Graham Platner won Maine’s Democratic nomination for Senate on Tuesday, and the party’s elites are rallying ’round the man with the Nazi tattoo. It’s a notable look for a party that has spent a decade trying to disqualify Donald Trump from political office over his character transgressions.
Rep. Ro Khanna campaigned with Mr. Platner on the weekend, following news that the Mainer was physically rough with a former girlfriend and texted sexual messages to many women who weren’t his wife. The Silicon Valley progressive who has designs on the White House called Mr. Platner’s actions “misogynistic” and “shameful,” but, well, he’s their misogynist.
“Here you have a case of someone who had a dark chapter in his life, who was in toxic relationships, who’s ashamed about it, who served this country, and the Maine voters are saying, ‘Look, let’s give him some grace,’” Mr. Khanna said. OK. We’ll look for signs of Democratic grace the next time a Supreme Court nominee is accused without evidence of sexual harassment.
Sen. Bernie Sanders also offered an apologia for Mr. Platner, who reportedly had an account on Kik, a largely anonymous private messaging app known for its sexual content. The Journal reports that Mr. Platner’s account featured a mirror selfie of him shirtless with only a towel around his waist.
“We cannot continue to allow the Republican Party to control the Senate and push forward Trump’s oligarchic and authoritarian agenda,” wrote Mr. Sanders on social media. “And there is only one candidate who will do something about it.”
Credit Mr. Sanders for candor. His support for Mr. Platner is solely about electing a Democratic Senate. Nothing else matters. Never mind that Maine’s incumbent, Sen. Susan Collins, is Mr. Trump’s most forthright GOP critic in Congress and has a long, scandal-free record.
Democrats say, with cause, that Republicans do the same when they nominate the likes of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who was indicted, paid restitution in a pretrial diversion deal, and was impeached for corruption. He’s now the GOP candidate for Senate after President Trump endorsed him over the scandal-free Sen. John Cornyn. And everyone knows Mr. Trump’s florid history.
But Democrats have spent a decade deploring Mr. Trump as unfit for office. In nominating Mr. Platner, they’ve tossed aside that standard, in favor of one that says any candidate is acceptable who can win for their side, no matter the record or behavior.
As Barton Swaim writes nearby, primary voters now prize someone who “fights” over someone honest and admirable. Don’t be surprised when you get the government you voted for.
