The case for Graham Platner
"Most likely to start a revolution."
If you pay attention to politics, you’ve probably heard of Graham Platner.
He is the democratic Senate candidate for Maine, and he arrived kinda out of nowhere. Watch his interview with Jon Stewart to learn more about how he came to enter this race. It’s a long interview (well worth watching), the link takes you to the section where he talks about how it all started.
I have no connection to Maine, but like James Talarico in Texas, Platner has caught my attention. I first became aware of him last fall and remember being impressed by this rising democrat who was perhaps a little rough around the edges, but smart and articulate. He had none of the evasiveness that’s popular among so many politicans, and replied to direct questions with direct answers. It’s a similar approach to what helped Trump succeed with the working class, despite being a silver-spooned billionaire who had never seen the inside of a grocery store or gas station. In the very least, I found Platner refreshing and worth watching. However, then the bad press started over his Reddit posts and skull tattoo, which resulted in his campaign manager quitting. Too bad, I thought, another promising yet scandal-ridden candidate.
Well, he is still here and has become the official nominee. I watched more of his interviews and speeches, including his apology for the Reddit posts. I will not make excuses for him, what he had said was pretty bad. However, I believe that his explanations and apologies are sincere. Especially compared to Trump, whose 2016 Access Hollywood scandal was not the result of PTSD-driven anger and disillusionment from having fought in two wars, but rather a consequence of his social environment (Epstein et al) and narcissistic character. Trump used his apology to launch into his signature strategy: deflect and attack other people, especially past presidents. Ironically, he accused Clinton of abusing women, yet Trump is the one who later was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation. And unlike Platner, who got his life back on track when he returned to his hometown, got married, and built a business, Trump went on to live the biggest life of grift, greed, and corruption this world has ever seen.
Nonetheless, Platner comes with bagagge, including the fact that he plugs deeply into the populist blue-collar rethoric while he himself comes from an upper middle class family, went to an expensive private school, and has a father who loaned him the money to buy his house.
Given all of this, and the fact that I am not from Maine and have never lived there, why do I even care? Why am I making a case for Platner?
I think his heart is in the right place, and I like that he starts building bridges through empathy and compassion. If you watch his interviews with Republicans, you see that he is a good listener. I think Platner’s redemption arc and growth trajectory are real. I appreciate his candor regarding his own struggles, and his willingness and even eagerness to turn them into a vision for change. I remember my own money struggles that led to bankruptcy in my 40s. That changed me, too, and I will always be grateful for the chance of a fresh start.
I like Platner’s big-picture thinking. He wants to…
Break up for-profit healthcare monopolies, and make affordable healthcare accessible to all. Which is not an unrealistic pipedream, we already have a comprehensive system, Medicare, that we could expand and fund by taxing the wealthy more fairly, see next point.
Close tax loopholes for the rich and stop the concentration of wealth at the very top. The decade-long experiment of the “trickle-down economy” has not delivered on its promises of more prosperity for everyone. Instead, it has resulted in asset hoarding at the top, while wages have stagnated for the lower and middle class. I grew up in a system that taxed the wealthy to help provide a social safety net, and even though the rich did not like it, they were still rich and able to lead their desired lifestyle, while everyone else also a decent chance at a good life. This is what Platner is talking about, alongside Sanders, AOC, and fellow Senate candidate Talarico.
Radically reform government. Elimitate the fillibuster, introduce term limits, stop insider trading, establish publically funded elections with limits on campaign contributions.
Completely overhaul immigration. Years of right-wing propaganda have turned immigrants into the equivalent of Nazi Germany’s Jews. That’s not immigration reform. The American immigration system has been broken for a long time and is used as a political pawn, rather than seen as the human crisis it has become. Platner supports comprehensive reform through investing in an effective administrative system that provides a clear pathway to a legal worker status, including citizenship, allowing non-criminal immigrants to participate fully in the economy, pay taxes and contribute to social safety nets.
Make living more affordable again. Ban investors from purchasing single family homes, raise the minimum wage, lower living costs, strengthen unions and the voice of the people. Personally, I would also love to see an initiative that stops landlord greed and creates a federal rent control program, but so far I haven’t seen anyone talk about that.
End pointless foreign wars. For many years we were told that America is the world’s policeman and by taking out the bad guys it has kept the world a safer place. I never aligned with that theory, I rather think that wars these days are just big money grifts that makes the weapons industry and its allies richer, while killing soldiers and civilians. Platner wants to end these wars and redirect substantial parts of the massive Pentagon budget towards social and environmental programs. I am all for that.
One thing I don’t agree with is Platner’s position on guns, he opposes a ban on assault rifles although he supports universal background checks and red flag laws. As a European, I find the American obsession with lethal weapons for personal use disturbing and unhealthy. But as strongly as I feel about this, the bigger goals of Platner’s platform are more important at this point in time.
Looking at the list above, I can see how most millionaires and billionaires have no interest in these reforms. And how people whose lives are never really affected by which party is in power, can put their ideologies above all else. They feel strongly about things like abortion and “men in women’s bathrooms,” even though in most cases they are not personally affected by them, and they have always had the freedom to live their own lives by these principles.
But if you are a regular American, living from paycheck to paycheck, praying that there won’t be an illness that bankrupts you, and constantly worried about the boogeyman finally catching up with you – why would you not want these things? And if you are a Republican, is demonizing immigrants and persecuting the 1% of the population that is transgender worth forgoing deeper reforms that would give you more of a safety net, with access to affordable healthcare, stable housing, and overall lower living costs?
Graham Platner’s high school yearbook said this about him:
Most Likely to Start a Revolution.
I believe it. I think he has the kind of energy, smarts, and political will we need to reform the Democratic Party and the government. Now, he has made it very clear that one senate seat alone cannot achieve this. And I want to conclude my article with what he says about the Democrats and power:
“First and foremost, the Democratic Party needs to form a theory of power. I don’t think it had one for a long time. It’s had a theory of management. The Republican Party has, which is one of the reasons why we find ourselves in these straits. With a theory of power you have to define the end state.* What is the goal? What do you want to use your power in the service of? And then, how are you going to craft the policies to get there and, more importantly, to create the political will and political power to make those policies a reality? The purpose of power isn’t just to have it, it is to use it.”
(*For Republicans, it’s been the decades-in-the-making Project 2025.)
As I keep mentioning, I grew up in a low-income family in a country with a solid social safety. My heart will always be with the working class, which is the backbone of our society and economy. We saw it during the pandemic when the truck drivers, farm workers, caregivers, tradespeople, and service providers kept us - under difficult circumstances - fed, supplied, and looked after.
I am all for using our collective power for the good of the working class, the regular people, and those that just want a chance at a dignified, good life.
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Talking about politics is always contentious. I don’t expect everyone to agree with me and kindly ask you to stay respectful and kind if you choose to comment.