1 00:00:01,720 --> 00:00:06,240 Speaker 1: Al Zone Media. 2 00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:09,600 Speaker 2: Welcome to it could happen here. I show about things 3 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:13,960 Speaker 2: falling apart and putting them back together. I'm Garrison Davis. 4 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:17,880 Speaker 2: This episode is on probably the most controversial mid term 5 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:22,560 Speaker 2: election happening this year, the US Senate race in Maine, 6 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:26,360 Speaker 2: where the new Democratic nominee, Graham Platner is running to 7 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:30,920 Speaker 2: end the thirty year reign of Republican Senator Susan Collins, 8 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:36,000 Speaker 2: who brands herself as a moderate independent leaning Republican but 9 00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:40,319 Speaker 2: is consistently backed Trump's on popular policies while holding on 10 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 2: to power. Beating Susan Collins would be a key part 11 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:47,760 Speaker 2: of taking the Senate away from the Republicans. Much of 12 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:51,639 Speaker 2: the media coverage and discussion of this election has focused 13 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:55,800 Speaker 2: on the scandals relating to Graham Plattner's personal life, with 14 00:00:56,160 --> 00:01:00,200 Speaker 2: very little on the real relations of his campaign, the 15 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:03,360 Speaker 2: political platform he's running on, the relations between him and 16 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:08,280 Speaker 2: organized labor unions and working class maners. Platter's campaign has 17 00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:13,640 Speaker 2: attracted overwhelming support from voters in Maine despite the series 18 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:17,760 Speaker 2: of well reported personal controversies, the Nazi links tattoo, he 19 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:22,160 Speaker 2: got his marine, old offensive reddit posts, marital issues, relationship issues, 20 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:24,960 Speaker 2: and an ext girlfriend who worked at the Heritage Foundation, 21 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:29,400 Speaker 2: accusing him of quote unquote disturbing behavior after he got 22 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:33,240 Speaker 2: out of the military. Mainstream outlets have covered those at length. 23 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:37,560 Speaker 2: This episode, I'm going to narrowly focus on the relations 24 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:41,240 Speaker 2: of Graham Platner's campaign. I'll start by going over his 25 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:45,840 Speaker 2: campaign platform, then his ties to labor unions and community organizing, 26 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:50,000 Speaker 2: and finally how those ties set up his campaign for 27 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:54,840 Speaker 2: massive success in the Democratic primary. Platner calls himself a 28 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 2: new Deal Democrat, and, like Bernie Sanders, believes we need 29 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:01,960 Speaker 2: a quote unquote political revolution in this country. He wants 30 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:04,800 Speaker 2: to shake up the Supreme Court, increase the federal minimum wage, 31 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:09,200 Speaker 2: and ban billionaires from buying elections. His platform is also 32 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:12,560 Speaker 2: designed to address the concerns of working class maners, like 33 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:18,360 Speaker 2: declining manufacturing, decaying infrastructure, closing hospitals, and spiking energy costs. 34 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:22,240 Speaker 2: Platiner supports universal health care and ultimately wants to pass 35 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:25,639 Speaker 2: a Medicare for all type system, while pointing to how 36 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:29,560 Speaker 2: the country could build on the VA model, saying, quote, 37 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:32,639 Speaker 2: the level of healthcare I've received with Maine's excellent VA 38 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:37,520 Speaker 2: system should be available to all unquote. We all know 39 00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:40,400 Speaker 2: that going up against for profit healthcare will be a 40 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:44,520 Speaker 2: hard battle to win. His platform contains a list of 41 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:48,280 Speaker 2: policies that will start to break up healthcare monopolies and 42 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:52,800 Speaker 2: crack down on pharma corruption, like banning insurance companies and 43 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:56,360 Speaker 2: private equity from buying medical practices and hospitals, and banning 44 00:02:56,440 --> 00:03:00,760 Speaker 2: prescription drug advertising. Platina says he wants to expand Medicare 45 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:04,320 Speaker 2: and Medicaid's power to negotiate drug prices, allow the import 46 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:07,079 Speaker 2: of low cost prescription drugs from other markets, and ban 47 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:10,200 Speaker 2: stock buybacks and impose a cap on executive compensation for 48 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:14,520 Speaker 2: pharmaceutical companies that receive public funds. This platform calls to 49 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:18,440 Speaker 2: direct federal funds to reopen recently closed hospitals, birthing units, 50 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:23,560 Speaker 2: and clinics, establish a national public drug manufacturing sector, make 51 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:27,640 Speaker 2: Medicare telehealth coverage permanent, reverse doge cuts to the via 52 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:31,840 Speaker 2: national legislation, mandating a safe level of nurse to patient ratios, 53 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:36,360 Speaker 2: to counter chronic hospital understaffing, and to open a new 54 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:39,960 Speaker 2: medical school at University Maine. A large part of Grand 55 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:44,760 Speaker 2: Platner's policy platform is focused on protecting democracy by keeping 56 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:49,400 Speaker 2: money out of elections. Quote democracy cannot function when wealth 57 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:53,520 Speaker 2: buys power. Since Citizens United unlimited, dark money has flooded 58 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:58,240 Speaker 2: American politics, giving billionaires and special interests enormous influence unquote, 59 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:02,720 Speaker 2: Platina wants to overt Citizens United, either through a constitutional 60 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 2: amendment or a different Supreme Court. More on that later. 61 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:10,600 Speaker 2: He also campaigns on banning congressional stock trading and advocates 62 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:15,280 Speaker 2: that former members of Congress should be banned from congressional lobbying. Quote. 63 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:19,120 Speaker 2: Public service should never become a pathway to private affluence unquote. 64 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:23,560 Speaker 2: Platner supports mandating congressional term limits two for the Senate 65 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:26,720 Speaker 2: and six for the House, and at a minimum, returning 66 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:31,440 Speaker 2: to the talking filibuster. His platform also includes congressional representation 67 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:34,960 Speaker 2: for everyone in the country quote unquote, including in places 68 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:39,160 Speaker 2: like Washington, d c. As for the Supreme Court, Platner 69 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:42,400 Speaker 2: wants to pack the court and end lifetime appointments with 70 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:47,000 Speaker 2: staggered time limited terms. He's also in favor of impeaching 71 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:50,400 Speaker 2: justices on the Supreme Court by quote holding the Court 72 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:54,080 Speaker 2: to the same ethic standards we hold all other federal 73 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:59,080 Speaker 2: judges unquote. Platine supports passing a constitutional amendment to quote 74 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:04,560 Speaker 2: prohibit part in jerrymandering and require independent redistricting commissions to 75 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:08,440 Speaker 2: draw their maps, which he says would keep elected officials 76 00:05:08,440 --> 00:05:13,480 Speaker 2: more accountable and make voters voices stronger. To combat anti 77 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:17,120 Speaker 2: labor legislation like the Taft Hartley Act, Plantner wants to 78 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:20,320 Speaker 2: strengthen our quote unquote right to organize by passing the 79 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:24,320 Speaker 2: Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which would crack down 80 00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:28,159 Speaker 2: on union busting by issuing significant penalties and override right 81 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:31,800 Speaker 2: to work laws. Planner also supports creating a union job 82 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:36,440 Speaker 2: requirement for all jobs funded by federal dollars. In interviews, 83 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:40,240 Speaker 2: Planner is advocated for something akin to FDR's proposed Economic 84 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:41,040 Speaker 2: Bill of Rights. 