I was personally quite wary of Graham Platner from the moment I heard of him simply because his known baggage painted a picture of an extremely flawed man who, I believed, did not deserve anyone's vote never mind Democratic support.

However, at the same time, I was very concerned that whomever won the primary **could** win in the general against Senator Susan Collins because of the importance of winning back the senate.

It was clear that Governor Janet Mills was far less likely to beat Collins and that Maniacs were WILLING to ignore Platners's known scandals because they cared MORE about replacing Collins than they did about a sketchy Nazi tattoo he'd long covered up & claimed he'd been unaware of its meaning and his notorious sex scandals where he was sexting multiple women with graphic photos and language while also married.

While I abhor that kind of behavior and consider it disqualifying for public office, I also recognized that it was not my state nor my call. The fact that Maniacs were willing to vote for him in spite of his dishonesty and betrayals in his personal life bothered me, but I got it. Their desire to replace Collins superseded their desire for the best candidate when they expected him to win and Mills to lose, in spite of her being well-liked as Governor. Platner's generous & exciting progressive platform appealed to them over Mills' more neutral and centrist platform.

So I let myself push aside my reservations to sit warily on the bandwagon because of the profound importance of replacing Collins and retaking the Senate.

Now I feel some shame for putting priciple and values aside to gain something far less important than principle, ethics, and morality.

Now I hope everyone has learned from this fiasco that seriously flawed candidates should be weeded out early! I'm also heartened that there ARE lines that Maniacs and Dems WON'T cross, even for a hoped for win.