Graham Platner's finance director resigns over "difference in standards"

[PeaceWave]

Maine oyster farmer and U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner continues to see shakeups in his campaign staff, as his finance director resigned Friday over what he described as a difference in standards.

Ronald Holmes III announced in a LinkedIn post that he resigned as national finance director for the "Graham for Maine" campaign effective immediately.

"I joined this campaign because I believed in building something different — a campaign of fresh energy, integrity, and reform-minded thinking in a political system that often resists exactly those things. Somewhere along the way, I began to feel that my professional standards as a campaign professional no longer fully aligned with those of the campaign," Holmes said in the post.

https://www.wmtw.com/article/graham-platner-finance-director-resigns-maine-senate-campaign/69216868

[tritsofme]

1. It is past time for the Nazi tattoo guy to end this farcical campaign.

Democrats have a lot of talent in Maine, this guy is just a fatally flawed distraction.

[drray23]

2. Interesting. Difference in standard.

I wonder if he means i can not work with him because of all that has come out ( nazi tattoo, LGBT smears, etc...) or if he is alluding to potential campaign finance violations that he won't go along with.

[AZJonnie]

3. Or both?

Since they are def. not mutually exclusive, rather, indeed, one might logically presage another?

[Fiendish Thingy]

4. So who's in charge of recruiting a scandal free, under 60 populist to take Platner's place and take on Mills? Nt

[QueerDuck]

7. LOL! You did a great job of imitating (and ridiculing) the types of purity test & ageist comments I've been hearing...

for quite some time now. To those folks, I'd offer a reminder that Mills doesn't need to be "perfect" ... just perfect-enough to unseat Collins. That's good enough for me. Now is not the time for untested newbies (who have never held public office in their life) or who do not have enough awareness of themselves, or the world around them.

[Fiendish Thingy]

9. I think a Mills/Collins race would be a nail biter

Mills is pro-filibuster, (which is an dealbreaker for me)and will be 79 at the start of the new term.

Surely, there are better, scandal free candidates out there.

The primary is eight months away,and there is absolutely no reason to lock into a single candidate right now, when the filing deadline is six months away.

Plenty of time to find the best candidate possible.

[RandySF]

5. He seems to repel those who are in closest proximity

That should be a red flag.

[QueerDuck]

6. He is no longer a serious candidate. He is "damaged goods"... the only question that remains is...

how much damage he will do to the Democratic party and the primary process. How much division, distrust, resentment, paranoia and anger will he gin-up... thus suppressing the vote (both during the primary and general election) and eventually handing another victory to Collins?

Bernie made a mistake in endorsing him. With all that we've discovered, it's clear that the vetting process was minimal (if any was done at all).

The whole thing has become farce.

[W_HAMILTON]

8. Sanders should answer how he arrived at his decision to endorse this man in the first place.

Platner has no history as an elected official but he has QUITE the history of problematic statements and viewpoints.

What vetting did Sanders do to believe this guy was worthy of endorsing? Was any vetting even done? If not, how did Sanders even decide to endorse the guy? What has he done to make him worthy of Sanders endorsement?

[QueerDuck]

10. I don't know why Sanders doesn't just say "oops!" and withdraw the endorsement. He withdrew his endorsement of Uygur...

... in December 2019 due to a combination of intense backlash from grassroots supporters over Uygur's history of controversial and offensive comments. (It was amusing how Uygur tried to give Bernie an "out" by rejecting all endorsements... or maybe it was a "sour grapes" approach knowing that he wouldn't receive ANY respectable mainstream endorsements.)

It amazes me that Platner's most hardcore supporters know virtually nothing about him (or they are in complete denial about his past words and deeds) yet they support him blindly for one reason. Ugh.