Platner: Susan Collins and the GOP have prioritized the interests of billionaires over people

[0:00] All right, let's bring you the latest on the Iran war. Pakistani officials tell MSNOW that [0:05] they expect a revised proposal from Tehran to end the war by the end of this week. The officials say [0:11] they will then share the proposal with U.S. negotiators and push for an in-person meeting [0:17] between the two sides early next week. This comes as Iran's new supreme leader released another [0:24] defiant statement yesterday and suggested the country would maintain its control over [0:30] the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, today marks 60 days since President Trump formally notified [0:37] Congress that he had become military operations in Iran. Under a 1973 law called the War Powers [0:45] Resolution, the president must withdraw troops after 60 days unless Congress authorizes the use of force. [0:55] But the Trump administration now claims the ceasefire, which started on April 8th, [1:01] stopped the clock on that timeline. And legal commentators, experts on both sides, [1:07] conservatives and liberals, they don't buy that. Turning now to the control of the U.S. [1:12] Senate and big development that came out yesterday from Maine, Mika. [1:15] Yeah, the state's governor, Janet Mills, ended her U.S. Senate campaign after struggling to contend [1:21] against progressive-backed competitor Graham Plattner in a race critical for national [1:27] Democrats' hopes of retaking the chamber in November's midterms. In a statement, [1:34] Mills wrote that while she was eager to continue in the race, she simply did not have the financial [1:40] resources to do so. And Graham Plattner follows us now. He is both a Marine and a U.S. Army veteran [1:46] who's deployed overseas four times. Graham, thank you so much for being with us. You know, [1:49] we could talk about a lot of things. We could talk about the inflation. We could talk about the money. [1:54] But I want to just start with Article 1 of the Constitution. Do you know what it is? [2:00] And unlike Republicans in the United States Senate right now, would you actually, [2:06] when you take the oath to God to uphold the Constitution of the United States, [2:13] will you do that and actually exercise what our founding fathers demanded Congress exercise, [2:23] Article 1 powers over war and peace? [2:27] You know, when this nation was founded, the Constitution lays out very clearly [2:34] that the power to make war is in the hands of the body that most directly represents the American [2:39] people. Because when the United States goes to war, it is the American people who are asked to [2:45] shoulder the burden. And as ridiculous as the war in Iran is, I mean, I think we can all agree [2:50] that this thing is just utterly insane. We have to be clear that this really does come on decades [2:56] of Congress advocating its constitutional duty. We have seen time and time again Congress handing over [3:03] war powers to the executive branch. And we need people in the halls of power who want to claw that [3:11] power back. And I'll be honest, for me, it's a pretty personal thing. I mean, I had to fight in Iraq. [3:16] I wish to God there had been a Congress back then. I didn't have people like Susan Collins in it who [3:21] were more than happy to send America's sons and daughters off to fight and die and take part in [3:27] untold horrors for what it seems like today was just a complete fool's errand. It's not just [3:34] about the politics. It's not just, frankly, even about the constitutional responsibility. [3:40] There is a moral clarity that we lack. There is a moral clarity that we have a lot of leaders [3:46] who don't seem to have that when we send people off to war, we are asking of them horrific things [3:55] and immense sacrifice. And for a long time, we have a political class that kind of treats war like [4:01] it's a game, like it's something they get to do to look tough or to posture, or in the worst case, [4:09] really just kind of pad the pocketbooks of defense companies that donate a lot of money to them. [4:14] But either, however you look at it, we really have had, and I just want to make this clear, [4:19] I think it's on both sides of the aisle. We've had a lot of people for a long time in power who have [4:25] given up on the fact that we are supposed to be waging war as a nation. We are not just supposed [4:32] to give that power to one person and then let them run rampant with it, which sadly is why we find [4:38] ourselves in the absurdity that is the Iran war and running up against insane statements like, [4:44] well, because we have a ceasefire that stops the clock. That's just, I mean, that's not how the... [4:51] Yeah. So you mentioned Senator Collins. Let's talk about the state of Maine. Maine is a hardworking, [4:59] proud, beautiful state. How has she not served the interest of Mainers? How will you? I know a lot [5:08] of business owners and families in the state of Maine who are still very much behind the president [5:15] and his party. One, in the 30 years that Susan Collins has been in office, things have gotten [5:23] harder for working-class Mainers. I say this as somebody that lives in a small working-class town [5:29] on the coast of Maine and makes his living on the sea. We have seen our healthcare system fall apart. [5:34] We have seen hospitals closing. I mean, over the past three years, we've lost three rural hospitals [5:39] in the state, primarily because the Republicans passed a big, beautiful bill. Susan Collins did not use [5:45] her power on appropriations to slow it down in any way. And those Medicaid and Medicare cuts that were [5:51] used to justify tax cuts to corporations, those cuts have resulted in hospital closures, because it turns [5:58] out, as no surprise to anyone, rural healthcare is not really a profitable business. And