Politico: The Biggest Loser in PlatnerGate Is ...

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Is there only one winner loser in this competition? Normally, I oppose participation trophies on principle, but this situation practically screams for an exception. Every single Democrat who endorsed Graham Platner for the US Senate should wear that around their necks like political millstones for the rest of their careers. 

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Still, Politico argues that one person in particular deserves the title of Herr Totendumkopf most. That person went the furthest out of his way to inject himself into the Senate race, and the most obviously for his own political benefit. That person also tried very hard to eat his #MeToo cake and have it too, right up to the very last moment when he practically rebranded the Captain Louis Renault Award.

And the winner – er, the loser – is ... 

In the blast radius from the sexual assault allegations against Graham Platner, few politicians are taking a harder hit than Silicon Valley Rep. Ro Khanna.

Khanna, arguably more than any other national Democrat, provided political cover for the renegade Maine Senate candidate. He stood by Platner as he was buffeted by a series of controversies and physically stood with him onstage at a campaign rally in Maine, one day after the New York Times reported on the oysterman’s toxic behavior toward former girlfriends.

That alliance was severed Monday, after POLITICO reported on allegations that Platner sexually assaulted Jenny Racicot, a woman he once dated. Platner denied the allegation, saying that “any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue.”

But Khanna, who had earlier defended Platner as someone deserving of grace, had had enough.

“I’ve been very clear that sexual assault or violence against women is a red line. These allegations are very serious and credible. Graham Platner should drop out from the race. I am withdrawing my endorsement,” he posted on social media roughly two hours after the story was published.

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Senate Democrat Ruben Gallego tried this same Louis Renault ploy yesterday while withdrawing his endorsement of Platner. Lyndsey Fifield, whose specific and corroborated allegation of domestic violence in the earlier New York Times report went ignored by both Gallego and Khanna, offered this riposte:

Khanna handled it even more poorly. After the NYT report, Khanna tried to argue that he believed Lyndsey's allegation but insisted that it didn't matter. Platner had changed since then, Khanna insisted, and argued that voters should heed Platner's plea for "grace and redemption" by giving him a seat in the US Senate. The next day, Khanna defended Platner as an ally against the "Epstein class," whatever that means in Khanna's malignant mind. 

Khanna then outdid Gallego in his Claude Rains impersonation yesterday afternoon by pretending that violence against women was a red line for his support. I commented on that at the time:

Khanna lied through his teeth in this statement. When Lyndsey went public about Platner's domestic violence, Khanna excused it and demanded that voters deliver a Senate seat because of "grace and redemption." Khanna doesn't have a standard; he has ambition, and he has a thirst for power. Jenny Racicot's decision to go fully public with what she told the New York Times – and which they buried in an attempt to leave Lyndsey twisting in the wind as a political piñata – forced Khanna's hand only because it completely reset the political environment. 

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Khanna is a despicable figure in American politics. He's hardly alone in being exposed by PlatnerGate, of course. Everyone who supported Platner despite the Nazi Totenkopf tattoo and his online musings about how women who didn't wear Kevlar underwear bore responsibility for rape has been exposed as despicable, too. Those who continued to stick with Platner after the NYT report exposed him as violent toward women deserve special disgust, and that includes practically everyone in the Democrat Party save John Fetterman, the lone voice warning against the "dirtbag" from Maine – Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and the entire Left. 

Khanna deserves special attention, however, for two reasons. First, he recognized that the allegations were disqualifying and insisted that voters simply ignore them. Second, Khanna used Platner for his own ambitions to the presidency, not just for power in the Senate. Khanna's personal ambition in this project was so obvious as to be embarrassing even before the final implosion. Now, Khanna's attempts to distance himself from the trap he set for himself demonstrate the low character he brings to public office so clearly that he will never recover from it. 

Speaking of Fetterman, the only major Democrat to demonstrate integrity in these episodes took a moment last night to point that out. Speaking to Laura Ingraham last night on Fox News, Fetterman pointed out that Democrats just went through the same thing with Eric Swalwell, and maybe have a bigger problem than Platner. Fact check: True.

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