The Left Put Its Faith in Graham Platner. Will He Break Its Heart?

Graham Platner s majority of vocal supporters are doubling down There was a moment earlier this week after Maine Gov Janet Mills publicized her candidacy for Senate after a tranche of old Reddit posts triggered debate over Platner s views on everything from gun rights to racial stereotypes and largest part crucially after video emerged of him dancing in his underwear and showing off the solid dark Nazi Totenkopf tattoo on his chest when it looked like the populist oyster-shucking anti-genocide veteran s attempt to take down Republican Sen Susan Collins would be over before it had really even started Then new polling dropped and it wasn t Even after the blowup over his tattoo and history of Reddit posts Platner is leagues ahead of Mills who was already a member of the Maine House of Representatives when Platner drunk and on shore leave from the Marines stumbled into a tattoo shop in Croatia and got an inked symbol whose significance by his telling he didn t grasp for the next years Amid a torrent of news this week he got it covered up Evaluations of Platner s political viability have raised a bigger question for Democrats looking to capture the kind of ability he s drawn among voters in Maine If the matter is that Democrats are too polished too pro-corporate and too catered to the elite the explanation just might be the rugged outsider the edgy everyman perhaps even the provocateur And if the surge in endorsement Platner saw in the wake of the controversy suggests anything it s that voters are so sick of what the Democratic establishment has to offer they might look past a Nazi tattoo But for those on the left who find themselves desperate for a disruption of the party s uninspiring baseline it raises the question Is this the best they can do Platner isn t the first of this style of brash populist mixed-bag of a candidate to try to woo the left in modern years Sen John Fetterman several of whose ex-staffers have joined Platner s club was once heralded with similar optimism The bald gruff giant who wore shorts to the Capitol was at one point in time lauded as the model for the party s future In the current era he s one of the least popular Democrats in the Senate among both voters and staffers leaving his office at a high clip He s amassed Republican donors since leaning hard into his pro-Israel tack since October And he s repeatedly voted against the majority of his party to work hand in hand with President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress On chosen of the left s key strategy issues the two are almost diametrically opposed What Fetterman once lacked in substance Platner makes up for in having experience as a local activist and clear plan stances on issues from Medicare for All to the genocide in Gaza Fetterman who once skated by heavier scrutiny of his stance on Israel has since closely aligned himself with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the nation s leading pro-Israel lobby the American Israel Populace Affairs Committee Platner s history as a contractor for a company previously known as Blackwater is one detail several critics have pointed to as the place where the pro-populist base might have ordinarily drawn the line if it weren t for Platner s staunch anti-imperial and anti-genocide stance Take a look at our guidelines platform mentioned a spokesperson for the Platner campaign objecting to comparisons to Fetterman Watch Graham speak on the stump There s a lot of substance He takes questions across the state and listens to people s hopes fears dreams aspirations and questions and gives them answers that are stuck in real time not to mention an expansive initiative platform online While the similarities may reside in their aesthetics that becomes vital when Democrats use those aesthetics to imbue authority reported Amanda Litman co-founder and president of Run for Something which recruits and backs candidates to run for state and local office with the aim to build a bench for national races like the one in Maine Who gets permission to be seen as authentic And who gets permission to be a little unkempt That is something really engaging who is deemed authentic and who can credibly speak as a voice of the people This particular type of brawly white dude with tattoos who can speak the visual language of what we associate with the working class Litman noted This is really a moment for us to collectively gut check who gets permission to be seen as authentic And who gets permission to be a little unkempt That s no reason to tear Platner down Litman added Here is a candidate who has very clearly excited part of the electorate that we want to reach Litman announced To take glee in tearing him down as opposed to curiosity about what we can learn from that and bring to our candidate of choice is why we lose Though they wield it to divergent ends Platner and Fetterman have both embraced a strategy of leaning into the criticism online In Fetterman s development that has meant sharing increasingly bloodthirsty posts supporting Israel throughout its genocide on Gaza while staff and constituents defect and implore him to stop Platner who has apologized for both the tattoo and the posts has shared other old posts from the Reddit files as Platner has described them and reshared them as evidence of his conviction on other issues from misogyny and homophobia in the Marines to veterans mental strength Something I m proud of from my internet history I spent a lot of time online encouraging other veterans to also get help through the VA Platner s campaign posted to his Facebook page on Sunday Because I knew even then that it was literally saving my life Being honest and vulnerable helps others start down the same path Though Platner is feeling the love now there are months to go before Maine s ranked-choice Democratic primary in June and over a year until the party s nominee would face off against Susan Collins The field is crowded with other candidates but the race is still largely seen as a contest between Platner and Mills over the path voters will choose for the future of the Democratic Party and whether that choice will be enough to upset Collins a three-decade incumbent I m convinced because the people in Maine are convinced After all this went down we had people at a threshold town hall We had people outside waiting to hear him speak mentioned the Platner campaign spokesperson I m convinced because we continue to hold town halls across the state that are at limit in rural areas in bigger cities in smaller towns Related The Struggle for the Future of the New York Democratic Party Much of the coverage of the race has framed it as one of the numerous upcoming litmus tests on how Democrats handle a base that is largely rejecting its pro-Israel stance While Platner has staked out the position as the candidate most of critical of that status quo Mills a -year-old veteran of the Democratic establishment has made pro-Israel statements but has not yet discussed how her campaign would approach the issue Last year Mills s campaign manager Chelsea Brossard took a trip to Israel funded by AIPAC s educational wing Brossard previously managed the failed gubernatorial campaign of AIPAC ally Rep Josh Gottheimer in New Jersey and also worked as his chief of staff The Mills campaign did not respond to The Intercept s requests for comment Platner s supporters are betting that voters growing frustration with Democrats over both the party s historic unconditional patronage for Israel amid the genocide in Gaza and its deference to establishment picks over outsiders who have nonetheless energized the base will outweigh any concerns about his newest campaign revelations Platner has raised million so far spoken to crowds of thousands of people at rallies around Maine and earned the endorsement of Sen Bernie Sanders I-Vt whose promotion didn t appear to waver after the tattoo outrage either The spokesperson mentioned Platner s image isn t necessarily the model Democrats should seek in every race The Democratic Party should be running candidates to appeal to a broad broad swath of the electorate in their home state or in their district or whatever they may look like they revealed There s not a one-size-fits-all rule book The post The Left Put Its Faith in Graham Platner Will He Break Its Heart appeared first on The Intercept