it needed [6:04] those subsidies to come in and keep those hospitals alive. Well, they're gone now. And now we have [6:10] Mainers who are driving two, sometimes three hours just to get healthcare. People giving birth, [6:15] both in emergency departments, because labor and delivery units in eastern and northern Maine [6:19] have closed. That has happened on Susan Collins' watch. And that has happened because she and [6:26] Republican politicians like her have prioritized the interests of billionaires and corporations [6:33] over people, which, I may add, is why, over the past week, we have already seen out-of-state [6:39] super PACs pouring millions of dollars into negative ads against me, even before the announcement [6:45] yesterday. Super PACs that are funded by the CEOs of Palantir and Blackstone, and most amusingly, [6:52] a private equity group that broke down and sold off for parts a lot of the mills here in Maine, [6:58] specifically Jay and Bucksport. They hate the fact that we are building a movement to represent [7:04] Mainers, and we need to fight back. So if anybody's watching, we could definitely use your help, [7:09] gramforsenate.com. We can use all the money we can get, because we're up against billionaires in [7:13] this one, and they're not going to give it to us easily. [7:16] Graham, good morning. Since, especially even just the last 24 hours, since it's become clear that [7:21] you'll be the guy on the Democratic side, Republicans have stepped up their attacks on you, [7:25] putting out statements yesterday after Governor Mills bowed out of the race, that you're just too [7:29] radical to win in the state of Maine. We've talked to you on this show, gone through some of the past [7:34] comments you've made that you say you regret. The suggestion is that you're unsteady, that people [7:40] can't be sure about how you'll lead. What do you say to those criticisms, that you're radical, [7:45] and going back to past comments, that you've said some things that people just shouldn't support? [7:52] So, one of the ideas that my politics are too radical, I find somewhat laughable. I mean, [7:56] as I go all over the state of Maine, you talk to any working person in Maine, Republican, Democrat, [8:01] Independent. Ask them if they think they live in a political system and an economic system that [8:05] has their best interests at heart. Nobody says yes. Nobody. Everybody knows. Everybody knows that [8:13] we have witnessed the largest transfer of wealth from working people to the ruling class in American [8:18] history. And it has happened while we have watched our working communities in the state of Maine [8:23] begin to fall apart. We've watched the hard work that Mainers have done for generations no longer be [8:30] enough to own your home, to have health care, to have access to good schools for your kids. [8:34] It's all becoming significantly harder to make life work down here, while we also watch the largest [8:42] accumulation of wealth in human history happening at the top echelons of our society. Everybody sees that [8:50] happening. And the idea that you want to show up for working people, you want to have a tax code that taxes [8:56] wealth at at least the same rate as we tax wages, because right now we tax wages at a much higher rate [9:02] than wealth. That's not radical. That's just showing up for the people that build this country. The [9:06] people that go out every single day and work with their hands, work with their bodies, support their [9:10] families, support their neighbors, support their communities. We put in the work down here. And we're [9:15] just asking that that hard work be enough again. When it comes to if I'm steady enough, well, I was an NCO [9:23] in the Marine Corps and the Army. I led men in combat. I have run an oyster farm for the past [9:29] decade. I run a small business. I am a diver. And in the Gulf of Maine, diving is a cold and relatively [9:36] dangerous business. And I enjoy it thoroughly because it's a challenge. Steadiness in a steady [9:42] hand is very much part of my existence. And I think that that's very much going to continue. And it's [9:46] also with the people of Maine Sea, because I'm very much of them. I'm born and raised here, [9:52] spent my life here, make a living on the sea here with my hand. And it is a it's not surprising that [10:00] the Republican Party is going to attack me with that. I mean, these are a lot of people who've [10:03] never worked a day in their lives. And if they have, it certainly hasn't been with their hands. [10:07] They don't know what it's like to fix an outboard engine on the ocean. They don't know what it's like [10:10] to have to, like, you know, fix your chainsaw because a tree came down the neighbor's driveway and it's [10:16] the middle of winter. They don't know what that life is. Mainers know what that life is. And for [10:21] them, the only attack they're going to have is trying to make stuff up. I mean, you guys were [10:25] just talking about the fact that Tim Scott and Scalise are out there just lying about gas prices. [10:31] I fully expect that to continue in all facets of this. But as the past comments, I got back from [10:39] my four combat tours and I was a pretty isolated and angry young man. And I went on the internet and I [10:44] expressed that. And I had opinions and beliefs and said things in the past that do not reflect [10:49] who I am now. Because like most people, you grow, you change, you learn new things, you meet new [10:55] people, and you realize that you can be a better version of yourself. And that's something I've [11:00] been working on for a very long time and continue to do so. And I think the people of Maine see that. [11:05] So, Graham, we just mentioned, good morning, Republicans, of course, lining up their attacks. [11:09] Some saying they're salivating for this campaign. Also, no secret that you were