Jack Verrill is a sophomore at the University of Michigan. Born and raised in Falmouth, he writes columns for the Michigan Daily about politics, economics and technology. He can be reached at [email protected]. 

As a Mainer currently studying at the University of Michigan, it’s cool to see my home state in the news. Graham Platner, the oyster farmer turned senatorial candidate, is at the center of political discussion on campus. And it’s not just that he’s running against Sen. Collins (most college kids don’t know who she is), it’s that he has actual opinions, on immigration, housing and war, that other Democrats are afraid to utter. 

Naturally, Washington hates him. Sen. Chuck Schumer, whose knowledge of Maine consists of Portland and Bar Harbor, decided he knows what Mainers want better than we do. His choice, our 77-year old governor, is as uninspiring as it is predictable. Janet Mills does not seem to have an authentic view on anything, and that’s the point. 

Which is why the governor is trading in opposition research compiled by swamp creatures (I mean “political operatives”) at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to attack Platner. While the tattoo and Reddit posts are awful, the real story is not about a Marine’s drunk decision while on shore leave, nor is it about a veteran venting his anger after four combat tours. The real story is about D.C. elites deciding our election for us. 

Remember, the DSCC has access to Graham Platner’s entire online life. If he said anything remotely antisemitic or fascistic, we would know. So would the government, which granted Platner a security clearance after thoroughly examining his tattoos. This is a classic political hit: Find an inflammatory video, strip it of all context and send it to your buddies in the media. Meanwhile, the tattoo has been covered up. 

As for the Reddit posts, they’re awful. Platner’s characterization of rural voters was stupid, his blanket attack on cops was gross and his attempt to downplay sexual assault was completely inappropriate.

Yet the Platner we see today is so obviously different from the online rage-baiter on display in those posts. I suppose I could sit here (as a college student who has never served in combat) and eviscerate him for his many sins. But I don’t know what war is like, and if you serve in combat and write nasty online comments because of it, it’s not my place to judge. 

Nevertheless, if you still refuse to give him an inch, I want you to consider the bigger picture. Graham Platner leads the Democratic primary by relentlessly focusing on working class issues, and now the people who for years demanded we “vote blue no matter who” are attacking him.

Ask yourself whether these people have your best interests at heart. Have any of those Schumer-backed “aid” packages sent abroad made their way back home into your pocket? Are the bridges and hospitals where you live being rebuilt?

Platner puts it best, “In 1990, there were 66 billionaires in America. Today there are over 900. When you look around, do you see a community that is over 10 times wealthier than in 1990?” No wonder they want us to focus on tattoos and Reddit posts. 

So, to my Democratic friends: Sen. Mills would be a PAC-funded obstacle to any progressive agenda –– on housing, taxation and the Middle East. She’s as corporate as the rest of them. 

And to my Republican friends: Graham Platner is being attacked by the same out-of-touch liberals who think your values are a joke and your concerns don’t count. They’re trying to cancel a Marine Corps veteran because he doesn’t salute the party line.  

We can all stand against this.