A Big Shout Out and THANK YOU to Patricia Mazzei, Kellen Browning and the New York Times.
Platner’s Rise and Fall Revives Old Questions About ‘Bernie Bros’ and Women
The collapse of Graham Platner’s Senate bid in Maine after a rape allegation renewed attention to a movement built by Senator Bernie Sanders that some say is too forgiving of male misconduct.
Last month, as accusations that Graham Platner of Maine had demeaned and threatened women consumed his Senate campaign, his left-wing allies closed ranks around him.
Representative Ro Khanna of California posted a video on social media sitting alongside Mr. Platner on a floating dock discussing “transformational politics.” Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont said Mr. Platner had “gotten his life together” despite his troubling past. ...
It has also set off a broader debate among Democrats around the country about the movement that Mr. Sanders leads: Is its embrace of a blunt and brawny populism too dismissive of women — and too forgiving of male misconduct? The question is not new, but it has grown more urgent this year, when the party has elevated inexperienced and authentic candidates, such as the flannel-clad Mr. Platner, to stir average Americans.
“What I have an issue with is not the policies,” said Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action, a gun-safety group, who was castigated online for not backing Mr. Platner. “It’s the lack of character. It’s being bombastic. It’s that you’re polarizing and alienating and, frankly, it’s also being denigrating toward women.”
Men from across the political spectrum can mistreat women, said Ms. Paige Loud, 29, who is now vying to replace Mr. Platner as the Democratic Senate nominee. But on the left, she said, “They can do terrible things but then go, ‘Oh, but I support Medicare for all.’”
More:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/us/politics/bernie-sanders-graham-platner-maine.html
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I posted this a day before the NYT article came out.
https://similarworlds.com/politics/5615220-Graham-Platners-comments-on-women-wearing-Kevlar-underwear
The collapse of Graham Platner’s Senate bid in Maine after a rape allegation renewed attention to a movement built by Senator Bernie Sanders that some say is too forgiving of male misconduct.
Last month, as accusations that Graham Platner of Maine had demeaned and threatened women consumed his Senate campaign, his left-wing allies closed ranks around him.
Representative Ro Khanna of California posted a video on social media sitting alongside Mr. Platner on a floating dock discussing “transformational politics.” Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont said Mr. Platner had “gotten his life together” despite his troubling past. ...
It has also set off a broader debate among Democrats around the country about the movement that Mr. Sanders leads: Is its embrace of a blunt and brawny populism too dismissive of women — and too forgiving of male misconduct? The question is not new, but it has grown more urgent this year, when the party has elevated inexperienced and authentic candidates, such as the flannel-clad Mr. Platner, to stir average Americans.
“What I have an issue with is not the policies,” said Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action, a gun-safety group, who was castigated online for not backing Mr. Platner. “It’s the lack of character. It’s being bombastic. It’s that you’re polarizing and alienating and, frankly, it’s also being denigrating toward women.”
Men from across the political spectrum can mistreat women, said Ms. Paige Loud, 29, who is now vying to replace Mr. Platner as the Democratic Senate nominee. But on the left, she said, “They can do terrible things but then go, ‘Oh, but I support Medicare for all.’”
More:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/us/politics/bernie-sanders-graham-platner-maine.html
----------------------
I posted this a day before the NYT article came out.
https://similarworlds.com/politics/5615220-Graham-Platners-comments-on-women-wearing-Kevlar-underwear
36-40, F