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Ilze Petersons is a retired program coordinator for the Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine.
I have been troubled by recent revelations about Graham Platner. But I agreed with him when he said the amazing groundswell of support for his candidacy was not for him as an individual politician, but rather for his clarity about the changes we need in our country’s leadership.
He spoke boldly, inviting participation by people in Maine communities who may never have become involved. He mobilized a broad-based movement of young and old. He spoke directly to issues most folks are dealing with and how they are impacted by President Donald Trump and the billionaires. He held more than 50 town halls, while Sen. Susan Collins has not held even one in decades. In response, he galvanized thousands of volunteers and raised millions for his campaign, primarily from small donors.
Trump and Republican supporters have gutted healthcare, wasted billions on an unnecessary war in the Middle East, caused price increases on daily necessities while enriching themselves and their families and selling pardons to criminals. Meanwhile, we the people watch Trump create monuments to himself and affix his name to public buildings while erecting what are essentially concentration camps for and deporting immigrants who labor in the fields to grow our food, build our homes, and care for our loved ones. Most are not the “worst of the worst” as Trump claims. Those who protest may be arrested or even killed, as were Renee Good and Alex Preti, by masked immigration and border agents in Minneapolis.
And we are overwhelmed by many more outrages by this administration that threaten our democracy and deny our country’s past errors such as the genocide against Native Americans and slavery. Freedom of speech, civil liberties, and even our ability and right to vote are threatened. And so much more.
Republican supporters, frequently including Collins, have enabled all this. Collins is a recipient of millions of dollars in donations from private equity companies, supported the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, which then overturned a woman’s right to choose, and voted for most of Trump’s nominees for his Cabinet and agencies, many of whom I believe are corrupt and incompetent, who have carried out his cruel policies.
I do not believe establishment Democrats have effectively challenged the shift of wealth from most of us to the oligarchs, billionaires, and corporate elite. But progressives like Democratic Socialists of America around the country have gained support by addressing the real causes of problems most of us face and promoting necessary solutions such as Medicare for All.
I remain hopeful that whoever the Maine Democratic candidate for the Senate will be, they will continue to acknowledge and build this movement to challenge the dangerous policies Collins supports and Platner effectively mobilized against.
No one should be enabled to sexually assault another, and that includes our elected representatives. Donald Trump was elected president despite being found liable for sexually abusing a woman and accused by dozens more, some of whom were paid for their silence.
Collins has voted the majority of the time with this president who boasts of his power to dominate and abuse women, racial minorities, and others with less power. I believe she does not deserve our vote despite the deluge of expensive ad campaigns touting her accomplishments, which have helped some, but likely hurt many more. These ads attempt to deflect attention away from the deeper and broader consequences of her power-defined record.