Tag: Graham Platner

Fetterman tells those who backed Platner to “sit it out” on a possible replacement

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Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania said members of the party who helped prop up Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner amid a string of scandals should not play a role in selecting his potential replacement if he drops out of the race.  “Many of these people that put someone like Platner in this seat right now, sit it out,” Fetterman said in an interview with “The Takeout with Major Garrett” on Tuesday.  Fetterman condemned his colleagues in Congress and others who continued backing Platner after problematic internet comments he made years ago came to light, his admission that he once had a tattoo widely associated with a Nazi emblem, and allegations of sexually explicit texts and concerning behavior toward women. 

A Maine woman he previously dated, Jenny Racicot, told Politico and CNN that Platner sexually assaulted her in 2021 — which Platner denied — leading the candidate to lose the support of top Democrats. Among those who called for Platner to drop out was Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, who said in a statement Tuesday that he spoke with Platner “about the best path forward for Maine” and “recommended that he step aside.”  “How have we arrived here?” Fetterman said. “That I think is an important thing to explore and the people that really made that possible … hold them accountable too.”  Fetterman specifically called out Sanders, saying he put Platner on the map “more than anyone.”  In an interview with Fox News on Monday, Fetterman called on Sanders “to apologize to the victims.” 

Source: Fetterman tells those who backed Platner to “sit it out” on a possible replacement – CBS News

And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7

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Platner leaves Democrats with egg on their faces

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Democrats have a number of Graham Platner-related problems even after his exit from the Maine Senate race amid a rape allegation he denies. But high on that list is the sheer amount of egg some of them now have on their faces. Amid his drip, drip, drip of controversies, Platner repeatedly put the party in the position of deciding whether to vouch for a guy who was the odds-on favorite to win its nomination — but who also seemed to have stocked his closet with a remarkable number of skeletons. And some Democrats regularly obliged, despite the revelations. They did so after the tattoo with Nazi imagery, after the ugly Reddit posts, after the sexually explicit texts to women who weren’t his wife, and even in some cases after a New York Times report last month about allegations of unsettling behavior toward women. (The national party, which had initially recruited Gov. Janet Mills, got behind him after she dropped out and he became the presumptive nominee.)

Each time, these Democrats seemed to convince themselves they could stand by him one more time, ignoring that it was very unlikely to be just one more time. The result is that the party sunk plenty of credibility into a guy who did not reward it. And all of it appears to be a sunk cost now — in what’s likely a must-win state for Democrats if they’re to flip the Senate in November. (Platner announced Wednesday evening he’s suspending his campaign, clearing the way for a replacement on the ballot.) At the top of the list of defenses of Platner that have aged poorly is one from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse last month. The Rhode Island Democrat told NOTUS that he was “not impressed” by the detailed Times account of Platner’s allegedly unsettling behavior toward women. (The report didn’t include allegations of sexual abuse but did include allegations of physical intimidation and other toxic behavior toward the women.)

The senator also echoed some on the left in pointing to how the most serious allegations came from a former Platner girlfriend who has worked in conservative politics. “Seems like a lot of nothing,” Whitehouse said. “I mean, the only one who had anything to say that seemed unsettling was a woman who works for right-wing political operations.” It turns out that kind of suggestion spurred another former Platner girlfriend, Jenny Racicot, to come forward with her rape allegation. Racicot, who said she largely shared Platner’s politics, told Politico she did so in part because of the political attacks on the woman who spoke to the Times, Lyndsey Fifield. Others at the time echoed the argument that the allegations in the early June Times story were politically motivated. The head of the Maine AFL-CIO said they were “not surprised that attacks are coming from various corners.” And Maine state Rep. Valli Geiger said the report “makes me support him more because it just feels like dirty politics to me.” (Geiger starred in an ad with Platner in which she praised his support for, of all things, rape kit legislation.)

