Two ways I hope I'm wrong about Graham Platner

The most important thing I know about Graham Platner is this: It would be better for the United States and the world if Maine voters elect him, and not Susan Collins, to the U.S. Senate in November. The related second-most important thing I know about him is that it is up to Maine voters, and I am not a Maine voter.

But there are some ways I hope I'm wrong about him. And some ways I'm definitely right about the fervor for him in certain quarters of what passes for the Democratic coalition.

How I hope I'm wrong about Platner:

I harbor this suspicion that Susan Collins is sitting on a mountain of oppo that Platner's campaign isn't ready for, whether because they didn't uncover it or because they dismissed its relevance, and my fear is that she's going to bury him with it. Honestly I'm not even sure Collins would have to have much that isn't already public information, if her campaign was ready to use it in the most brutal ways. 

I hope I'm wrong about that.

Then there's this: How could I not worry that a guy with the parade of red flags we already know Platner has would be some version of a Fetterman? Why would I believe that a guy with his record of statements on sexual assault and a disturbingly long list of other subjects would be a champion for the issues I care about? Even if he didn't have a Nazi tattoo that he only got rid of once it became a campaign issue. 

I hope he's elected to the Senate and takes the opportunity to prove me wrong about that.

Those are the two big ways I hope I'm wrong about Platner.

But I know for damn sure I'm right that a lot of his support – particularly from prominent podcast bros and social media leftists (a category distinct from actual leftists, to be clear) – comes from a place of yearning for a white working-class-flavored daddy to make them feel like they're not part of the icky girly party. And it's disgusting to watch those people dismiss one unacceptable statement or tattoo or report of how Platner treats women after another not necessarily because they care so much about a single Senate seat (some of them do, some of them very clearly do not) but because as they keep showing us, they fall on a spectrum from thinking women are disposable to outright hating women.

I know I'm right that it's always a bad idea to fall in love with a politician. Every time. Whether it's Bernie or Barack, it's never the route to making your own politics better, let alone building a movement. 

So. Let's win the Senate – and winning the Senate runs through Maine, and it looks overwhelmingly likely that Maine Democrats are choosing Graham Platner as their nominee. And I really hope I'm wrong.