The Democrats Sell Their Soul (If They Ever Had One)

The Democrats Sell Their Soul (If They Ever Had One)

What does it mean to be “hoisted on one’s own petard”? The Democrats are so desperate to reclaim power that they will embrace some truly strange, bizarre and odious candidates for public office. The poster child is Maine’s Graham Platner, but he is hardly alone — there is also Texas’ Talarico, Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed, and New York City’s Darializa Avila Chevalier, who has the backing of Zohran Mamdani as she seeks to oust Adriano Espaillat, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus representing New York’s 13th Congressional District. Never mind that Chevalier has called Joe Biden a “rapist” and a “war criminal,” declared the U.S. a “f—ing disgrace” on social media, posted “f— Kamala Harris,” and attacked even leftists like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She wants to close all prisons, legalize all drugs, end U.S. military support for Israel, and — like a committed communist — seize the means of production. Mamdani likes her, apparently eager to attack the democrat establishment just as much as the country’s foundations. We shall see whether voters in New York continue to reward that kind of thinking.

Platner, who I find genuinely repellent, has been embraced by Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren (“he’s my man”), and the progressive wing of the party. Beyond his public trashing of a war hero, Platner has a well-documented appetite for crude content that makes light of sexual assault and other sensitive topics, and he has struggled to explain away a Nazi-themed tattoo on his chest. Most recently, it came to light that his own wife alerted his campaign early on about sexually explicit texts he had sent to six women — messages she discovered on his phone. He also maintains an account on a private messaging app called Kik, which has a reputation for facilitating sexual hook-ups for pedophiles. None of this has moved Sanders and the left who continue to support him on the grounds that Trump’s economy is the bigger issue. It is a remarkable position to take.

You would think a Nazi concentration camp tattoo would be disqualifying. And it would be, if Platner were a republican. Yet some polls show him running nine points ahead of Susan Collins — one of the Senate’s most respected members, who has never missed a roll call vote during her entire tenure. Platner recently tweeted that “Senator Collins is bought and paid for by Benjamin Netanyahu and votes accordingly,” a statement that sits rather uncomfortably alongside that tattoo. It also ignores the fact that Collins voted for the War Powers resolution to stop Trump’s Iran war. If Maine somehow elects this nutcase Platner then they truly deserve to be called “Mainiacs.” Also the tattoo is fitting since the Nazis were socialists too. 

Planter went to Washington to meet with democrat senators and emerged with their endorsement. Brushing off criticisms of his conduct New York’s Kirsten Gillibrand said “I am very confident we will win Maine.” Sanders said “He is going to stand up to the oligarchies.” I bet Sanders doesn’t mean George Soros, Tom Steyer and Michael Bloomberg. Sanders continues to beclown himself. I am tempted to call him a fool. I should also call Warren a fool as well for criticizing Pete Hegseth (maybe my least favorite cabinet member) for his Christian tattoos while giving Platner a pass on his Nazi tattoo. 

Perhaps that towering intellect – someone name Sonny Hostin on something called the View – said it best about Platner: “So he’s a liar, a racist, an antisemite. He’s a homophobe. So he has all the things and character does matter. But we have someone that has almost unbridled power in the White House at this point. There are no checks and balances and the only way that we can maybe bring a bit of our democracy back is by having a Congress that functions and that has these checks and balances. And I do think one of the only ways is to win that seat in Maine.” I guess she hasn’t seen Collins’ voting record. What an idiot.

Recall also the vocal antisemite who ran for a congressional seat in Texas and advocated putting all American Zionists in jail. Jewish democrat representatives in Congress said they would petition to block her from being seated if she won. Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada, along with Representatives Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey and Jared Moskowitz of Florida, forcefully condemned her rhetoric, with Gottheimer and Moskowitz vowing to force expulsion votes “every single day” if she were elected. So why haven’t Rosen, Chuck Schumer, and their colleagues in the Senate taken the same stand against Platner? The silence is telling.

This strikes me as a genuine opportunity for Republicans to make inroads with Jewish voters. Senate Majority Leader John Thune should put out a statement from his caucus committing to challenge Platner’s seating should he somehow win. I have several Jewish friends who are moving away from the democrats driven in no small part by the antisemitism they see flourishing in democrat ranks. One told me recently that he feels uncomfortable wearing his Star of David here in Knoxville — genuinely worried that someone might follow him from synagogue and vandalize his car or worse. I told him that this feeling echoed what black southerners lived through in the 1950s and ’60s. When I was admitted to the University of Georgia, an administrator warned me not to walk the campus perimeter with my books for fear of being shot. I took that advice. And yet, even then, certain fraternities openly threatened students like me just for walking on campus.

I am glad those days are behind us. When my youngest granddaughter attended Georgia — graduating in 2023 — she said she never experienced a single instance of racism in her four years in Athens. Hopefully, before long, we will be able to say the same for Jewish Americans as well.