Graham Platner’s downfall should be wake-up call for moms in California

Like many California mothers, I want my children to grow up believing character matters more than politics.

I want my daughters to believe that if a woman says she has been abused, her claims deserve to be taken seriously. I don’t want politics to dictate our principles depending on whether someone has a “D” or an “R” next to his or her name.

That is why Graham Platner’s approach to his withdrawal from Maine’s US Senate race should concern parents far beyond Maine.

His decision to leave the race should have begun with an apology to the people of Maine. Instead, voters were subjected to an 11-minute tirade against the political establishment he blamed for his downfall.

For months, Democratic leaders stood behind a candidate whose campaign was overshadowed by misconduct.

His Nazi tattoo should have been enough. Then a former girlfriend publicly accused him of abusive behavior.

Later, another woman accused him of rape, an allegation Platner has denied. Only after that allegation, by a “progressive” woman, did many prominent Democratic supporters withdraw their endorsements and call on him to end his campaign.

As a mother, what troubled me most was watching political calculations appear to outweigh moral consistency. 

For years, Americans have heard “believe all women.” Many mothers embraced that message, because it taught our daughters that their voices matter.

But when that principle appears to depend on who is accused or who is making the allegation, parents notice.

Mothers notice.

We notice when Israeli women who survived the atrocities of Oct. 7 are treated differently. We notice when women are dismissed as political operatives before their claims are even considered. We notice when politicians and celebrities who describe themselves as champions of women remain silent because speaking up might be politically inconvenient.

As the daughter of Iranian Jewish immigrants who fled the Islamic Revolution, I came to America believing this country was different. Different because we judged people by character. Different because liberty came with responsibility. Different because extremism, hatred and abuse had no place in public life regardless of political affiliation.

That belief is being tested.

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters

Here in California, many mothers are watching the Democratic Party drift further from the coalition they once recognized. We are raising children in a state struggling with affordability, homelessness, public safety and rising antisemitism. Parents are not looking for ideological purity. We are looking for leaders who solve problems, tell the truth and apply the same standards to everyone.

Many moms now feel politically homeless.

We want safe neighborhoods where our children can ride their bikes. We want good schools that prepare students for opportunity rather than political activism. We want elected officials who condemn hatred consistently, whether the victims are Jewish, Republican, Democrat, Christian, Muslim, Black, Latino or anyone else.

Hatred is hatred.

History teaches that societies do not become divided overnight. They become divided when people excuse extremism because it advances their political goals.

My family’s experience escaping revolutionary Iran taught me how dangerous that mindset can become. The slogans change. The language evolves. But the willingness to excuse intolerance in pursuit of power follows a familiar pattern.

California now stands at its own crossroads.

As Democrats choose their next generation of leaders, voters should ask every candidate, including Los Angeles mayoral candidate Nithya Raman, where they stand on the allegations surrounding Platner’s campaign and on the broader political culture that allowed his candidacy to continue receiving support for so long. Voters deserve clear answers, not selective outrage.

The Democratic Party that attracted many families under Bill Clinton was hardly perfect, but it aspired to build broad coalitions, promote economic opportunity, maintain public safety and bring Americans together. It understood that successful governing requires persuasion rather than ideological litmus tests.

Platner’s political collapse offers Democrats an opportunity that extends far beyond one Senate race.

Will they apply the same standards to their own candidates that they demand of Republicans?

Will they reject extremism no matter where it appears?

And perhaps most importantly for mothers raising the next generation, will they show our children that principles still matter more than partisanship?

California moms are watching.

Many of us are still searching for a political home that reflects the values we are trying to teach around our own kitchen tables.

The party that earns our trust will be the one that remembers that character is not partisan.

Shirin Yadegar is the founder of www.lamommagazine.com and a political commentator.