Platner Ain't The Only Oyster in the Stew

I shouldn't travel abroad when things look like they're quieting down in the U.S. of A., because that's exactly when things happen. Despite some controversies regrading his personal life, Graham Platner seemed to be very competitive in his bid for the United States as the Democratic opponent to Republican Susan Collins, and Platner was fine as long as, after having admitted to having a Nazi Totenkopf tattoo candidacy on his chest and to having embraced communism in a quote on Reddit, he did nothing as bad as Trump has ever done - like, say, rape. Then the roof caved in. 

A former girlfriend of Platner accused him of raping her, and despite his denials of all allegations of rape and abuse against him, the accusations form his former girlfriend were so credible that Platner lost key endorsements from state and national Democrats and eventually had to withdraw as a candidate.

Platner's rise and fall is eerily reminiscent of Gary Hart's meteoric ascent as a presidential candidate in 1988 after this first run for the office in 1984, which of course descended just as meteorically.  Although Hart had never been accused of anything even remotely close to what Platner has allegedly done, Platner has followed the same playbook as Hart - present yourself as a new generation of leadership, propose new ideas and policies that aren't so new but are actually common sense, and create a compelling personal narrative that glosses over all of the nasty stuff.  Except that Platner didn't gloss over anything or exaggerate - he lied.  He and his handlers talked about how his Marine Corps service in Iraq broke him but he was able to redeem himself by making a steady living as an oyster farmer, finding the love of a good woman, and becoming a man of the people.  In fact, he had previously been a security contractor in Afghanistan, he's found the love of women not his wife, and this "man of the people" is a prep-school expellee who came from an affluent family whose paternal grandfather was an architect and and an interior designer who designed the restaurant at the top of 1 World Trade Center.  Like his grandfather, Platner has seen his signature achievement collapse into dust because no one took advance warning signs seriously.

Not just the Reddit comments or the Nazi tattoo - also the money problem.  Platner spent so much money in his successful Senate primary campaign against Maine Governor Janet Mills that he had no money left to campaign against Senator Collins.  He was flat broke.  Despite his relatively good standing in the polls, he was in no position to take on Collins without anything resembling a campaign war chest.

Planter is the latest in a series of progressives endorsed by leading figures of Democratic Socialists of America - that includes New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani - who wow primary voters and silence detractors who ask critical questions of their political prowess, only to vindicate their detractors when they turn out not to be who their supporters think they are. These candidates are edgy, they're combative, they're different, they're telling and giving the people what they want - and they're just as amoral and politically vacuous as Donald Trump.  Democrats hungry for change should stop falling in love at first sight with such candidates and give them a closer look before they support him.  

When Platner dropped out of the Maine U.S. Senate campaign on July 10, many people thought he wouldn't come up ever again.  They were wrong, but only because I'm talking about him on a blog nine days later.  And now that I've said my peace, I figure that Platner's name will come up among people looking back at the 2020s the way people continued to bring up Richard Jewell's name over the Atlanta Olympics bombing that happened thirty years ago this month.

Except that Jewell was innocent.  Platner is guilty as charged for his accused crimes. 

The Maine Democratic Party should find a new Senate nominee to go after Susan Collins shortly.  Platner is hardly indispensable; there are plenty of other Maine Democrats who can go after Collins.  All we know for certain at the moment is that the new nominee will not be Janet Mills.  And Platner?  Let him go back to oyster farming.  It's not only all he does best.  It's all he does.

Senator Platner?  Yeah, right, he doesn't even look like a senator, with that piece of brown moss that purports to be a beard.

There's something very symbolic about this picture of Platner standing in front of a doorway with a "NOT AN EXIT" sign over it, given that he's exited all right, but I'm not sure what the symbolism is.