald, who also served as the Platner campaign’s political director until October last year, told the Times that Gertner reached out to her before a rally with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to inform her about the texts he sent to as many as a dozen women. McDonald also told the Times the Senate is “not a training ground for redemption,” and instead a “place for proven leaders with moral clarity and integrity.”
Sen. Sanders told The Associated Press last Monday that he still supports Platner.
“Of course,” he said. “Why would I not?”
🤬
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) says she needs time to review new reporting surrounding Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner before giving her thoughts on new allegations of aggressive behavior.
"This all kind of just came out. I've been doing legislative business on the floor, so I need to dig into everything further before commenting on it," Ocasio-Cortez said.
"I don't want to speak before I've dug into a lot of, you know, to before I've dug into what's out there. So, I just want to be respectful of that man," she added.
Unlike Sanders, AOC has NOT endorsed Platner thus far.
I strongly opposed the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.
What do the Democrat women in the U.S. Senate have to say about Platner?
Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) told the men of the country to "just shut up and step up" and "do the right thing for a change" when Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh nominee was grilled over high school assault allegations during his 2018 confirmation hearings. No comment from her on Platner.
"I'm leaving Maine up to Mainers — I'm not weighing in," said Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), who has pursued answers about "decades long" sexual assault in the U.S. Coast Guard.
"I think inappropriate sexual behavior is wrong, no matter who does it, but it's up to the voters to decide," said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).
"That's up to the people of Maine," offered Sen. Lizzy Warren (D-MA).
At least one Democrat Senator - a MALE one at that - offered some concern about Platner.
"These allegations are deeply concerning. And I think the people of Maine deserve answers," said Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), the senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. "And this kind of abuse is something to be taken very, very seriously."
If Platner wins the Democrat primary, the DSCC should spend $$$ on races elsewhere and endorse a self-funded independent to take on Collins. He would just be a drain on resources and even if Susan Collins somehow collapsed against a relative unknown philandering oyster farmer with a Nazi tattoo, Platner could turn out to be just another Fetterman on crucial Senate vote. One Fetterman is bad enough.
Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer blew it on this one and Sen. Bernie Sanders compounded that error by backing Platner. Mills would be 80 years old when the 120th Congress opens their session on January 3, 2027. Schumer couldn't find anyone else in the whole f*cking state of Maine to take on Collins?
And Bernie? It's not so much as backing the 41-year old Platner who not only has NEVER served in elected office and wants to jump right into the U.S. Senate. But the fact that Platner, prior to running for the Senate, has had about ZERO involvement in politics other than behind an activist with Acadia Action, an organization so obscure that its website consists of a request for your email address.
At least Platner has voted in past elections. Of course the problem there is that he admits he voted for SUSAN COLLINS!
When he was 18, Platner was quoted in the Bangor Daily News after protesting President George W. Bush and at an appearance by the President at Bangor International Airport: "I started yelling, 'Don’t attack Iraq. If our best generals tell us not to go to war, why should we?'"
Apparently, even then he couldn't be taken seriously because he enlisted in the Marines in 2003 - just in time for the invasion of Iraq. He was deployed in 2005 and served eight years in the military.
Asked why he served in the Iraq War after protesting the lead up to it, Platner responded, "I thought I could do some good. And I wanted to play soldier. I might have read too much Hemingway."
A key plank of Platner's campaign is Medicare for All. No wonder Bernie got interested in him. Who cares about Nazi tattoos and allegations of intimidating and disturbing behavior by women if you got Bernie backing you, right?
🤬
Some of the women interviewed by The New York Times described Platner as fun, caring and safe to be around, though others detailed “toxic” relationships they had with him.
Lyndsey Fifield, 40, who said she dated Platner from 2013 to 2015, told the Times that Platner was “cavalierly contemptuous of women’s emotions, of our ‘weakness.’” Fifield also accused Platner of being rough with her while he drank, clarifying to the Times she was never struck by him but was regularly grabbed by the shoulders.
Jenny Racicot , 41, who said she dated Platner between 2019 and 2021, referenced controversial online posts he made in the past about sexual assault and rural white Americans, saying she “recognized a version of him that I had experiences with.”
Last weekend, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, reported that Platner's wife, Amy Gertner, told his Senate campaign last year about sexually explicit texts he sent to several women to ensure they didn’t impact his campaign. Former Maine state legislator Genevieve McDonald, who also served as the Platner campaign’s political director until October last year, told the Times that Gertner reached out to her before a rally with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to inform her about the texts he sent to as many as a dozen women. McDonald also told the Times the Senate is “not a training ground for redemption,” and instead a “place for proven leaders with moral clarity and integrity.”
Sen. Sanders told The Associated Press last Monday that he still supports Platner.
“Of course,” he said. “Why would I not?”
🤬
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) says she needs time to review new reporting surrounding Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner before giving her thoughts on new allegations of aggressive behavior.
"This all kind of just came out. I've been doing legislative business on the floor, so I need to dig into everything further before commenting on it," Ocasio-Cortez said.
"I don't want to speak before I've dug into a lot of, you know, to before I've dug into what's out there. So, I just want to be respectful of that man," she added.
Unlike Sanders, AOC has NOT endorsed Platner thus far.
I strongly opposed the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.
What do the Democrat women in the U.S. Senate have to say about Platner?
Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) told the men of the country to "just shut up and step up" and "do the right thing for a change" when Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh nominee was grilled over high school assault allegations during his 2018 confirmation hearings. No comment from her on Platner.
"I'm leaving Maine up to Mainers — I'm not weighing in," said Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), who has pursued answers about "decades long" sexual assault in the U.S. Coast Guard.
"I think inappropriate sexual behavior is wrong, no matter who does it, but it's up to the voters to decide," said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).
"That's up to the people of Maine," offered Sen. Lizzy Warren (D-MA).
At least one Democrat Senator - a MALE one at that - offered some concern about Platner.
"These allegations are deeply concerning. And I think the people of Maine deserve answers," said Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), the senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. "And this kind of abuse is something to be taken very, very seriously."
36-40, F
