I have several female friends who have been victims of domestic abuse. Over the past decade, they have confided in me because I’ve been open about my mental health struggles. When you make yourself vulnerable, it often gives others permission to do the same.It is difficult to hear their stories. That’s one reason it has been personally difficult for me to hear what some of the women involved with Graham Platner have described. One friend once told me, “You will never know what it’s like when someone grabs your throat and you see that look in their eyes.”That comment haunts me.The allegations against Platner have rightly thrown Maine Democrats into a genuine crisis of conscience: How do you hold your candidate accountable for alleged harm done to women while keeping your hopes of winning a Senate seat alive?It is an ugly situation, and one I’ve been asked about repeatedly. “What do you think about Graham Platner?” My answer is simple. He should have never entered the race. if you have skeletons in the closet, especially bad ones like his, they eventually come out.Anyone considering a run for public office should understand that. If there is something significant in your past that you are hiding, the odds are beyond good that it will become public, and when it does, the consequences can be devastating.Not just for the person, but their party, and the electorate.Just ask Graham Platner.But here we are. And now, the question is what happens next.Putting personal feelings aside and looking at this purely as a political campaign, I increasingly see a race between two flawed candidates. Some flaws are more serious than others, but none of us are without them.As Democrats wrestle with Platner’s past, I have found myself looking more closely at the other candidate, Susan Collins. And in doing so, I realized something. Watching her play the role of the appalled bystander, the righteous observer who would never tolerate such conduct, for example, has become difficult for me.That is not a role she has earned. And I say this not to rationalize, or to try and make an excuse or reason to vote for Platner.When The New York Times published its account of Platner’s past behavior toward women, allegations of intimidation, emotional abuse, and conduct that left former partners frightened, I waited to hear Collins respond. She eventually did.“The allegations in the latest story are troubling,” Collins said. “I believe that Graham Platner has a lot of questions to answer.”She is right. He does.And so does she.The irony that keeps getting buried in campaign coverage is that Collins has her own record when it comes to accountability and harm toward women.I have known several women who have had abortions, and I am humbled that they trusted me enough to share those experiences. Every one of them described the decision as painful, emotionally complicated, and deeply personal. And immensely hurtful.Even two friends who needed abortions because of serious medical concerns described feelings of grief and guilt.After Dobbs, many of those same women expressed gratitude that they had at least been able to make the decision themselves and access appropriate medical care. They felt profound sympathy for women in states where that choice suddenly disappeared.As one of them told me, the experience is difficult enough. Having the choice taken away makes it immeasurably worse.That kind of harm demands accountability. It demands more than carefully worded statements issued when political pressure becomes unavoidable. It requires us to look directly at the people who enabled it and ask: What did you know, and what did you do?By that standard, Collins does not get to stand at the podium and point fingers.In 2018, Brett Kavanaugh was accused of sexual assault by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who testified before Congress about her allegations. Collins described Ford’s testimony as “heart-wrenching, painful, and compelling.” She said she believed Ford had experienced sexual trauma. Mind-bogglingly, she then said it was not at the hands of Kavanaugh. And then she voted to confirm Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.Collins insisted she had “full confidence” that Kavanaugh would not vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. He had signaled as much during the confirmation process, and Collins chose to believe him.She chose to believe him despite warnings from women across Maine who flooded her offices, attended demonstrations, and shared deeply personal stories — like the ones I’ve heard — about assault, reproductive freedom, and the stakes of the confirmation vote.She voted yes anyway.The consequences are now part of the historical record.Roe was overturned. Abortion access disappeared across much of the country. Women have been denied miscarriage care, forced to continue nonviable pregnancies, and left navigating legal uncertainty during medical emergencies.
