Progressives Are Mad at the Wrong People
The last Graham Platner piece we’ll ever have to muddle through together.
1. Platner Discourse
A certain type of progressive is very upset about the Graham Platner implosion.
Who are they upset at?
The Democratic party. Or Israel. Or oligarchs. Whatever. Some examples:
Here’s more from Matt Stoller:
Let's be clear, the goal of pushing Platner aside is to destroy the agenda on which he was elected, which is about taming oligarchy and reorienting us from endless war. That is why the Maine Democrats aren't saying 'let's respect Platner voters and transition to someone else,' they are taking a sanctimonious 'he gets NO say in ANYTHING.' Those are not the actions of people who want to win a Senate seat, those are the actions of nasty insiders claiming factional power for themselves.
Here’s David Sirota:
The bad guys in the Graham Platner saga are: corporate Democrats, oligarchs, Neera Tanden, AIPAC, Israel, the media, the elites, and the establishment.
I have a question: Why aren’t these people angry at Graham Platner?
There is one person and one person only to blame for the disaster unfolding in Maine: Graham Cunningham Platner.
This asshole knew who he was and what he’d done. He put himself forward anyway. He lied—over and over—to the public, to his supporters, to the media. He asked people to prostitute themselves for him and cover for him. He encouraged the Bernie Bro cult that coalesced around him.
Now everyone who went out on a limb for the guy is cut off. The Maine Democratic Party is in an impossible situation. And Susan Collins is seventeen weeks from her election and she doesn’t even have an opponent.
Think about that for a minute: In the single best chance to flip a Republican Senate seat, Democrats don’t even have a candidate.
This wasn’t a Neera Tanden–engineered coup. Graham Platner did it.
Whatever you want to call that wing of the progressive caucus—tankies, the Revolutionary Workers League, you pick—they ought be angry at Platner. He’s the guy they put their trust in; he’s the guy who did this.
Or maybe not? Maybe there are some other people who are responsible for the debacle?