A Democrat U.S. Senate contender from Maine is suddenly showing off a new suit, while taking a dig at a big name politician who rarely wears one and whose former staff he now employs.
In a Facebook post Thursday night, Graham Platner went after fellow Democrat John Fetterman of Pennsylvania.
“I want to be clear,” Platner posted. “If I’m in the Senate, I would proudly wear a suit and show respect for the history of the Senate, unlike one senator.”
The post showed Platner posing in a dark suit, white shirt and striped tie – arguably the first time he’s ever been seen dressed to the nines.
Or dressed even to the fives, really.
Platner, whose campaign so far has shown him to be comfortable in every mode of dress and undress, has a strange beef with Fetterman.
So if in fact the Maine “oyster farmer” makes it past Gov. Janet Mills in next year’s primary and then the GOP incumbent, Susan Collins, he’ll be matching threads with a 6’6” guy from Pennsylvania who’s famous for wearing hoodies instead of suits.
Fetterman’s refusal to dress for the Senate’s traditional decorum has always left many wondering what that’s all about. The debate about it even led Collins to threaten to wear a swimsuit on the Senate floor two years ago.
The freshman Pennsylvania senator is well known to be a lingering stroke survivor who struggles with depression so he’s a rather sympathetic figure hard to criticize for anything, let alone his lack of suits.
But be that as it may.
The question is why would a Democrat-hopeful senate candidate from a tiny state who hasn’t even gotten beyond the primary yet – and would presumably be in the same voting block as Mr. Hoodie if he does – might pick a strange pre-game fight with a guy who’s not only much bigger than him but comes from a larger state whose political influence could help a newbie such as Platner.
Platner’s weird post immediately attracted a comment from one Facebooker, Clint Self, who said “that was unnecessary Graham Platner.”
And Platner apparently couldn’t stop with just making fun of Fetterman’s clothes.
Shortly after putting up the original post, he then put up his own comment on his own post saying “I won’t be a Netanyahu lackey, either.”
Ah, now we’re getting somewhere – Fetterman has been roiled by the liberal wing of his party for allegedly being soft on Israel in its fight against Hamas in Gaza.
Fetterman has all but given the world’s only Jewish state a green light to do whatever is needed to defend its sovereignty, alienating many fair-weather liberals who are afraid to make it look like they are too close to Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial militant refusal to compromise on his tiny country’s survival.
Platner is apparently feeling the weight of continuing speculation that he’s the newest version of John Fetterman – a rough-around-the-edges candidate who’s overcome several controversies to become a household name almost in spite of himself.
In fact, he even hired former Fetterman advisor Joe Calvello to be his communications director several months ago.
Legacy liberal media around the country early last month began running fawning stories comparing Platner to Fetterman and Platner at the time tried to downplay any such speculation.
But judging from Thursday night’s post it’s apparent that Platner still hasn’t gotten out from under Fetterman’s veil – and he doesn’t like it.
“Look, as somebody that was disappointed with Fetterman, if I was me looking in, I would have the same concerns,” Platner told NBC News after a campaign rally in Portland a month ago. “We’ve been burned before.”
Allan Smith of Yahoo News wrote after that rally that Platner and Fetterman “have notable surface-level similarities.”
Smith said they are “both tattooed, shoot-from-the-hip white men who have a more working-class aesthetic, eschewing a shirt-and-tie ensemble for hoodies and crewnecks.”
But from now on it’s “I’m Beau Brummell, running to be your Maine senator. And make no mistake – I’m no John Fetterman.”
Meanwhile, besides his new role as a clothes horse, Platner went on social media – again, on Thursday night – begging for cash.
“We’re a little short of our fundraising goal to beat Susan Collins,” he said in a Facebook video. “So we’re trying something new – we’re asking you to pitch in by donating just $1.”
Notably, by the time Platner had posted that campaign ad, the “oyster farmer” had already shucked the suit. He was back to a brown, three-button, crewneck sweater, sleeves pushed up exposing some of his many tattoos.
So maybe he really is a John Fetterman clone, despite his latest protests to the contrary.
Going after John Fetterman, of all people, on the same night he tells voters he’s short on cash could well be a sign that Platner fears he’s not lighting the fire he needs under enough of Maine’s die-hard liberals to beat the more-conservative Mills in the upcoming primary.
The good news is if Vice-President J.D. Vance ever asks him “do you even own a suit?” Platner can, without blinking an eye, say yes.
