Embattled Maine Senate hopeful Graham Platner has an idea for campaign finance reform: jail the uber wealthy. The candidate used a campaign event Sunday evening to advocate for universal health care, a wealth tax, environmental initiatives similar to the Green New Deal, and sweeping changes to election financing suggesting that wealthy individuals should have virtually no influence over political campaigns.
“We need to get money out of politics. We need to get rid of Citizens United. And, if I had my way, elections would last two months, they will be publicly funded and if a billionaire looked at a TV ad the wrong way, we’d put ’em in jail,” Platner told a crowd of constituents Sunday night in Maine, earning applause.
The comments were all part of his plea to voters, along with calling President Donald Trump “dumb.”
“That’s one way to thank some of his own supporters for their generosity!” noted Republican strategist Colin Reed, who pointed to Platner’s prominent endorsers, like Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who have all received several contributions last month from billionaires like George Soros, Pat Stryker, Jon Stryker and Jennifer Pritzker, according to campaign finance watchdog OpenSecrets.
“Dude is big on locking people in rooms against their will, apparently,” joked CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings, an apparent reference to recent reporting on Platner’s past romantic relationships, including one ex-girlfriend’s allegation that he once twisted her arm behind her back, pushed her into a bedroom and held the door shut from the other side. Platner has denied the allegations.
Among Platner’s scandals is one that former partner, Lyndsey Fifield, told The New York Times that Platner had confined her to a room during an incident that occurred more than a decade ago.
Additional scrutiny followed reports that Platner exchanged sexually explicit messages with multiple women early in his marriage through the messaging platform Kik. Subsequent reporting indicated that Platner still maintained an active profile on the app, which has long drawn criticism from child-safety advocates and law enforcement agencies. The account reportedly featured a shirtless mirror selfie with a towel wrapped around his waist. Republican staffers later mocked the image by appearing outside Democratic campaign offices dressed in towels.
According to reports, Platner’s wife, Amy Gertner, informed campaign officials about the messages during an internal vetting process. But wait, there’s more. Before those controversies emerged, the candidate had already faced questions regarding a tattoo critics linked to a Nazi-associated symbol. Platner later covered the tattoo and said he did not know its meaning when he originally got it. Former staff member Genevieve McDonald disputed that explanation, alleging Platner had understood the symbol’s significance for some time.
Still, there’s more. Old Reddit posts resurfaced showing inflammatory remarks on topics including rape, race, political violence, law enforcement, rural Americans, and military veterans. Platner defended himself saying his views “evolved” over time and attributed some of the comments to a difficult period in his life following his military service.
