I’ve been following the Maine Senate race between Graham Platner (D) and Susan Collins (R). I’ve identified as a Democrat all my life (while keeping my political views out of the mix while serving as a Justice on Montana’s non-partisan Supreme Court). But I have to say character matters—especially his.
Graham Platner is exactly the type of candidate our Congress has too many of already—on both sides of the aisle: people with little moral character; extreme views; homophobic; racist; and who cannot tell the truth with a straight face.
The New York Times has reported accounts from several of Platner’s ex-girlfriends describing physical abuse. One woman, for example, described Platner grabbing her in ways that left marks, and on one occasion, locking her in a room. It was also reported that he juggled sexting relationships with six different women while he was married.
Then there’s the matter of a tattoo on his chest resembling a Nazi death’s head symbol–something he denies as being fascist, and just something he got 20 years ago on shore leave as a drunk Marine.
Platner has posted that rural Americans are “racist and stupid” and that “all cops are bastards.”
Referring to his previously unearthed offensive posts, Platner stated: “But I think what’s really important to note here is that these are things that I talk about in my past — things that I am not proud of — but it is a past that I had to go through to get where I am today.”
Really!? One has to physically abuse women, engage in sexually perverted conduct and sport a racist, fascist tattoo to win a U.S. Senate race? This should be a disqualifying past life not a qualifying one.
But the fact is, after Trump, apparently, nothing is disqualifying. Trump got elected notwithstanding fomenting and being charged with crimes related to insurrection; after being convicted of 34 felonies related to falsifying business records; being liable for sexual abuse of a woman; mishandling classified documents; and being accused by 28 women of sexual misconduct. And, Texans just nominated former Attorney General Ken Paxton for the U.S. Senate despite his fraud and infidelity scandals.
Here’s the point:
Without name-dropping the usual suspects—starting at the top with the Jeffrey Epstein pedophiles—we already have too many Graham Platners in the executive and legislative branches of national politics. And that is not to mention the incompetent and crooked members of the federal judiciary—many appointed by our current President.
Lamentably, that the parties promote and support these sorts of perverse candidates is grounded in the current partisan philosophy of “win at any cost.” Or, as Jersualem Demsas stated in The Argument: “. . . Democratic control of the Senate “is the best path forward for shoring up our democracy.” “Platner is a scumbag but he’s “a scumbag who Mainers should vote for.”
Yet, according to various polls, between 89% and 95% of voters say that a candidate’s moral character influences their vote in their evaluation of a candidate. 56% of Americans rate moral values in the U.S. as poor, up 12 points since last year, and 80% say moral values are getting worse.
Ironically, if those polls are valid, voter’s must be living in one of their own fever dreams, because Maine Democrats overwhelmingly advanced Platner through the Party’s primary and into the general election against Republican Susan Collins. Platner’s past is ignored; he is looked upon a regular guy—flawed–but one you’d meet with in a bar for a beer. Basically, one of the good old boys.
While Collins has her partisan faults, those pale in comparison to Platner’s character flaws.
In my view, the Graham Platners of this world have no place in politics. Assuming that these sorts of morally decrepit individuals can support, protect and defend the Constitution, can govern by, of and for the people and can keep their hands off their female staffers, is like asking the leopard to change his spots and the skunk to change her smell.
Indeed, when voters put these people into a position of power, their real character bubbles to the surface on steroids–like the scum in boiled fat. Power corrupts, and enough of it corrupts absolutely.
Once elected, the Graham Platners are emboldened to act out in accordance with their true character: fight with the press, sexually harass whomever they can get their hands on, ignore the voters’ needs in favor of their own pockets and priorities, and above all, adhere to the Blessed Trinity of Politics: Raise money; get elected; get reelected. Their only offer across the aisle, is the universal, one finger salute to the members of the other party. And, has been now proven in spades time after time, if the elected person is a Republican, he or she will also genuflect at the altar of Donald Trump and march lockstep with the decrees, dictates and alternate reality of the Dear Leader.
Furthermore, the philosophy of “win at any cost” discourages decent people of character from entering politics and running for office. It works this way: If one doesn’t have a past that would make a hooker blush, then there’s no story of redemption; there’s no sordid past against which to promise a shining future, there’s no “I found Jesus and salvation.” In short, there’s no meat for the press, the public and the opposition to chew into. A candidate with good character, no tattoos and no exes peddling relationship horror stories is just boring, beige, plain vanilla. As the old press saying goes, “if it bleeds, it leads;” and of course the corollary is also true: if it doesn’t, it won’t.
We Americans desperately need to salvage our democracy from the Graham Platners–and from the Trumpian cult of corrupt, perverted, incompetence. We must not elect these sorts of people in the first place, obviously! And, in acknowledging our mistake when we do, we must, “at any cost,” rid ourselves of those presently in office when we next vote. A candidate’s bad character cannot be ignored or forgiven just to advance a partisan platform. We are—and will be–what we’ve lived.
We the People deserve better. Character does matter!
The post Character Matters appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by James C. Nelson.