The throng of Suburus headed south on 295 towards Portland yesterday competed with the ordinary exodus of Massholes from Maine on Labor Day suggesting that something perhaps bigger than the migration of Canadian geese was in the air. Progressive icon U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) was coming to the Pine Tree State’s most progressive city which in itself could be a cause for celebration of Maine leftists, but there was something else going on as well.
What drew Senator Sanders to Maine on the day that not only marks the end of summer but also the national holiday of the labor movement was his endorsement of two Democrat candidates for state-wide office: former state senator Troy Jackson for governor and until just over two weeks ago the previously unknown oysterman from Sullivan, 40-year-old Graham Platner.
Over the course of a few hours, the Cumberland County Civic Center – or Cross Arena – nearly filled its 6,000 seats as mild-mannered, gentle folk from across Maine quietly took their places to see what the show might bring. “Fight Oligarchy” read the branding from the big screens, and labor union activists passed out Jackson signs – a few even wore t-shirts hailing the ‘Johnny Cash from the Allagash’ – but the crowd seemed primed for something new.
Your correspondent and a seemingly morose Lady Liberty
Jackson – who did sport a black shirt like the famed troubadour on Monday evening – has run for office before, just as Sanders has swung through Maine on his previous presidential runs affording Facebook profile pics for many.
For the most part, it seemed that this time the crowd was there to see what all the fuss was about surrounding Platner, who has generated reams of national-level press since announcing his candidacy for the Democrat nomination to take on incumbent Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) next year. While a good portion of attendees probably read both the New Republic and New York Magazine, these are not – after all – Maine rags.
The gravely-voiced harbormaster from Frenchman’s Bay did not disappoint in his debut. His opening speech may have lasted ten minutes, but it was interrupted by standing ovations just as many times.
What makes Platner interesting, and potentially dangerous to Collins, is his willingness to take swings at both sides. “The system is not broken,” he pointed out, “it is working exactly the way it was designed to do,” he said. Democrats has been just as feckless in challenging the capitalist structure as Republicans have been gleeful in exploiting it, he told crowd.
Young people are fleeing Maine because it is too hard to find joy in an existence dominated by the struggle just to survive, Platner observed in a statement that is both true and mildly ironic. After all, the great job-killer is not so much nasty Mr. Burns as it is the business-hostile environment made worse by the current powers that be in Augusta, but that is an argument for another day. What mattered in Portland yesterday was whether this unknown commodity could give a speech.
And he can.
Earlier in the day, Platner spoke to a crowd in Ellsworth estimated at 500, wearing shorts that revealed a tattoo on his leg “Fortis fortuna audievat,” or fortune favors the bold. For Sanders, the former Marine and Army special operations soldier donned trousers, but nonetheless looked hale and hearty. He is quickly gathering steam.
There were other idiosyncrasies on display as well, including the overwhelming ‘whiteness’ of Bernie Bros. Though I was warmly greeted at the entrance by Portland City Councilman Pious Ali, I’m not sure I saw another black face in the crowd of thousands, but this – after all – Maine, even if the city where the event was held looks far more diverse than the interior of the civic center last night. That is really a question for the internal dynamics of Democrats, some of whom later groused on-line about the male-dominated nature of the rally (though the men who spoke did inveigh against Roe v Wade‘s being overturned on Collins’ watch).
Now Platner’s dance card is filled with West coast fundraisers over the next two weeks, more than a dozen by one count, which will likely help fill his war-chest beyond the $1 million he raised in a week. On Monday he called on the labor movement and Maine progressives to organize to take back power, specifically by de-throning Collins. His calls to do so in Portland elicited thunderous support. The question now is how that will resonate throughout the rest of Maine.