85 00:05:41,279 --> 00:05:41,679 Speaker 1: Quote. 86 00:05:41,839 --> 00:05:44,320 Speaker 2: In order to democratize our economy, we need to provide 87 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:50,200 Speaker 2: as rights things like housing, healthcare, education, and collective bargaining unquote. 88 00:05:50,279 --> 00:05:52,400 Speaker 2: He also wants to pass the Equal Rights Amendment to 89 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:57,480 Speaker 2: protect against sex discrimination, while addressing how communities of color, LGBTQ, Americans, 90 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:00,640 Speaker 2: and immigrants have had the legal protections that were meant 91 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:04,600 Speaker 2: to guarantee them equal rights quote turned against them instead 92 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:07,719 Speaker 2: of working in their defense. We need a twenty first 93 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:11,680 Speaker 2: century constitution that restores the original purpose of these guarantees 94 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:14,840 Speaker 2: equal rights under the law protected for every person in 95 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:20,599 Speaker 2: this country unquote. His policy platform includes passing federal LGBTQ 96 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:25,000 Speaker 2: anti discrimination legislation and calls out Democrats for quote unquote 97 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:29,640 Speaker 2: peddling soft bigotry to pander to Trump voters. One of 98 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:34,360 Speaker 2: Platner's most in depth policy pages is for his billionaire 99 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:38,920 Speaker 2: tax plan, which he says represents quote the bare minimum 100 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:42,520 Speaker 2: of what I believe we should expect a democratic Congress 101 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:46,760 Speaker 2: under our next president to pass. Planner believes that income 102 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:50,440 Speaker 2: taxes alone quote cannot address the massive concentration of wealth 103 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:53,320 Speaker 2: in the hands of a few. Only a tax on 104 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:56,839 Speaker 2: wealth can do so. He promotes a five to six 105 00:06:56,839 --> 00:07:01,280 Speaker 2: percent annual tax on wealth over one billion dollars, as 106 00:07:01,279 --> 00:07:05,120 Speaker 2: well as taxing capital gains the same as wages, quadrupling 107 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:09,279 Speaker 2: taxes on stock buybacks, and taxing excessive CEO pay to 108 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:12,720 Speaker 2: pressure corporations to reinvest profits back into their workers through 109 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:16,400 Speaker 2: higher wages, better benefits, and long term security. On the 110 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:19,160 Speaker 2: campaign trail, he's talked with voters about removing the one 111 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:23,280 Speaker 2: hundred and sixty seven thousand dollars a year income tax 112 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:27,040 Speaker 2: cap on social security payments so that the ultra rich 113 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:30,440 Speaker 2: contribute to the same payroll tax rate as the rest 114 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:33,440 Speaker 2: of us. He also wants to restore the enhanced child 115 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:38,320 Speaker 2: tax credit. Platner's tax plan doesn't just include raising taxes 116 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:42,000 Speaker 2: on the rich, but closing loopholes make a corporation's use 117 00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:47,480 Speaker 2: to avoid paying taxes altogether. Quote. By closing corporate loopholes, 118 00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:51,160 Speaker 2: we ensure that the giants who profit off our shared infrastructure, courts, 119 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:54,080 Speaker 2: and educated workforce finally pay their way, and that we 120 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:58,600 Speaker 2: can sustain investments into schools, safety, and services every community 121 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:02,800 Speaker 2: depends on. One way to stop corporate tax dodging is 122 00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:06,640 Speaker 2: by ending worker misclassification, that is, hiring workers as quote 123 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:10,400 Speaker 2: unquote contractors to deprive workers of labor protections and healthcare, 124 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:15,520 Speaker 2: while using this misclassification to dodge payroll taxes. Instead of 125 00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:18,840 Speaker 2: foreign policy dominated by trade agreements that exploits workers and 126 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:23,160 Speaker 2: promotes endless war, Platner's platform calls for a new era 127 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:28,080 Speaker 2: of American quote unquote economic diplomacy that takes on billionaires 128 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:31,760 Speaker 2: who quote defund the societies that made their fortunes possible 129 00:08:32,160 --> 00:08:36,600 Speaker 2: simply by shuffling money into an offshore account unquote. He 130 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:41,400 Speaker 2: advocates a global billionaire minimum tax to quote ensure that 131 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:46,120 Speaker 2: extreme wealth is finally reinvested in the public good, regardless 132 00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:49,080 Speaker 2: of where it is parked unquote. This is based on 133 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:54,120 Speaker 2: a proposal by the EU's Internal Tax Observatory. To accomplish this, 134 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:57,880 Speaker 2: Platner says, we would need to overhaul global economic institutions, 135 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:01,360 Speaker 2: use our leverage as a trading partner, and use international 136 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:06,040 Speaker 2: economic diplomacy to target concentrated wealth, and coordinate taxes and 137 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:10,640 Speaker 2: sanctions on ultra wealthy individuals quote, rather than relying on 138 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:16,080 Speaker 2: broad trade sanctions that harm ordinary people. He also wants 139 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:20,199 Speaker 2: to close an inheritance tax loophole by stopping billionaires from 140 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:23,440 Speaker 2: passing down their wealth to their errors tax free through 141 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:27,439 Speaker 2: buying appreciating assets, borrowing against those assets, and then passing 142 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:30,840 Speaker 2: down the assets after they die, while avoiding any taxes 143 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:35,080 Speaker 2: on the increased asset value. Platner says time for those 144 00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:38,600 Speaker 2: gains to be taxed too. The tax plan also includes 145 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:42,840 Speaker 2: ways to lower taxes for working and middle class Americans. Quote. 146 00:09:43,160 --> 00:09:45,960 Speaker 2: If we tax millionaires and billionaires at fair levels, we 147 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:49,000 Speaker 2: can provide a quote unquote cost of living exemption from 148 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:52,280 Speaker 2: federal income tax up to a reasonable threshold for working 149 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:56,400 Speaker 2: and middle class Americans. If we stop multinational monopolies from 150 00:09:56,440 --> 00:09:59,560 Speaker 2: dodging their taxes, we can cut taxes on the small 151 00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:02,840 Speaker 2: business and self employed individuals who are struggling to survive. 