During a CNN broadcast, political commentator Scott Jennings challenged the Democratic Party’s sudden decision to distance itself from Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner, arguing that the candidate’s highly controversial background was already well-documented and accepted by party leadership.
Jennings disputed claims that Platner had not been properly vetted by the party prior to the primary election. He noted that high-profile progressives and national figures had previously rallied behind the candidate despite a string of past controversies.
“All of the things that have been stated, it was all out in the public and people like Ro Khanna, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Tim Walz, ‘The Bulwark,’ ‘Pod Save America,’ all of these people came together to overlook it all, to explain it all, to rationalize it all,” Jennings stated during the broadcast.
According to Jennings, the political establishment and voters were fully aware of Platner’s history before the ballots were cast. “He was vetted,” Jennings said. “People knew all these things and a whole bunch of Democrats in Maine showed up and voted for him anyway. And a bunch from around the country sent him money anyway.”
Jennings listed several of the prior allegations and affiliations that failed to derail Platner’s campaign support, including a “Nazi tattoo, a self-described communist, somebody who’s had rape fantasies, [and] somebody who has been on a social media platform known as a playground for predators.”
The turning point for the campaign came with a new accusation involving home invasion and sexual assault. Jennings alleged that the primary difference causing the sudden shift in party support is the political alignment of the newest accuser compared to previous ones.
“The difference between this accuser and the previous one is simply this, she’s a liberal,” Jennings argued. “It’s okay, I guess, for Democrats that their candidates assault conservatives. But he broke into someone’s house. And apparently, according to her, raped her. And because her politics are correct, they can now believe it.”
Jennings criticized the timing of the party’s withdrawal, stating that the decision to abandon the candidate now is hypocritical given what had already been overlooked.
“All of this whole thing is disgusting but to say that they hadn’t vetted him, or that they didn’t know about all this is totally false,” Jennings said. “They knew it and they signed up for it and I don’t know why they’re backing away from this scumbag today when they had already signed off on all that other crazy behavior.”
READ: Did He Flinch? MSNBC Hosts Say Maine Senate Candidate’s Abuse Denial Felt ‘Wobbly’
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