WaPo editorial board accuses Maine Democrat Platner of ‘spectacular’ energy plan

The Washington Post editorial board is targeting Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner on Thursday, alleging a Democratic challenge to Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, for offering “good solutions” to voters’ real problems.

“These extreme policy proposals deserve as much scrutiny as his hidden Nazi tattoo,” the board wrote. The headline warned, “The Senate is hopelessly angry and lacking in real solutions.”

“Think about the candidate’s new plan to deal with rising electricity prices,” he added, arguing that his key campaign themes include “punishment.”[ing] big business” while placing greater control of the economy in the hands of government officials.

The editorial focused on Platner’s newly introduced “Take Back American Power” plan, which calls for a four-year freeze on electricity rates, a tax on large oil profits and an end to the federal gas tax collection in an effort to lower costs for consumers.

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“Encouraging [sic] states to comply with this, as they are responsible for controlling the price of energy, will provide government funds to build energy infrastructure, “said the company about the proposed price freeze.

“Illicitizing what people pay for will prohibit the production of more energy without discouraging its use. In other words, it is a form of scarcity.”

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The Washington Post’s editorial board called Platner’s proposed energy policies potentially problematic. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

To solve supply-side problems, the editor noted, Platner wants to push the Defense Production Act to push companies to build “clean” energy technologies while creating a federally-sponsored loan program for energy projects — proposals the board argued would put taxpayers’ burdens on businesses that can’t attract enough private investment.

The board compared Platner’s proposals to the energy policies of Texas, which points to the rise of the state as the nation’s leading producer of solar energy on a utility scale under the “policy of energy above all” or, in other words, an approach focused on energy security through the use of a diverse mix.

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Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, leaves the Senate Republican luncheon at the US Capitol on Tuesday, Jan. 13. Platner is fighting to unseat Collins as one of Maine’s senators. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc.)

“People living in Texas … pay less than half of what people in California do for energy per kilowatt hour,” said the organizer, arguing that the real solution to the increase in energy costs is “to make it easier to build” while criticizing Platner for ignoring regulation.

Overall, the editorial board argued that Platner’s proposals relied too much on government intervention, price controls and state financing while doing little to address existing barriers to energy production.

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“Platner’s plan has little chance of becoming a reality anytime soon, which is good news for residents who have been hurt by the anti-growth policies he wants to turbocharge,” the board concluded.

Fox News Digital reached out to Platner’s campaign for comment on the story but did not immediately respond.

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Platner has received criticism from some Democrats recently, including Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, who has expressed concern about his progressive views.

“He is a known communist he described himself as a communist. Antifa, that’s not an insult to me. That’s not the GOP kind of beat. Those are his words, how he explained it,” said Fetterman.

Lindsay Kornick of Fox News contributed to this report.