152 00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:07,360 Speaker 2: The federal government could adopt a property tax fairness credit 153 00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:11,120 Speaker 2: similar to MAINZ that ensures low and middle income families 154 00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:13,280 Speaker 2: do not pay more than four percent of their income 155 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:17,840 Speaker 2: in property taxes by providing a refundable credit, including a 156 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:21,800 Speaker 2: fair calculation of rent attributable to property taxes so that 157 00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:26,439 Speaker 2: renters are treated equitably. On quote. Something we've previously reported 158 00:10:26,440 --> 00:10:31,199 Speaker 2: on is Platner's opposition to what he calls regressive gas 159 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:35,200 Speaker 2: and diesel taxes. Quote. Relying on fossil fuels to fund 160 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:37,800 Speaker 2: basic infrastructure does not make sense if we want to 161 00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:42,800 Speaker 2: reduce fossil fuels used in transportation. Instead, public goods should 162 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:46,600 Speaker 2: be financed by progressive general revenues, as outlined in my 163 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:51,360 Speaker 2: end Billionaire Welfare tax plan. On quote, Platner notes that 164 00:10:51,640 --> 00:10:55,360 Speaker 2: an extra two hundred and seventy five billion dollars has 165 00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:59,240 Speaker 2: supplemented the tax based Highway Trust Fund since two thousand 166 00:10:59,280 --> 00:11:04,440 Speaker 2: and eight. Platner also supports Rocana's big oil windfall profits 167 00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:07,360 Speaker 2: bill that would implement a per barrel tax equal to 168 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:09,839 Speaker 2: fifty percent of the difference between the current oil price 169 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:12,959 Speaker 2: and the price per barrel last year. And he promotes 170 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:16,680 Speaker 2: a national electricity rate freeze by quote providing direct low 171 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:20,760 Speaker 2: cost energy infrastructure financing to any state that freezes or 172 00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:25,160 Speaker 2: lowers electricity rates for four years, funded by the Windfall 173 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:30,720 Speaker 2: Profits Tax and repurposed federal fossil fuel subsidies unquote. His 174 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:35,440 Speaker 2: platform states that the most effective national security project would 175 00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:40,800 Speaker 2: be a huge buildout of domestic clean energy production, rather 176 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:43,760 Speaker 2: than relying on private equity to invest in new clean energy. 177 00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:48,520 Speaker 2: Platner supports a National Energy Infrastructure Fund that would issue 178 00:11:48,520 --> 00:11:51,760 Speaker 2: debt backed by the federal government and quote partner with 179 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:56,000 Speaker 2: state lending authorities to provide cheap capital directly to utilities, 180 00:11:56,320 --> 00:12:01,240 Speaker 2: rural electric cooperatives, public energy authorities, and other developers of 181 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:06,319 Speaker 2: low risk clean energy projects unquote. Platner believes this fund 182 00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:09,720 Speaker 2: could cut Wall Street speculators out of the equation, help 183 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:13,480 Speaker 2: build at scale with union jobs, lower costs, and pass 184 00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:17,360 Speaker 2: savings onto rate payers. He also wants the Department Energy 185 00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:21,160 Speaker 2: to use the Defense Production Act to revive domestic manufacturing 186 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:26,560 Speaker 2: to procure and stockpile critical clean energy technologies. His platform 187 00:12:26,559 --> 00:12:30,520 Speaker 2: also includes creating a strategic fuel reserve for farmers and fisheries, 188 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:35,960 Speaker 2: a national whole home repair program to assist in weatherization, electrification, 189 00:12:36,080 --> 00:12:39,720 Speaker 2: and heat pumps, to lower household bills by partnering with 190 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:43,520 Speaker 2: public housing authorities, county programs, and local trade unions, as 191 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:46,520 Speaker 2: well as reinvesting the money funnel to big defense contractors 192 00:12:46,960 --> 00:12:50,760 Speaker 2: back into shipbuilding. On the campaign trail, Platner talks a 193 00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:54,000 Speaker 2: lot about being a veteran and the various ways that's 194 00:12:54,080 --> 00:12:59,040 Speaker 2: informed his politics. He's promised to quote, never send Americans 195 00:12:59,080 --> 00:13:02,199 Speaker 2: into a pointless war, and to solve the issue of 196 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:05,240 Speaker 2: a president effectively being able to declare wars but it's 197 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:08,120 Speaker 2: not call them wars. Platner is called on Congress to 198 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:12,280 Speaker 2: reclaim its war powers and other authorities over the executive. Quote, 199 00:13:12,679 --> 00:13:16,200 Speaker 2: we must pass a new War Powers Act. The same 200 00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:20,199 Speaker 2: must go for ending the executive's intrusion on congressional powers 201 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:23,760 Speaker 2: of the purse, taxation, and other legislative prerogatives. 202 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:24,559 Speaker 1: Unquote. 203 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:29,080 Speaker 2: We'll talk more about grand Platner's campaign platform and ties 204 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:43,280 Speaker 2: to organized labor after this ad break. Welcome back to 205 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:47,440 Speaker 2: it could happen here Democratic nominee for US Senate, Grand 206 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:50,440 Speaker 2: Platner was interviewed by The New York Times and said 207 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:53,720 Speaker 2: that since the end of the Second World War, American 208 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:58,360 Speaker 2: foreign policy, our wars and interventions haven't been good for 209 00:13:58,559 --> 00:14:03,400 Speaker 2: workers or American families. Quote, they often are very good 210 00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:07,199 Speaker 2: for corporate interests, defense contractors, and people in places of 211 00:14:07,240 --> 00:14:10,400 Speaker 2: political power who want to use war as a mechanism 212 00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:15,560 Speaker 2: of protecting their political power unquote. Platter told the Times 213 00:14:15,559 --> 00:14:19,200 Speaker 2: that he has a complicated relationship with the military, where 214 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:23,280 Speaker 2: he's still proud of being a marine, but is ashamed 215 00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:26,120 Speaker 2: of what's happened in the Middle East, and says that 216 00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:30,160 Speaker 2: the policies and systems orchestrating those wars are quote unquote 217 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:33,400 Speaker 2: flawed from the top down, and that he considers himself 218 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:34,200 Speaker 2: anti war. 219 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:36,440 Speaker 1: But it doesn't matter if you try your best inside 220 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:39,280 Speaker 1: of a flawed policy, in a flawed system. It's flawed 221 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:42,240 Speaker 1: from the top down. It's bound to fail. It's bound 222 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:45,200 Speaker 1: to bring an immense amount of violence upon people who, 223 00:14:45,320 --> 00:14:47,400 Speaker 1: in no way, shape or form are deserving it of it. 224 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:51,840 Speaker 1: Because I mean, we destroyed i Raq, and we destroyed Afghanistan, 225 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:55,040 Speaker 1: and all the suffering, all the killing all the dying, 226 00:14:55,440 --> 00:15:01,040 Speaker 1: all the displacement, all of it was out we brought that. 227 00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:06,000 Speaker 1: We the United States, did that, and then that I'm 228 00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:11,440 Speaker 1: ashamed of the anger that I feel is for the 229 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:15,240 Speaker 1: people that sent me, who are frankly still the same 230 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:19,400 Speaker 1: people who are sending people off right now to go 231 00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:21,360 Speaker 1: but be in harms way so we can start and 232 00:15:21,400 --> 00:15:22,600 Speaker 1: have the stupid war with Iran. 233 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:26,560 Speaker 2: Platner has been cleared that Israel is committing a genocide 234 00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:29,680 Speaker 2: in Gaza and that the US has aided in the 235 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:34,080 Speaker 2: genocide of Palestinians. Quote it is the mortal question of 236 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:38,080 Speaker 2: our time, and we failed as a nation. Platner believes 237 00:15:38,080 --> 00:15:41,280 Speaker 2: that Israel should not receive any US tax dollars and 238 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:45,600 Speaker 2: has proudly opposed a pack, though he has voice support 239 00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:50,120 Speaker 2: for sending aid to Ukraine. Platner calls abolishing Ice the 240 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:54,080 Speaker 2: quote unquote moderate position, and that he supports a path 241 00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:58,240 Speaker 2: to citizenship, strong border security, and a quote unquote end 242 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:02,880 Speaker 2: to the mass deportation machine. His policy platform says that 243 00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:08,040 Speaker 2: quote unquote, many multinational corporations have no interest in immigration 244 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:13,080 Speaker 2: reform because quote they want illegal workers with no rights 245 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:16,320 Speaker 2: who they can pay slave wages and abuse at will. 246 00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:20,960 Speaker 2: Quote in response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, 247 00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:25,160 Speaker 2: which Susan Collins assisted in by voting for Brett Kavanaugh. 