Hallmarks of an orchestrated smear

[pat_k]

15. Classic counter-resistance stuff. Demonize, demoralize.

It's up to us to say F-that!!

Do I wish the unions had recruited someone who had been vetted in a previous campaigns for something? Yeah. But they didn't. They recruited Graham Platner. I put trust in that judgment. And I believe he remains a hell of a candidate.

I don't live in Maine, but I'll do my bit to support his candidacy. And do my bit to just say "NO" to the forces that are trying to incite a mob against him.

I have no doubt that Mr. Platner understands the role his conduct is playing. As far as I can tell he is is taking responsibility for that. And that shows character IMO.

Whether my judgment of him is right or wrong, what I do know for certain is that is that it is:

WRONG for a campaign staffer to leak something his wife revealed as part of the internal vetting process.

WRONG to report that betrayal of trust as if his wife was an accuser, instead of what she was, a part of a couple that has done, and continues to do, the work -- a person who feels deeply betrayed by the breach of trust.

WRONG to report an account of a violent interaction for which there is no concrete corroboration, while offering so-called "support" that amounts to little more than vague innuendo.

WRONG to pile on with reports of "unsettling" behavior as if he had been a rapist.