I was really surprised to read a letter from Max Cooper of Portland, who said he was “embarrassed” that combat veteran and oyster farmer Graham Platner was running to represent Maine in the U.S. Senate (March 3).    

I’m a Platner supporter and I couldn’t be more proud. Why? Because Platner wants to tax the billionaires who have used their money to capture all three branches of government while the rest of us struggle to pay for health care, housing, education and retirement.

He also knows the real costs of war and would never risk the lives of the men and women in our military by sending them to kill and destroy unless it was absolutely necessary.

And perhaps most importantly, he understands that the only thing that can stand up to the power of obscene wealth is the effort of many people coming together around a common goal. That’s why thousands of us have signed up to make phone calls, knock on doors and do what it takes to get him elected.

However, there is one Maine politician who does make me ashamed — it’s Sen. Susan Collins. She would rather cut taxes for billionaires than help Maine families get decent health care. And she’s never met a reckless war of choice that she didn’t like, from Iraq in 2003 to Iran in 2026.

I’m looking forward to a fall campaign where Platner can confront Collins’ embarrassing record with his plan to rebuild our broken system.

Then we’ll have a U.S. senator we can really be proud of.

Greg Kesich
Portland