248 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:29,320 Speaker 2: Platner wants to codify abortion rights and protect privacy rights. 249 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:33,520 Speaker 2: His platform states quote, the Constitution should make clear that 250 00:16:33,560 --> 00:16:37,680 Speaker 2: Americans have a fundamental right to privacy, including personal medical decisions, 251 00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:41,520 Speaker 2: control over one's own body, and freedom from unjust surveillance. 252 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:44,920 Speaker 2: In an age of mass data collection and artificial intelligence, 253 00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:47,720 Speaker 2: this protection is more important than ever. 254 00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:48,480 Speaker 1: Quote. 255 00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:52,880 Speaker 2: Platner certainly leans pro gun. He's taught leftist armed self 256 00:16:52,920 --> 00:16:56,960 Speaker 2: defense classes and owns air fifteens. He doesn't support an 257 00:16:56,960 --> 00:16:59,760 Speaker 2: assault weapons span, but did back a referendum to create 258 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:02,520 Speaker 2: a had flag law in the state of Maine. Other 259 00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:06,600 Speaker 2: miscellaneous campaign planks include more funding for the post Office, 260 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:10,760 Speaker 2: passing the Postal Banking Act, developing a federal childcare policy 261 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:14,600 Speaker 2: for kids under six, defending Medicare access for people with disabilities, 262 00:17:14,840 --> 00:17:18,800 Speaker 2: strengthening the Clean Air and Clean Water Act, opposing any 263 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:22,960 Speaker 2: federal support for private school vouchers, reviving federal support for 264 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:27,159 Speaker 2: housing something like the VA Home Loan program for more Americans, 265 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:30,959 Speaker 2: Banning hedge funds from buying homes through legislation like the 266 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:35,520 Speaker 2: End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act and legalizing 267 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:38,760 Speaker 2: cannabis and clemency for people caught up in the War 268 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:43,359 Speaker 2: on drugs. That is a long list of policies, goals, 269 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:47,560 Speaker 2: and prospective legislation that would be no easy task to enact. 270 00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:51,959 Speaker 2: Some would mean a fundamental transformation in American politics and 271 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:55,960 Speaker 2: the world economy. Platner knows that not everything in his 272 00:17:56,160 --> 00:18:00,480 Speaker 2: platform can be passed overnight, but says that Democrats need 273 00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:05,280 Speaker 2: a strategic vision to fight for, telling the main Monitor quote, 274 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:07,760 Speaker 2: I'll be the first one to say that me being 275 00:18:07,800 --> 00:18:10,679 Speaker 2: in the Senate as the junior senator from Maine is 276 00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:13,080 Speaker 2: not going to get us medicare for all. There is 277 00:18:13,119 --> 00:18:16,640 Speaker 2: this sort of establishment pushback where people are often like, well, 278 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:20,119 Speaker 2: you're not gonna be able to do that immediately, Like, well, no, shit, 279 00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:23,919 Speaker 2: that's what power building is, That's what a long term 280 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:28,560 Speaker 2: plan is unquote. In interviews, Platner often talks about his 281 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:32,600 Speaker 2: quote unquote theory of power and how the Democratic Party 282 00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:36,200 Speaker 2: has quote never been able to articulate what it's trying 283 00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:39,359 Speaker 2: to do, like what's the end goal? It never really 284 00:18:39,440 --> 00:18:42,040 Speaker 2: articulates a clear set of policies to get us there, 285 00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:46,040 Speaker 2: and then never seems to want to wield power to 286 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:50,560 Speaker 2: make those policies a reality. Unquote, Platner told The New 287 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:54,000 Speaker 2: York Times that Democratic Party leadership has failed the moment, 288 00:18:54,359 --> 00:18:57,760 Speaker 2: that the party needs new leadership and that Chuck Schumer 289 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:02,679 Speaker 2: should be replaced. Of course, candidates can say anything to 290 00:19:02,680 --> 00:19:06,760 Speaker 2: get elected. We've all seen politicians run on populist platforms 291 00:19:07,200 --> 00:19:11,359 Speaker 2: only to then serve lobbyists, corporate interests, and themselves once 292 00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:15,720 Speaker 2: in office. Trump himself first ran as a populist outsider 293 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:20,920 Speaker 2: despite being a billionaire. Senator John Fetterman also comes to mind. Though. 294 00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:25,280 Speaker 2: The only thing that really made Harvard graduate John Fetterman 295 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:29,040 Speaker 2: and quote unquote outsider was that he wore a hoodie 296 00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:32,600 Speaker 2: and head stupid facial hair. Prior to his Senate campaign, 297 00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:36,480 Speaker 2: he served as mayor of Braddock for thirteen years and 298 00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:40,800 Speaker 2: lieutenant governor for four. Fetterman also claims that suffering a 299 00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:45,960 Speaker 2: stroke quote unquote liberated him from quote unquote progressivism. All 300 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:50,159 Speaker 2: is to say, John Fetterman and Graham Plattner's respective backgrounds 301 00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:55,400 Speaker 2: are quite different, but obviously words and promises aren't enough 302 00:19:55,920 --> 00:19:59,560 Speaker 2: to measure a candidate's worth. One must look deeper at 303 00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:03,240 Speaker 2: the tie to local communities and organizations that might inform 304 00:20:03,320 --> 00:20:08,000 Speaker 2: a candidate's political platform and facilitate their ability to run 305 00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:11,840 Speaker 2: for office. To quote Graham Platner, we need to build 306 00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:14,879 Speaker 2: political power through getting people like me into the US Senate, 307 00:20:15,160 --> 00:20:18,040 Speaker 2: into Congress, and we also need to do it while 308 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:22,639 Speaker 2: building organizational power outside of the system. There's never been 309 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:25,600 Speaker 2: a moment in American history where we've gotten good things 310 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:29,159 Speaker 2: just because the institutions or people in power decided to 311 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:33,119 Speaker 2: do it. They need to be pressed. I mean, this 312 00:20:33,280 --> 00:20:36,600 Speaker 2: is honestly why the country has killed the labor movement. 313 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:39,399 Speaker 2: We did it on purpose. We did it because the 314 00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:42,760 Speaker 2: labor movement is the foundation of power that can actually 315 00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:45,360 Speaker 2: like push back against this system. 316 00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:46,320 Speaker 1: Unquote. 317 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:50,080 Speaker 2: Grand Platner is only running for Senate because last summer 318 00:20:50,280 --> 00:20:53,880 Speaker 2: the AFL CIO, along with other local labor unions, we're 319 00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:56,320 Speaker 2: looking to put up a candidate to run against Susan 320 00:20:56,320 --> 00:21:00,560 Speaker 2: Collins on a working class platform. In July twenty twenty five, 321 00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:04,960 Speaker 2: candidate scouts showed up outside of Platner's door asking him 322 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:07,440 Speaker 2: to run for Senate. Platner says he and his wife 323 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:11,000 Speaker 2: told him to quote unquote fuck off. The Scouts, including 324 00:21:11,119 --> 00:21:14,840 Speaker 2: progressive strategist Daniel Moroff, had learned about Platner from a 325 00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:17,720 Speaker 2: video he was in a few years ago about community 326 00:21:17,800 --> 00:21:21,600 Speaker 2: organizing against a corporate Norwegian salmon farm that was trying 327 00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:22,720 Speaker 2: to move in to their bay. 328 00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:26,520 Speaker 1: My daily grind is coming out in the morning, cleaning 329 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:29,840 Speaker 1: equipment and tying knots and fixing rope and fixing line 330 00:21:29,840 --> 00:21:34,080 Speaker 1: and fixing boats and cleaning oysters and listening to podcasts. 