Other Democrats didn’t go so far in dismissing the Times report or the other controversies swirling around Platner but did suggest they shouldn’t define him. “I see this as: He has taken responsibility. He has described where he was, where he is now,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts told WCVB-TV late last month. In a social media post shortly after the Times story, independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont didn’t directly address the report but called Platner the “one candidate” who could address what he said were the key issues in the race. California Rep. Ro Khanna called the behavior described in the Times report “wrong and toxic” but said Platner had “sought redemption.” And he pressed forward with a rally with Platner shortly afterward. Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii was set to keep a fundraiser for him even after the Times report. Nearly all of those mentioned above have urged Platner to drop out this week after the rape allegation.

But their decision to vouch for him, or at least to downplay the significance of the Times’ June reporting, came even as other Democrats adopted a much more cautious posture. On the night Platner won his primary last month, for example, some top Democratic organizations responded by conspicuously saying little or nothing about him and instead emphasized the importance of defeating GOP Sen. Susan Collins. And some left-wing pundits this week expressed regret for their roles in vouching for Platner. New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg, for example, said she regretted that Platner’s “charisma” led her to write that he was “nothing like the edgelord caricature I encountered online.” And author Naomi Klein said she “should have been more cautious” in conducting due diligence. But others seemed to have more foresight. After the Times story broke last month, Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan told MS NOW that she was “sick of” spending her time “answering every single week a question about bad behavior by another dude.”

And Rep. Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts appeared on CNN in late May, shortly before the Times story broke, and said even just Platner’s tattoo was bad enough for him. “I find that tattoo and his commentary about it to be personally disqualifying,” Auchincloss said. “I hope Maine voters agree with me.” A lot of Democrats will be wishing they had taken a similar tack.

Source: Analysis: Platner leaves Democrats with egg on their faces | CNN Politics

A fool’s lips enter into contention, And his mouth calls for blows.
Proverbs 18:6

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Why Graham Platner Had to Return to Maine Quickly Last Night

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Graham Platner looked as if he was about to walk into a scene from Intervention, as new scandals emerge about the Maine Democrat who is trying to unseat Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). Instead, we heard the tired ‘we’re going to win Maine’ pep rally lines from Senate Democrats in Washington after they met with Platner. He did not take questions.  Advertisement Platner, an oyster farmer who mostly earns his income from disability benefits and sports SS tattoos, was supposed to stay in the capital a bit longer and had scheduled events in New York. Instead, he absconded back to Maine after it was reported that his family was being questioned by the media. 

Source: Why Graham Platner Had to Return to Maine Quickly Last Night

That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.
Philippians 3:10

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Trump tells ‘Pod Force One’ Graham Platner is a ‘major sleaze bag,’ but James Talarico is worse

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President Trump blasted the Democrats’ scandal-plagued Senate candidate Graham Platner as a “major sleaze bag” in an interview with The Post’s “Pod Force One,” but said Texas Senate candidate James Talarico is worse.  The president gave a blunt assessment of the Democrats’ top Senate contenders in an interview with The Post’s Miranda Devine in the latest episode, which is out Wednesday.

“They don’t appeal to anybody,” he said of Democratic candidates, calling them by his new nickname: “The Dumocrats.”  He expressed astonishment that Platner is beating Republican Sen. Susan Collins in the polls in their Maine Senate matchup. The embattled Democrat holds a 7.8% edge over Collins, according to the latest RealClearPolitics polling average.

“He’s a major sleaze bag. I mean, you look at him, you can’t imagine that, but yet he’s up in the polls against Susan Collins,” Trump said. Still, he expressed optimism about Collins, whom he’s clashed with in the past. “But she’s always down in the polls, and she survives.”

Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, are standing by Platner even after a deluge of recent reports on the candidate’s racy text messages with other women while he was married.

Platner met with party officials behind closed doors in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, slipping in and out of a back entrance to avoid questions from the media.

Meanwhile, Trump has even harsher words for Talarico, who is running against state Attorney General Ken Paxton for John Cornyn’s Texas Senate seat. Paxton beat Cornyn for the GOP nomination after receiving Trump’s endorsement.

Source: Exclusive | Trump tells ‘Pod Force One’ Graham Platner is a ‘major sleaze bag,’ but James Talarico is worse

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

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