Former Platner Campaign Manager: Don't Let Him In the Senate!

I believe Lyndsey Fifield, in part because I know her and in part because of the considerable evidence and testimony supporting her allegations. I believe Jenny Racicot, in large part for speaking out against her nominal political interests. And I suspect we'll believe Graham Platner's teenage correspondents on Kik, if and when they emerge to tell their stories.

For those who have dispensed with "believe all women" to hug a Nazi-tatted creep, perhaps one more woman might convince them to reconsider. Platner's former campaign manager wrote a blistering op-ed for the Washington Post last night, in which she argues that "enough is enough" with the gaslighting. Genevieve McDonald quit the campaign after seeing Platner's true character, and wants Maine voters to send Platner back to political oblivion.

The Washington Post has this paywalled, but the New York Post reported on McDonald's argument:

Graham Platner’s ex-political director expressed her growing concern about the embattled Maine Democrat in a Washington Post op-ed Monday, arguing that her former boss “‘shouldn’t be a US senator.”

“I quit the campaign in October, disturbed by what I learned about the candidate and concerned about his potential impact on the Democratic Party’s prospects in my home state,” Genevieve McDonald wrote. “As Tuesday’s primary arrives, I want to make clear what transpired since August and why my concerns have only grown.” ... 

“Despite being exposed by a series of scandals beginning last October, he kept assuring voters and the Democratic Party that there were no more skeletons in his closet,” she continued. “Then more emerged — the latest, in recent days, have involved former girlfriends’ serious accusations of physical mistreatment.” 

McDonald had already revealed that she refused to sign an NDA despite getting offered $15,000 to keep her mouth shut. In her essay, she explains that women had already told her about abuse and that she refused to stay silent about it. Mediaite picked up on that, plus McDonald's assertion that Platner and his PR team tried to gaslight her as well:

“Despite being exposed by a series of scandals beginning last October, he kept assuring voters and the Democratic Party that there were no more skeletons in his closet,” she continued. “Then more emerged – the latest, in recent days, have involved former girlfriends’ serious accusations of physical mistreatment.” ...

“I was willing to believe his explanations, I wanted to believe, until his flaws as a candidate became impossible to ignore,” McDonald wrote.

She also claimed that after resigning, she was offered “$15,000 to sign a nondisclosure agreement,” an offer she said she declined. She further wrote that “over the past eight months, women have come to me with their own disturbing stories about Platner.”

“The answer to a broken political culture is not to accept it. Demand better from those entrusted with power or seeking it. Enough is enough,” McDonald signed off.

This raises an important question: Just how many women are Democrats prepared to disbelieve when it comes to Platner? We're up to three on the record now, and a fourth who spoke anonymously to the NYT. This woman worked with Platner as an ally until the scandals began to pile up, and resisted the temptation to be bought off to remain silent about it. Will Democrat socialists now throw McDonald under the bus, too, as a politically motivated liar in an attempt to rescue Der Oysterführer?

Some of them will, apparently. One PAC from the Women's March has decided to reiterate their support for Platner. March On PAC issued a renewed endorsement this morning by email:

Portland, ME — As Maine voters head to the polls today, March On PAC Executive Director Andrea Pringle is available to discuss the organization's continued, unequivocal endorsement of Graham Platner for U.S. Senate — and why a women-led organization born out of the Women's March is doubling down on the strongest progressive challenger to Susan Collins in a generation.

March On PAC — a women-led, women-operated political action committee with deep roots in the Women's March movement — endorsed Platner early and is standing firm. In a political environment where outside money, tabloid narratives, and establishment pressure too often determine who survives a primary, March On PAC is making a different calculation: one rooted in record, values, and the urgent need to defeat Susan Collins and reclaim the Senate for working people.

So much for believing all women at the Women's March. 

Also, the latest episode of The Ed Morrissey Show podcast is now up! Today's show features:

•  Do you know who Scott Pelley is? We certainly do now that his hubris has been exposed. 
• Andrew Malcolm and I propose some creative paths for insubordination for those who want to lose multi-million-dollar salaries. 
• We also take a look at how the Bidens are hijacking the midterms from Democrats who just want them to go away. 

The Ed Morrissey Show is now a fully downloadable and streamable show at  Spotify, Apple Podcasts, the TEMS Podcast YouTube channel, and on Rumble and our own in-house portal at the #TEMS page!