331 00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:39,199 Speaker 1: My name is Graham Plattner and I live in Sullivan, Maine, 332 00:21:39,359 --> 00:21:42,800 Speaker 1: the owner of Frenchman Bay Oyster Company. Born and raised 333 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:45,840 Speaker 1: here in Sullivan. I grew up three houses down from 334 00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:48,320 Speaker 1: the house I currently live in bank Or. 335 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:52,639 Speaker 2: Daily News reported that in July Platner spoke with Jason Shedlock, 336 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:57,040 Speaker 2: the president of the main State Building and Construction Trades Council, 337 00:21:57,160 --> 00:22:01,000 Speaker 2: via zoom to quote talk about the potential while working 338 00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:04,840 Speaker 2: on his oyster boat. About a week after first knocking 339 00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:08,200 Speaker 2: on his door, the campaign scouts showed up again, but 340 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:11,520 Speaker 2: this time with a detailed plan and the connections to 341 00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:15,879 Speaker 2: get a campaign up and running. Union support helped provide 342 00:22:15,920 --> 00:22:20,159 Speaker 2: resources to shoot a launch video, facilitate small dollar fundraising 343 00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:24,399 Speaker 2: and get Platner's name in local papers. He had never 344 00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:27,520 Speaker 2: run for office before, but did serve as the harbor 345 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:30,280 Speaker 2: master and chair of the Planning board for the town 346 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:34,919 Speaker 2: of Sullivan. In terms of Platner's own working class or 347 00:22:35,040 --> 00:22:39,639 Speaker 2: middle class background, Platner's father was a lawyer in rural Maine, 348 00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:42,479 Speaker 2: and his mom was a small business owner who currently 349 00:22:42,560 --> 00:22:46,000 Speaker 2: owns a local restaurant. As a kid, his family got 350 00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:50,240 Speaker 2: a financial aid package for a fancy private school in Connecticut, 351 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:53,560 Speaker 2: but Platner got himself kicked out after three months and 352 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:56,960 Speaker 2: then went back to Maine. After xiting the military, he 353 00:22:57,000 --> 00:22:59,520 Speaker 2: worked as a bartender while going to university in DC, 354 00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:04,600 Speaker 2: dropped out, then worked as a private military contractor for 355 00:23:04,680 --> 00:23:09,320 Speaker 2: six months at the embassy in Afghanistan. While there, Platner 356 00:23:09,359 --> 00:23:12,639 Speaker 2: says he got deeply disillusioned with government corruption and the 357 00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:17,600 Speaker 2: military industrial complex. Quit, moved back to Maine, started working 358 00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:22,000 Speaker 2: at a friend's oyster farm, and got into local organizing. 359 00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:25,800 Speaker 2: In a less reported on a Reddit post made by 360 00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:30,600 Speaker 2: Graham Platner, he credited late political commentator Michael Brooks with 361 00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:34,920 Speaker 2: moving him towards left wing, working class politics around twenty 362 00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:39,320 Speaker 2: nineteen to twenty twenty. Platner also made Reddit posts about 363 00:23:39,359 --> 00:23:43,560 Speaker 2: being an anti fascist. The Senate campaign launched in mid August, 364 00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:46,640 Speaker 2: and in just nine days it raised one million dollars, 365 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:49,639 Speaker 2: was an average donation of thirty three dollars. Ninety eight 366 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:53,160 Speaker 2: percent of the donations were under one hundred dollars. During 367 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:57,360 Speaker 2: its first week, the campaign was attracting three hundred volunteers 368 00:23:57,400 --> 00:24:00,720 Speaker 2: per day. Pretty soon, the campaign attracted the attention of 369 00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:04,920 Speaker 2: Bernie Sanders, who comes September invited Plattner to speak on 370 00:24:05,320 --> 00:24:09,960 Speaker 2: his upcoming Fight Oligarchy tour and has continued to campaign 371 00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:14,440 Speaker 2: with and back Platner. Meanwhile, Governor Janet Mills was recruited 372 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:17,840 Speaker 2: by Chuck Schumer to beat Plattner in the Democratic primary. 373 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:21,199 Speaker 2: From early on in the race, Plattner had received backing 374 00:24:21,280 --> 00:24:26,160 Speaker 2: from local labor unions. Beyond the main AFL CIO, Plattner 375 00:24:26,240 --> 00:24:30,399 Speaker 2: has received endorsements from Iron Workers Local seven, National Nurses, 376 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:35,440 Speaker 2: United Maine State Nurses Association, American Postal Workers Local four 377 00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:39,720 Speaker 2: five eight, the National Postal Mail Handlers Local three oh one, 378 00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:44,280 Speaker 2: the Electrical Workers Union Local two three two seven, the 379 00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:48,399 Speaker 2: International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Main State Council 380 00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:52,400 Speaker 2: of Building and Construction Trades North Atlantic States Regional Council 381 00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:56,760 Speaker 2: of Carpenters Carpenter's Local three four nine and three five two, 382 00:24:57,480 --> 00:25:02,480 Speaker 2: Painters and Allied Trades DC thirty five, Massachusetts and Northern 383 00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:05,840 Speaker 2: New England, Labours and District Council Mill Rights Local one 384 00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:11,680 Speaker 2: one two one, Labourer's International Union of North America Local three, two, seven, six, 385 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:15,959 Speaker 2: six eight and nine seven six, Teamster's Local three forty, 386 00:25:16,359 --> 00:25:20,160 Speaker 2: and the United Auto Workers, who represents nearly two thousand 387 00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:24,720 Speaker 2: workers in Maine, including marine draftsman at the Bath Iron Works, 388 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:28,840 Speaker 2: nonprofit employees, workers at the Portland Museum of Art, and 389 00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:33,840 Speaker 2: graduate employees across the University of Maine system. In their endorsement, 390 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:39,400 Speaker 2: UAW Region nine A director Brandon Mansilla said, quote, Graham 391 00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:41,800 Speaker 2: Platner has emerged as a voice for the people of Maine, 392 00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:44,600 Speaker 2: fed up with the corrupting influence of the oligarchy and 393 00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:48,359 Speaker 2: money in our politics. More importantly, he's building a mass 394 00:25:48,359 --> 00:25:51,880 Speaker 2: movement that will not only power his campaign, but will 395 00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:55,080 Speaker 2: be ready to take on the challenges facing working families 396 00:25:55,119 --> 00:25:58,440 Speaker 2: in Maine and across the country once in office. Our 397 00:25:58,520 --> 00:26:01,120 Speaker 2: members are ready to hit the ground running with Graham's 398 00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:06,800 Speaker 2: campaign and take back the power for Main's working class unquote. 