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'The Oligarchy Is the Enemy': Maine Oyster Farmer Launches Senate Bid to Oust Susan Collins | Common Dreams (www.commondreams.org)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/usa@lemmy.ml
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Julia Conley
Aug 19, 2025

Launching a US Senate run to unseat five-term Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, oyster farmer Graham Platner on Tuesday made clear in his inaugural ad that beating the "fake" moderate also means taking on the power-hungry billionaire class that has helped keep her in power all these years.

The enemy that the vast majority of Americans and Mainers have in common, said Platner, "is the oligarchy."

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[–] 18 points 1 year ago (7 children)

Considering he’s coming from a rather humble profession completely unrelated to politic and hasn’t done anything of the sort yet: maybe pump the brakes on the wild, unjustified pessimism until he actual does something that’s worthy of being pessimistic about. This guy is the caliber of politician we should be lauding and supporting.

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  • [+] -9 points 1 year ago (6 children)

    Why? (One word question, but sincere)

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago* (5 children)

    Let me answer your question with another question: if you immediately assume bad faith and maliciousness of literally anyone who tries to get into politics, regardless of their motivations and beliefs, what does that say about your own opinions of the (small d) democratic process, and representative democracies in general?

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  • [–] -3 points 1 year ago* (3 children)

    why is he running for senator, not governor or representative? Why not a city council? Why not state senate or house? How is he going to introduce legislation with zero experience in government service? He needs to answer those questions, but his answer is "Im a successful businessman and I will just use morality to introduce bills! I know legal text and thats why I am prepared to fight all of the lawyers who make up the republican side. I have a history of working with others to bring about change by... digging up oysters and getting rich by it?"

    Senators are legislators, not "leaders" who make decisions. If he wants to make main prosperous through his decision making skills, thats the fucking governors job.

    Can he read this and accurately vote for legislation around this legal text? That will benefit mainers? Does he even know how to read this? https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/19/1675b

    That is just one fraction of the US legal code. aka the fucking law of land that republicans are using and abusing to bring about fascism. How can he weaponize it to stop them?

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Because the DNC is manifestly incapable of enacting meaningful change, and often simply acts as captive opposition. Mamdani’s campaign is running on largely the same point.

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  • [–] -2 points 1 year ago* (1 child)

    mamdani isn't pretending to be a legislator either. He's actually doing something to benefit others with an actual plan. Becoming a legislator isn't a plan. This oyster farmers plan is to become a legislator to enact what new legislation? Who is his team of legal code experts to do his job for him? "I have legislation ready to help maine, for example I will introduce a new bill to do x y and z for mainers and can be achieved in a bipartisan manner because of my experience in a b and c" that is what a leader in legislation does. Oyster farmers just say "its time to end corruption by voting for me!"

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

    Did you put Fetterman on the grill like this? Or did you blindly listen to establishment voices telling you how progressive he is, while ignoring his actions as mayor?

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  • [–] -3 points 1 year ago

    If am a passionate progressive ( I am not, but let us pretend), how do I decide which candidates to promote in the primaries? Each candidate I wish to support takes my limited time and resources, and time away from family and work. Even if I believe in good candidates, how do I not get fooled given there is already a long proven line of con artists? Should I look at someone's personal history to see how they stand out from others who let me down? (this is what I asked, dear reader, in all those comments previously)

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