Leftist activist Ana Kasparian took aim at progressives and left-wing activists for turning on Maine Democrat Graham Platner following the controversy surrounding his Senate campaign.
Speaking on The Young Turks, she questioned whether some activists are genuinely focused on winning elections or are more interested in making symbolic political statements.
“Make a decision,” Kasparian said. “Is this like a cute little cosplay thing that we’re doing, or do you actually want change?”
Kasparian argued that many people on the left say they want sweeping political change but are quick to abandon candidates once they become politically difficult to defend.
“We’re not gonna win anything electorally, we’re just not, we’re not,” she said. “And the very progressives, the very leftists who claim that they want real change in this country immediately run away at the first sign of controversy.”
Platner had the backing of several prominent Democrats despite a string of controversies. Those who stood behind his campaign included Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA).
After the sexual assault allegation became public, most of those Democrats withdrew their endorsements. Platner officially dropped out of Maine’s U.S. Senate race Friday, ending his campaign with the slogans “F*ck ICE” and “Free Palestine” as Democrats raced to fill the vacancy ahead of the election.
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