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The Washington Post editorial board took aim at progressive Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner on Thursday, accusing the Democratic challenger to Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, of offering “fantastical solutions” to voters’ real-world concerns.
“These extreme policy proposals deserve as much scrutiny as his covered-up Nazi tattoo,” the board wrote. The subheadline warned, “The Senate hopeful is long on anger and short on real solutions.”
“Consider the novice candidate’s new plan to address rising energy prices,” it added, arguing his key campaign themes involve “punish[ing] big business” while placing greater control of the economy in the hands of government bureaucrats.
The editorial focused heavily on Platner’s recently unveiled “Take Back American Power” plan, which calls for a four-year freeze on electricity rates, a windfall tax on big oil profits and ending collection of the federal gas tax in an effort to lower consumer costs.
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“To encourages [sic] states to go along with this, since they are responsible for regulating the price of power, he’d offer federal financing to build energy infrastructure,” the outlet said of proposed rate freezes.
“Artificially putting a ceiling on what people pay will discourage the production of more energy without discouraging its use. In other words, it’s a recipe for shortages.”
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To offset supply concerns, the editorial noted, Platner wants to invoke the Defense Production Act to push companies to build “clean” energy technologies while creating a federally backed loan program for energy projects — proposals the board argued would unnecessarily put taxpayers on the hook for ventures unable to attract sufficient private investment.
The board contrasted Platner’s proposals with Texas’ energy policies, pointing to the state’s rise as the nation’s leading producer of utility-scale solar power under an “all-of-the-above energy policy” or, in other words, an approach focusing on energy security through a diverse mix.
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“People living in Texas… pay less than half of what Californians do for energy per kilowatt hour,” the editorial stated, arguing the real solution to rising energy costs is “making it easier to build” while criticizing Platner for overlooking deregulation.
At large, the editorial board argued Platner’s proposals relied too heavily on government intervention, price controls and federal financing while doing little to address underlying barriers to energy production.
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“Platner’s plan has little chance of becoming reality anytime soon, which is good news for residents already hurting from the anti-growth policies he wants to turbocharge,” the board concluded.
Fox News Digital reached out to Platner’s campaign for comment on this story but did not immediately hear back.
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Platner has received criticism from other Democrats recently, including Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, who expressed caution around his progressive ideas.
“He’s an avowed communist. He described himself as a communist. Antifa, that’s not a slur from me. That’s not a GOP kind of hit. That’s his own words, how he described that,” Fetterman said.
Fox News’ Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.
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