399 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:10,320 Speaker 2: Plantner has said he wanted this campaign to be an 400 00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:13,560 Speaker 2: extension of the local community organizing that he and his 401 00:26:13,560 --> 00:26:17,199 Speaker 2: wife were already engaged in, telling the main Monitor the 402 00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:21,320 Speaker 2: campaign is a quote organizing strategy first and an electoral 403 00:26:21,359 --> 00:26:25,360 Speaker 2: strategy second. For the past few years, Platner is organized 404 00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:29,359 Speaker 2: with a mutual aid and community activist group called Arcadia Action, 405 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:33,359 Speaker 2: and was named in local news coverage for organizing a 406 00:26:33,440 --> 00:26:37,719 Speaker 2: protest after Trump was reelected. The protest focused on quote 407 00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:42,000 Speaker 2: the preservation of constitutional rights, support for Ukraine, and protecting 408 00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:46,280 Speaker 2: transgender maners. Plantner was also an active member of the 409 00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:50,639 Speaker 2: Panopsicate County chapter of the Mainz People's Alliance, the largest 410 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:54,640 Speaker 2: quote unquote progressive community action organization in the state, which 411 00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:58,119 Speaker 2: claims to have more than thirty two thousand members. As 412 00:26:58,160 --> 00:27:01,639 Speaker 2: a member of the main People's Alliance, Platner traveled to Washington, 413 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:03,960 Speaker 2: DC a couple of years ago for a march to 414 00:27:04,119 --> 00:27:08,240 Speaker 2: protest access to healthcare, and since then has been doing 415 00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:12,560 Speaker 2: grassroots community organizing in Hannock County. According to the organization, 416 00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:17,120 Speaker 2: the member led board of directors of Maine People's Alliance 417 00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:22,000 Speaker 2: voted unanimously to endorse Graham Platner. To quote the announcement, 418 00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:27,120 Speaker 2: Maine People's Alliance board co chair Gina Morin they them said, quote, 419 00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:30,520 Speaker 2: listening to Platner during interviews in town halls, it is 420 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:33,880 Speaker 2: clear that he addresses the critical issues affecting our country 421 00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:38,080 Speaker 2: and specifically Maine. He speaks directly to the reality that 422 00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:41,320 Speaker 2: the top one percent are hoarding wealth while the middle 423 00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:45,080 Speaker 2: class and the poor are left to go without. He's 424 00:27:45,080 --> 00:27:47,879 Speaker 2: also addressed the need to fix the same issues that 425 00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:50,520 Speaker 2: we have been working on for years, such as health 426 00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:54,960 Speaker 2: care affordability, the housing crisis, and immigrant rights. His activism 427 00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:58,480 Speaker 2: drove him to seek this office out of frustration. His 428 00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:02,120 Speaker 2: values and dedication are what align him with the Main 429 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:07,120 Speaker 2: People's Alliance. Unquote. The organization said back in February that 430 00:28:07,280 --> 00:28:11,000 Speaker 2: Platner has been quote active and vocal in resisting ICE's 431 00:28:11,040 --> 00:28:13,520 Speaker 2: presence here in Maine and has been calling on our 432 00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:16,000 Speaker 2: members of Congress to do more to protect everyone in 433 00:28:16,119 --> 00:28:20,400 Speaker 2: Maine and across the country from ICE's violent, racist tactics. 434 00:28:20,760 --> 00:28:21,080 Speaker 1: Quote. 435 00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:25,879 Speaker 2: Main People's Alliance board member Sean Donnelly said, quote Graham 436 00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:28,960 Speaker 2: names the oligarchy and corporate greed as the true enemies 437 00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:31,760 Speaker 2: of progress in Washington, and he understands that the only 438 00:28:31,800 --> 00:28:36,080 Speaker 2: way to defeat them is through grassroots organizing. His personal 439 00:28:36,119 --> 00:28:39,440 Speaker 2: story of finding purpose through his community and activism has 440 00:28:39,480 --> 00:28:43,000 Speaker 2: the power to inspire many who may feel angry, disconnected, 441 00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:46,920 Speaker 2: or hopeless about politics. Graham is a talented leader whose values, vision, 442 00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:49,600 Speaker 2: and strategy are aligned with the mission of the Main 443 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:54,480 Speaker 2: People's Alliance. Quote. Following the primary, the Planned Parenthood Action 444 00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:57,840 Speaker 2: Fund endorsed Platner over Susan Collins, who was one of 445 00:28:57,880 --> 00:29:00,800 Speaker 2: the deciding votes, and sending Brett cavanaught the Supreme Court, 446 00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:05,240 Speaker 2: and last week, the Main Service Employees Association, which represents 447 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:09,080 Speaker 2: more than thirteen thousand active and retired public service workers 448 00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:13,840 Speaker 2: in the state, formally endorsed gram Platner. So why are 449 00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:19,280 Speaker 2: these endorsements and community ties important? These relations are what 450 00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:24,520 Speaker 2: a working class campaign's political platform emerges from, and this 451 00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:28,120 Speaker 2: community voting block is a mechanism to hold working class 452 00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:32,320 Speaker 2: candidates accountable to their constituents. Platner has told The New 453 00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:35,400 Speaker 2: York Times that he's a quote firm believer that organized 454 00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:38,600 Speaker 2: people is the only actual place of power to conflict 455 00:29:38,880 --> 00:29:43,560 Speaker 2: with organized money, and in our society, money is very 456 00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:48,120 Speaker 2: organized unquote. He echoed this sentiment at a campaign rally 457 00:29:48,360 --> 00:29:50,280 Speaker 2: covered by more Perfect Union. 458 00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:54,280 Speaker 1: Politics is about power, and in this society, power is 459 00:29:54,320 --> 00:29:58,480 Speaker 1: either organized money or its organized people. And the money 460 00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:01,080 Speaker 1: is organized. That always has been and it always will 461 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:04,160 Speaker 1: be until we organize enough people to pull it back. 462 00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:09,320 Speaker 2: In May, Platner told John Stewart that getting someone like 463 00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:13,120 Speaker 2: him elected quote needs to be in tandem with a 464 00:30:13,160 --> 00:30:16,920 Speaker 2: fully organized, broad based coalition here in the state of 465 00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:20,520 Speaker 2: Maine that can put pressure on members of our delegation 466 00:30:20,640 --> 00:30:23,720 Speaker 2: if need be, because it's not going to be enough 467 00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:28,320 Speaker 2: to just rely on the systems unquote. Two days before 468 00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:31,760 Speaker 2: the primary election, Platner spoke at a town hall about 469 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:35,640 Speaker 2: building a Senate office that prioritizes a relationship with labor 470 00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:39,120 Speaker 2: unions rather than the owners of the industries that labor 471 00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:43,080 Speaker 2: works in a Senate office where a worker, labor organizer, 472 00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:45,800 Speaker 2: or civil rights representative should get more face to face 473 00:30:45,840 --> 00:30:48,000 Speaker 2: time with a senator than any lobbyist. 474 00:30:48,560 --> 00:30:52,080 Speaker 1: I very much believe that we need to connect that 475 00:30:52,280 --> 00:30:56,960 Speaker 1: kind of local organizing work directly to a Senate office 476 00:30:57,840 --> 00:31:02,000 Speaker 1: in DC. So something like I used to have been 477 00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:06,479 Speaker 1: an organizer with Main People's Alliance before, and I firmly 478 00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:13,320 Speaker 1: believe that we need closer coordination between community organizations, environmental organizations, 479 00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:19,600 Speaker 1: frankly all of the organizing groups around Maine with institutional power, 480 00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:24,200 Speaker 1: because I do think that that's history tends to show 481 00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:28,440 Speaker 1: that you're most successful when outside organizing is working in 482 00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:32,320 Speaker 1: tandem with institutional power. That tends to be when we 483 00:31:32,360 --> 00:31:34,320 Speaker 1: get the most significant wins. 484 00:31:34,720 --> 00:31:37,600 Speaker 2: I'll come back to discuss how the Platinner campaign was 485 00:31:37,640 --> 00:31:52,320 Speaker 2: actually run after this ad break. Welcome back to what 486 00:31:52,360 --> 00:31:57,640 Speaker 2: could happen here. This past April, one of Platner's former 487 00:31:57,760 --> 00:32:02,280 Speaker 2: high school classmates turned journalists named Josh Keef wrote an 488 00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:05,920 Speaker 2: article for The Main Monitor about why Platner's campaign has 489 00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:11,000 Speaker 2: been so successful in Maine. Platner told his former classmate 490 00:32:11,080 --> 00:32:15,800 Speaker 2: that the campaign is being run like a community organizing project. 