{"id":4289,"date":"2026-07-12T09:36:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T09:36:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4289"},"modified":"2026-07-12T09:36:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T09:36:20","slug":"graham-platners-scandal-scarred-campaign-was-proof-dems-will-overlook-anything-in-search-for-their-everyman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4289","title":{"rendered":"Graham Platner’s scandal-scarred campaign was proof Dems will overlook anything in search for their ‘Everyman’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

With the Senate campaign of Maine\u2019s Graham Platner blowing up in their faces, Democrats everywhere are giving each other tearful gobs of solace and advice.<\/p>\n

Read more Conor McGregor speaks out after crushing UFC 329 injury in loss against Max Holloway: \u2018Destroyed\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Some are comparing Platner\u2019s scandal-driven collapse and last-minute withdrawal to the 2024 presidential campaign, when a befuddled Joe Biden withdrew in early July and his vice president, Kamala Harris, was handed the nomination.<\/p>\n

The comparison reflects deep pessimism among Dems about their chances now of winning the Maine seat held by GOP incumbent Susan Collins, which is crucial to their hopes of gaining a Senate majority.<\/p>\n

Part of that pessimism stems from the fact that Harris continues to claim her lopsided loss to Donald Trump was largely because she got the nomination only 107 days before Election Day.<\/p>\n

She wrote an entire book with that title, as if that alone explains her flameout. But she still refuses to accept the fact that she was a terrible candidate who refused to advance an agenda that was distinct from the failed and unpopular record she and Biden produced.<\/p>\n

Asked what she would do differently in a slobbering appearance on \u201cThe View,\u201d she hesitated before giving the vapid response, \u201cnot a thing comes to mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, then. Platner\u2019s replacement will have even less time than Harris did, with party honchos in Maine saying they will pick a new candidate at a convention late this month.<\/p>\n

Time is clearly important, but there\u2019s another similarity to the Harris campaign that is also highly relevant to events in Maine.<\/p>\n

Notably, Platner is in major ways a carbon copy of Harris\u2019 disastrous choice for a running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz.<\/p>\n

Tampon Tim\u2019s personality, appearance and background reflect some of the same features that led many Maine Dems to fall in love with Platner.<\/p>\n

Both men are beefy and gruff, military veterans and blue collar by nature, making them distinct from the angry soy boys and arch feminists who are the dominant faces of a party moving further and further left.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Walz and Platner managed to talk the talk of the progressive activists. They looked like the Dems\u2019 idea of a Republican, but bought into the mantra of virtually unlimited immigration, higher taxes, anti-police rhetoric and the cultish fever on transgender and racial issues.<\/p>\n

After Trump\u2019s 2024 victory, Walz, speaking on a podcast, conceded that he was selected by Harris simply to appeal to blue-collar, white male voters, who Democrats have been losing for decades.<\/p>\n

Read more The UFC legend of Conor McGregor is officially dead<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI was on the ticket, quite honestly, because I could code talk to white guys watching football, fixing their truck, doing that, then I could put them at ease,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Although his biography and boisterous manner convinced Dems he was the Everyman they needed, the targeted demographic weren\u2019t impressed. The ticket won just 43 percent of the male vote nationwide, while Trump and JD Vance pulled in 55 percent.<\/p>\n

In Platner\u2019s case, Maine Dems\u2019 hunger for a progressive \u201creal man\u201d was so overpowering that his backers were willing to overlook his huge Nazi tattoo, as if that\u2019s common among real men.<\/p>\n

GQ Magazine, in a glowing profile that aimed to explain the appeal of his campaign, declared him \u201cthe virile, earthy working man many male politicians wish they were.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sufficient Maine voters bought into the hype by looking past Platner\u2019s vile social media posts and the complaints of his excessive drinking and sexual misconduct, some of which he conceded.<\/p>\n

Neither did it matter to Sen. Bernie Sanders, who endorsed him. Or to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who called him \u201cmy kinda man\u201d despite his reportedly saying that victims of rape should \u201ctake some responsibility for themselves and not get so f\u2013ked up they wind up having sex with someone they don\u2019t mean to?\u201d<\/p>\n

Victim complex<\/h2>\n

Nor was it a problem for his supporters when he reportedly wrote \u201cI dig it\u201d next to an online video showing Hamas terrorists murdering Israeli soldiers.<\/p>\n

None of that was enough to stop or even slow down a train that was bound for glory. Only when Politico reported credible allegations last week that he had committed sexual assault with a former girlfriend, who went public, did the dam break, with Sanders and Warren abandoning ship.<\/p>\n

Two days later, Platner faced the music and quit the race.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Even then, he hesitated and threatened to stay on the ballot and fight it out with the party before withdrawing as the deadline approached.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went toe-to-toe with one of the most entrenched political systems in the history of the world, and we won,\u201d Platner said in announcing his withdrawal in a social media video. \u201cAnd now they are not going to let us have it, not if it\u2019s me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Contrition was not on his mind, as he defiantly insisted that \u201cWe\u2019re not doing it because of the allegations; we\u2019re doing it because of the structures that are being taken away from us by those in power.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Trump praises \u2018American Patriot\u2019 Sen. Lindsey Graham after longtime politician dies at 71<\/a><\/p>\n

See, he\u2019s a victim. Maybe that\u2019s why so many Dems liked him.<\/p>\n

In the Trump era, victimhood is the engine of the Socialist-driven left.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the Senate campaign of Maine\u2019s Graham Platner blowing up in their faces, Democrats everywhere are giving each other tearful gobs of solace and advice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4288,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-michael-goodwin","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\nGraham Platner's scandal-scarred campaign was proof Dems will overlook anything in search for their 'Everyman' - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4289\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Graham Platner's scandal-scarred campaign was proof Dems will overlook anything in search for their 'Everyman' - 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