Top Graham Platner adviser threatened former aide over sexting stories

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53. Thought experiment...

Fairly newly married Platner working on an oyster farm, wife is school teacher. Not wealthy folks... But he is a glib talker with leadership capabilities. Locals nominate him to local positions.

- About three years ago, he decides to run for office in a grassroots bid. Likely invests their limited marital assets to run. Wife believes in him. Others in town believe in him. Folks volunteer to help.

- As he gets national publicity for saying all the right things, gets a big infusion of cash and hires professional campaign workers. You are one of those enthusiastic workers - female.

- One day, he starts sexting you. Disgusting stuff. Why me? You're creeped out.
"WTF!? He's married, he's a candidate and he's doing this? This guys a jerk. I'm out!"

- These women did not want to be sexted. This was not consensual. They bailed because of it. If you've ever been sexually harassed on the job, you know how creepy it is. You cannot remove that from your mind.

- Stories reach the paid staff and they start resigning well-paid jobs. They are willing to give up paid work, either because they're repulsed, or see writing on the wall and expect the campaign to collapse.

- Resignations of paid staff hits national media, rumors are flying, donations dropping. Remaining loyals are now scrambling to come up with a strategy for controlling the bad publicity. Say that it's all lies. Have the wife say she still loves him. It was in the past, when he was a kid of 37.

- He tries to get remaining supporters/staff to sign NDAs. "Shut up about it!"

- You are one of the women who got the texts. You know his wife and like her. She is devastated, and faces financial ruin if his candidacy collapses. Their entire worldly savings are invested. What choices does she have? Try to resuscitate his reputation or face financial ruin.

In short: Many people are in turmoil due to his poor judgment, lack of self-control. The women who got the trashy sexts, people losing their jobs, his wife, donors, volunteers. So many people affected.

Why should we elect this guy to an important public office? He is destroying everyone around him. He's a loose cannon.