491 00:32:16,040 --> 00:32:19,640 Speaker 2: Quote this kind of campaign and kind of politics with 492 00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:23,280 Speaker 2: an organizing focus. This doesn't work if you just run 493 00:32:23,320 --> 00:32:27,480 Speaker 2: TV ads. My background is in organizing and I want 494 00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:30,880 Speaker 2: to take that on the road as a candidate. And 495 00:32:30,920 --> 00:32:32,880 Speaker 2: the only way it ever works is by going out 496 00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:36,320 Speaker 2: and engaging with people directly. You got to like not 497 00:32:36,600 --> 00:32:41,160 Speaker 2: sleep unquote. Direct person to person engagement has been the 498 00:32:41,200 --> 00:32:46,240 Speaker 2: hallmark of Platner's campaign strategy. Here, age is certainly playing 499 00:32:46,240 --> 00:32:50,400 Speaker 2: a factor in the race. Platner is forty one, Janet 500 00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:54,880 Speaker 2: Mills is seventy eight, and Susan Collins is seventy three. 501 00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:58,400 Speaker 2: Platner's younger age is not just compelling to voters who 502 00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:02,280 Speaker 2: want a younger generation of candidates, but it also impacts 503 00:33:02,440 --> 00:33:06,920 Speaker 2: how he can campaign. Platter is effectively campaigning full time, 504 00:33:07,440 --> 00:33:11,080 Speaker 2: making three to six campaign appearances a day while his 505 00:33:11,160 --> 00:33:15,880 Speaker 2: business partner handles the oyster farm. From late September to 506 00:33:15,920 --> 00:33:20,280 Speaker 2: the early June primary, his campaign held eighty three town 507 00:33:20,360 --> 00:33:23,960 Speaker 2: hall events across the state, pulling in hundreds of people 508 00:33:24,040 --> 00:33:28,800 Speaker 2: per event and filling out community venues. In comparison, Susan 509 00:33:28,840 --> 00:33:32,600 Speaker 2: Collins has not held a single public town hall meeting 510 00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:37,360 Speaker 2: in over twenty five years. Janet Mills didn't even release 511 00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:41,959 Speaker 2: a policy platform until April. Platner told more perfect union quote, 512 00:33:42,200 --> 00:33:44,600 Speaker 2: people want to hear about the future, people want to 513 00:33:44,600 --> 00:33:48,520 Speaker 2: hear about your policies, and people also want access to 514 00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:50,880 Speaker 2: you so they can figure out if you're full of 515 00:33:50,960 --> 00:33:55,680 Speaker 2: shit or not. Unquote. Considering the smaller size of Maine 516 00:33:56,240 --> 00:33:59,239 Speaker 2: come the November election, there's a good chance, Platner will 517 00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:02,280 Speaker 2: have spoken face to face with nearly every voter in 518 00:34:02,320 --> 00:34:06,800 Speaker 2: the state. At these town halls, he often talks about power, 519 00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:10,680 Speaker 2: how working class power won the New Deal, and how 520 00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:14,480 Speaker 2: since the seventies, corporate interests have been undermining that power 521 00:34:15,080 --> 00:34:20,040 Speaker 2: using money to influence policy. At an event in Freiburg, Maine, 522 00:34:20,200 --> 00:34:23,680 Speaker 2: Platner said, quote, we are the richest society in the 523 00:34:23,719 --> 00:34:26,920 Speaker 2: history of humanity. We can have universal health care, we 524 00:34:26,960 --> 00:34:30,359 Speaker 2: can have universal childcare. We can have universal education going 525 00:34:30,400 --> 00:34:33,600 Speaker 2: from kindergarten all the way through higher education. We can 526 00:34:33,640 --> 00:34:35,759 Speaker 2: have a tax code that pulls back the wealth that 527 00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:38,200 Speaker 2: was stolen from the working class of this country for 528 00:34:38,280 --> 00:34:41,640 Speaker 2: the past fifty years. What we need to do is 529 00:34:41,680 --> 00:34:44,960 Speaker 2: from the ground up build power the old fashioned way. 530 00:34:45,520 --> 00:34:51,239 Speaker 2: This comes from organizing unquote. Platner's campaign has helped with 531 00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:55,800 Speaker 2: other local electoral and legislative efforts, and The Main Monitor 532 00:34:55,840 --> 00:34:59,760 Speaker 2: reported that Platner's events often serve as locations for quote 533 00:35:00,040 --> 00:35:04,040 Speaker 2: food donation drop offs. He is frequently introduced by a 534 00:35:04,080 --> 00:35:07,680 Speaker 2: local activist who gets to talk about their work unquote. 535 00:35:08,200 --> 00:35:11,160 Speaker 2: Platner told the Main Monitor, quote, we really have to 536 00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:14,520 Speaker 2: fundamentally understand that no one is coming to save us, 537 00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:17,520 Speaker 2: and the only way to build that power on your 538 00:35:17,560 --> 00:35:21,040 Speaker 2: own is here in the real world, face to face 539 00:35:21,080 --> 00:35:26,560 Speaker 2: with your neighbors, building trust in relationships again unquote. Platner 540 00:35:26,560 --> 00:35:29,960 Speaker 2: has also said that building that kind of outside power 541 00:35:30,640 --> 00:35:33,200 Speaker 2: is also how to find more people to run for 542 00:35:33,280 --> 00:35:36,320 Speaker 2: office and gather the resources needed to get them elected 543 00:35:36,760 --> 00:35:40,440 Speaker 2: to take power. In an interview with John Stewart, Platner 544 00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:42,960 Speaker 2: said that because the US Senate is in many ways 545 00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:46,920 Speaker 2: a uniquely undemocratic institution quote set up to be a 546 00:35:46,920 --> 00:35:50,400 Speaker 2: specific bulwark against working class people to protect the elites, 547 00:35:51,040 --> 00:35:54,400 Speaker 2: that actually makes it a quote unquote unique place of 548 00:35:54,480 --> 00:35:58,040 Speaker 2: power if candidates with strong ties to working class communities 549 00:35:58,400 --> 00:36:03,600 Speaker 2: can occupy those seats. Following their historic loss in twenty 550 00:36:03,640 --> 00:36:07,279 Speaker 2: twenty four, the Democratic Party establishment has been in a 551 00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:11,960 Speaker 2: uniquely weak position, opening up the opportunity to address the 552 00:36:12,040 --> 00:36:16,760 Speaker 2: issues that have led the party into national irrelevancy. Graham 553 00:36:16,760 --> 00:36:20,520 Speaker 2: Plattner lays blame on the Democrats abandoning the working class, 554 00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:24,080 Speaker 2: and that doesn't just mean white construction workers, but the 555 00:36:24,160 --> 00:36:29,439 Speaker 2: actual multicultural, multi racial working class wage workers and those 556 00:36:29,480 --> 00:36:32,799 Speaker 2: who cannot live off their investments. For the past forty years, 557 00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:35,840 Speaker 2: the party has abandoned organized labor and begun catering to 558 00:36:36,239 --> 00:36:39,359 Speaker 2: upper middle class professionals and has become a party of 559 00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:43,160 Speaker 2: the elites and ivy leagues. In the United States, there 560 00:36:43,160 --> 00:36:46,200 Speaker 2: are a lot of people who don't vote based on 561 00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:51,000 Speaker 2: an ideology they hold, but in response to what's happening 562 00:36:51,160 --> 00:36:56,200 Speaker 2: in their communities. Hospitals closing jobs, disappearing groceries, and utility 563 00:36:56,239 --> 00:36:59,160 Speaker 2: is getting more expensive. Why would they vote for a 564 00:36:59,200 --> 00:37:02,840 Speaker 2: party that says everything is fine, the economy is technically 565 00:37:02,920 --> 00:37:07,279 Speaker 2: doing great. The democratic establishment has wagered that voters would 566 00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:11,200 Speaker 2: rather protect the system rather than change it, and in 567 00:37:11,239 --> 00:37:16,400 Speaker 2: twenty twenty four that wager was proven wrong. People want change, 568 00:37:16,640 --> 00:37:19,320 Speaker 2: even if that change is being promised by a billionaire 569 00:37:19,440 --> 00:37:23,640 Speaker 2: charlatan whose real interest is in serving the upper class 570 00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:26,960 Speaker 2: and tech companies. But for as many people who decided 571 00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:30,200 Speaker 2: to vote for Trump, there were many others who saw 572 00:37:30,239 --> 00:37:34,560 Speaker 2: through the charade but were so disillusioned by party politics 573 00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:38,880 Speaker 2: that they chose not to vote at all. Plattner's campaign 574 00:37:39,040 --> 00:37:41,960 Speaker 2: has made itself not just about taking on Trump or 575 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:46,680 Speaker 2: even Susan Collins, but a part of a larger seismic 576 00:37:46,760 --> 00:37:51,200 Speaker 2: shift the working class reasserting its power and taking back 577 00:37:51,239 --> 00:37:55,520 Speaker 2: the Democratic Party. To quote the main Monitor quote, Unlike 578 00:37:55,520 --> 00:37:58,360 Speaker 2: a Janet Mills, He's not trying to convince voters he 579 00:37:58,400 --> 00:38:01,239 Speaker 2: will stand up to Trump. He's trying to start a 580 00:38:01,320 --> 00:38:04,960 Speaker 2: movement to build a world without the despair and resentment 581 00:38:05,239 --> 00:38:10,000 Speaker 2: that he believes allows Trump's brand of politics to flourish unquote. 