not the candidate of choice [11:14] for some of the Democratic establishment. Leader Schumer supported Governor Mills. I know you [11:18] spoke to Leader Schumer yesterday. Feel free to categorize that call. But also, though, perhaps [11:25] it was to this point to your benefit to have some distance from the Democratic establishment as you [11:30] mount your candidacy, what will your relationship be like with the party going forward as you likely [11:36] need their help in what will be a very expensive race? [11:39] Yeah. I mean, I spoke to the leader last night. And I'll just say that nothing brings people [11:44] together like wanting to get Susan Collins out of office. That is the priority for me. That is the [11:50] priority for Senator Schumer. And I am happy to get whatever help that they are willing to provide. [11:56] This is going to be a very expensive race. The Republican Party has already committed $42 [12:00] million to this thing. And that's from the party. That's not even considering all the outside spending [12:05] from billionaire super PACs. So we're going to take money. But I will say this. What we have built [12:13] is ours. We have built a campaign with tens of thousands of Mainers as volunteers. We have built [12:22] a campaign that is focused on field organizing and building, frankly, working class power in the [12:28] state of Maine by getting labor unions and community groups and civil rights groups and political [12:33] organizations and just individuals combining in a coordinated and broad-based coalition. [12:40] That's what we've done. If people want to come in and give us money to help us grow that, [12:46] that is fantastic. But that is the game that we're playing. That is the battlefield that we are [12:50] trying to shape. And I think, one, it's how you win this thing. You can't play their game. [12:57] If we play the game, the old, just kind of well-worn playbook of raise lots of money, [13:04] spend it on consultants, spend it on TV ads, that's not how this is going to work. That's what [13:10] they're going to do. We need to do something different. And that's what we've been doing [13:13] since August of last year, which is why we have the momentum that we have and we have the trust of [13:19] so many Mainers because I go to every corner of the state. We've held 63 town halls. By the time [13:25] this thing is done, I'm going to hold public events in almost every single town, over 2,000 people in [13:30] this state. And in Maine, going and talking to people, having that personal relationship, [13:36] having their neighbors knock on their door and talk about this campaign, that's how we're going [13:41] to win it. We're going to do that no matter what. And our criticisms, my criticisms of the party [13:47] leadership, my criticisms of the party, they have not changed. And I've been very vocal about that [13:53] since the beginning. But we will absolutely take the help that we can get. But it's our show. [13:58] And we're proud of what we built. And we're just going to keep moving forward with it. [14:02] And that's a really great message to send, a great message to send to people in Washington, [14:06] D.C. that are all going to jump on board now. And it's what happened to me. I actually, [14:10] I had party leaders working against me around the clock, said I was too radical to get elected. [14:16] And so people would come up to me halfway through my term and they go, hey, [14:19] if you don't vote with leadership, they're going to. I go, what? What? Work against me? I get 62% [14:27] the first time they worked against me. I'll get 70%. So you are in a unique position here to get [14:34] their support. And you should get their support. And I know a lot of people would say the Democratic [14:38] Party needs to be united. But man, really quickly, we got to go. But talk about the independence it [14:44] will give you doing this on your own with your grassroots support and not getting help early [14:51] on from the Senate leadership. This is very much my kind of politics. And the reason that I'm [15:00] running is because for a long time, and this is not just me, a lot of my neighbors, a lot of my [15:04] friends, we've all been lamenting the fact that we have not seen an actual movement-based, [15:10] organizing-focused political campaign in the state of Maine, really focused on working-class [15:15] people's issues, the material realities we all live in down here. We have been able to build that. [15:21] And the fact that we have built it on our own, the fact that our average donation is $26 [15:26] and 99% of our donations are less than $100, the fact that we've been able to do all of this [15:33] without the help of the establishment, it puts us in such an amazing position. And it also, Joe, [15:39] it's kind of funny. I think you and I have, at this point, had a very similar experience, [15:43] being told very similar things from party leadership, from people who are experts in [15:48] politics, who know better than we do. And it is, in many ways, very heartening to see this kind [15:56] of politics not just work, but work spectacularly and allow us to continue building what I think is [16:04] the politics of the future at this point. This is how we need to do this kind of thing moving [16:08] forward, certainly here in the state of Maine. Yeah, I had people come up to me saying, son, [16:13] you ran such a great campaign. You'll probably get in fourth or fifth place. It'll be great for [16:19] you. And like I said before, everything that's happened, you've built it along with your grassroots [16:25] supporters. Man, that gives you such extraordinary independence when you do get to Washington. [16:32] Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, Graham Plattner, thank you so much for being with us, [16:37] and good luck out on the trail. Always a pleasure. Thanks a lot. All right. All right. Thank you.