582 00:38:10,960 --> 00:38:14,520 Speaker 2: Later at that event in the town of Freiburg, Platner 583 00:38:14,640 --> 00:38:18,360 Speaker 2: told the crowd, quote, people when their lives begin to deteriorate, 584 00:38:18,440 --> 00:38:21,759 Speaker 2: are going to look for folks to blame. And if 585 00:38:21,760 --> 00:38:25,839 Speaker 2: we don't have an actual answer, then hatred and xenophobia, 586 00:38:25,880 --> 00:38:29,439 Speaker 2: and racism, and homophobia and transphobia, all of them will 587 00:38:29,480 --> 00:38:32,800 Speaker 2: fill the vacuum. This means we have to go out 588 00:38:32,840 --> 00:38:35,440 Speaker 2: in our community and we have to wear our hearts 589 00:38:35,560 --> 00:38:41,160 Speaker 2: on our sleeves unquote. Maine has semi open primaries, meaning 590 00:38:41,160 --> 00:38:45,680 Speaker 2: that unenrolled voters can vote in a party primary in 591 00:38:45,719 --> 00:38:48,400 Speaker 2: the leader to the primary. Platner's campaign at a series of 592 00:38:48,440 --> 00:38:53,080 Speaker 2: videos where he gets coffee with Republican leaning voters and 593 00:38:53,360 --> 00:38:56,960 Speaker 2: they talk about how their interests are more aligned compared 594 00:38:56,960 --> 00:39:01,480 Speaker 2: to the interests of Trump, the billionaire class, and Susan Collins. 595 00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:05,880 Speaker 2: Platner himself has said that his rise in Maine says 596 00:39:05,920 --> 00:39:09,160 Speaker 2: more about the appetite for a new kind of politics 597 00:39:09,960 --> 00:39:14,440 Speaker 2: rather than him specifically as a candidate. But from the 598 00:39:14,480 --> 00:39:18,239 Speaker 2: perspective of some voters, the slow drip of scandals and 599 00:39:18,360 --> 00:39:24,200 Speaker 2: controversies might actually bolster Platner's image as an anti establishment candidate. 600 00:39:24,920 --> 00:39:29,440 Speaker 2: For example, these people interviewed by CNN and MS, Now, are. 601 00:39:29,280 --> 00:39:33,239 Speaker 1: You considering holding your breath and voting for him? 602 00:39:33,360 --> 00:39:36,799 Speaker 2: I got until Tuesday to decide, but I'm pretty sure 603 00:39:36,800 --> 00:39:39,120 Speaker 2: I'll go for him. I don't take a lot of 604 00:39:39,160 --> 00:39:40,880 Speaker 2: this crap as anybody else's business. 605 00:39:41,160 --> 00:39:44,840 Speaker 1: For some Democrats, they're willing to look past the interpersonal stories. 606 00:39:45,160 --> 00:39:50,120 Speaker 1: I'm not really interested in the guy's foibles, you know. 607 00:39:50,440 --> 00:39:53,440 Speaker 2: I'm interested in his vision and what he has to say, 608 00:39:54,239 --> 00:39:56,839 Speaker 2: and I love what he has to say. So, yeah, 609 00:39:56,880 --> 00:40:01,319 Speaker 2: it's been definitely difficult because everybody is piling on this guy. 610 00:40:01,520 --> 00:40:04,759 Speaker 3: Does he have a problemat past, Yes, But I would 611 00:40:04,880 --> 00:40:08,439 Speaker 3: rather have a redemption story than somebody telling you how 612 00:40:08,480 --> 00:40:13,160 Speaker 3: wonderful they are, how much research they do, and yet 613 00:40:13,160 --> 00:40:16,239 Speaker 3: they still make the wrong decision for the people of me. 614 00:40:17,239 --> 00:40:21,120 Speaker 2: On election day, June ninth, Plattner won seventy one point 615 00:40:21,280 --> 00:40:24,560 Speaker 2: nine percent of the vote, with one hundred fifty four 616 00:40:24,600 --> 00:40:29,520 Speaker 2: thousand and fifty eight votes Governor Janet Mills, who stopped 617 00:40:29,560 --> 00:40:32,520 Speaker 2: campaigning a month and a half prior but remained on 618 00:40:32,560 --> 00:40:36,520 Speaker 2: the ballot one forty one thousand votes, or nineteen point 619 00:40:36,719 --> 00:40:41,360 Speaker 2: three percent. Grant Platner won more primary votes than any 620 00:40:41,440 --> 00:40:46,359 Speaker 2: other Democratic Senate candidate in the history of Maine. As 621 00:40:46,400 --> 00:40:49,399 Speaker 2: he walked onto the stage for his victory speech, drop 622 00:40:49,480 --> 00:40:53,240 Speaker 2: Kick Murphy's cover of Which Side Are You On blaired 623 00:40:53,280 --> 00:40:57,359 Speaker 2: in the background. Platner promised, quote, I will be a 624 00:40:57,400 --> 00:41:00,760 Speaker 2: Senator for the people who cannot afford to buy a senator. 625 00:41:01,840 --> 00:41:06,759 Speaker 1: Now. Now, the national pundits, the political establishment, they keep 626 00:41:06,840 --> 00:41:11,560 Speaker 1: looking for that one story, that one headline, that one 627 00:41:11,719 --> 00:41:16,279 Speaker 1: moment in my life that they can define the campaign by. 628 00:41:16,600 --> 00:41:20,360 Speaker 1: But in trying so hard to understand me, they failed 629 00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:30,240 Speaker 1: to understand that this is not about me at all. 630 00:41:30,480 --> 00:41:39,800 Speaker 1: This is a movement about us, about the far too many, 631 00:41:40,280 --> 00:41:44,399 Speaker 1: working far too hard and struggling far too much at 632 00:41:44,400 --> 00:41:46,160 Speaker 1: the hands of the ruling class. 633 00:41:47,040 --> 00:41:49,600 Speaker 2: At a town hall just a few days before the primary, 634 00:41:50,200 --> 00:41:53,560 Speaker 2: Platner spoke about the need to rebuild our old alliances 635 00:41:53,560 --> 00:41:56,880 Speaker 2: with labor union's, community organizations, and civil rights groups. 636 00:41:57,320 --> 00:41:57,600 Speaker 1: Quote. 637 00:41:58,520 --> 00:42:01,760 Speaker 2: The only thing that's ever been fascism is a broad 638 00:42:01,840 --> 00:42:06,360 Speaker 2: based working class coalition. Fascism is what we are up against. 639 00:42:06,880 --> 00:42:08,600 Speaker 2: I think a lot of the folks at the national 640 00:42:08,680 --> 00:42:13,000 Speaker 2: level misunderstand the reason. They keep getting everything wrong. They 641 00:42:13,000 --> 00:42:15,000 Speaker 2: think this is a race about me, but it isn't. 642 00:42:15,120 --> 00:42:17,560 Speaker 2: This is a race about us. This is a race 643 00:42:17,600 --> 00:42:20,160 Speaker 2: about the future of politics in Maine. This is a 644 00:42:20,239 --> 00:42:22,440 Speaker 2: race about building power the old fashion away from the 645 00:42:22,480 --> 00:42:26,840 Speaker 2: ground up, going out into our communities and having hard conversations, 646 00:42:27,280 --> 00:42:29,719 Speaker 2: putting in time and energy that many of us do 647 00:42:29,800 --> 00:42:33,840 Speaker 2: not have. We've got to do it anyway. So what 648 00:42:33,880 --> 00:42:36,360 Speaker 2: I'm asking to do. If you don't want to volunteer 649 00:42:36,480 --> 00:42:40,600 Speaker 2: on this campaign, that's fine. Join a labor union, Go 650 00:42:40,680 --> 00:42:43,640 Speaker 2: help out at the local food pountry, go help out 651 00:42:43,680 --> 00:42:46,839 Speaker 2: at a food bank. It doesn't matter what you do, 652 00:42:47,160 --> 00:42:50,600 Speaker 2: but you gotta do something because the moment we're in 653 00:42:50,680 --> 00:42:53,200 Speaker 2: right now, it's going to require all of us. 654 00:42:53,480 --> 00:42:55,000 Speaker 1: Unquote. 655 00:42:55,040 --> 00:42:57,520 Speaker 2: There were two hundred and fifteen thousand votes in the 656 00:42:57,520 --> 00:43:04,520 Speaker 2: Democratic primary. Platners Camp had fifteen thousand volunteers. These volunteers 657 00:43:04,640 --> 00:43:08,640 Speaker 2: went up against and beat the Democratic establishment, and now 658 00:43:08,680 --> 00:43:13,120 Speaker 2: they face the GOP establishment. This shift in the politics 659 00:43:13,120 --> 00:43:16,400 Speaker 2: of the Democratic Party is not isolated to Maine. Democratic 660 00:43:16,480 --> 00:43:19,919 Speaker 2: Socialists just won in Washington, DC, and following the election 661 00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:24,160 Speaker 2: of Zorammdani, nine more DSA candidates just won the Democratic 662 00:43:24,200 --> 00:43:27,640 Speaker 2: primary in New York, including three seats in the US 663 00:43:27,680 --> 00:43:33,600 Speaker 2: House Representatives. But Maine occupies a unique place in American politics. 664 00:43:33,880 --> 00:43:38,200 Speaker 2: The stereotypical purple state. Unseating Susan Collins would prove that 665 00:43:38,560 --> 00:43:43,239 Speaker 2: real working class politics don't just win liberal cities, but 666 00:43:43,440 --> 00:43:46,600 Speaker 2: can take down what Bernie Sanders would call the oligarchy. 667 00:43:48,200 --> 00:43:53,759 Speaker 1: There's an old saying, as Maine goes, so goes the nation. 668 00:43:54,800 --> 00:43:58,160 Speaker 1: If you want to stop if you want to stop 669 00:43:58,560 --> 00:44:02,120 Speaker 1: war with Iran in the Forever Wars, if you want 670 00:44:02,160 --> 00:44:06,040 Speaker 1: to give workers the rays they deserve, seniors the security 671 00:44:06,120 --> 00:44:09,120 Speaker 1: they worked for, you want to bring back Roe v. Wade. 672 00:44:09,600 --> 00:44:12,920 Speaker 4: As Maine goes, so goes the nation. 673 00:44:13,520 --> 00:44:16,240 Speaker 1: If you want to stop a Trump family slush fund, 674 00:44:16,600 --> 00:44:21,120 Speaker 1: their ballroom, their deals with Saudi princes and tech olnigarchs. 675 00:44:21,640 --> 00:44:25,200 Speaker 1: If you want to stop the corruption, As Maine goes, 676 00:44:25,840 --> 00:44:29,720 Speaker 1: so goes the nation. If we want to dismantle Ice, 677 00:44:30,440 --> 00:44:33,399 Speaker 1: win back the Senate, check Donald. 678 00:44:33,080 --> 00:44:38,680 Speaker 4: Trump's power, and take back hours. As Maine goes, so 679 00:44:39,080 --> 00:44:43,520 Speaker 4: goes the nation. Together, we will defeat Susan Collins. 680 00:44:44,480 --> 00:44:48,840 Speaker 2: Grand Platner is slightly ahead in the polls above Susan Collins, 681 00:44:49,320 --> 00:44:52,840 Speaker 2: but the race is still quite close. In twenty twenty, 682 00:44:52,880 --> 00:44:56,640 Speaker 2: when Collins was facing a challenger, she too was behind 683 00:44:56,680 --> 00:45:00,239 Speaker 2: in the polls, but still pulled off a victory. That 684 00:45:00,280 --> 00:45:03,279 Speaker 2: doesn't for me at It could happen here, see you 685 00:45:03,360 --> 00:45:09,319 Speaker 2: on the other side. It could Happen Here is a 686 00:45:09,360 --> 00:45:10,800 Speaker 2: production of cool Zone Media. 687 00:45:10,960 --> 00:45:14,040 Speaker 3: For more podcasts from cool Zone Media, visit our website 688 00:45:14,080 --> 00:45:17,680 Speaker 3: coolzonmedia dot com, or check us out on the iHeartRadio app, 689 00:45:17,760 --> 00:45:21,319 Speaker 3: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can 690 00:45:21,360 --> 00:45:23,680 Speaker 3: now find sources for it could Happen here listed directly 691 00:45:23,719 --> 00:45:24,839 Speaker 3: in episode descriptions. 692 00:45:25,200 --> 00:45:26,000 Speaker 2: Thanks for listening.