'Hypocrisy is off the damn charts': Outrage mounts as GOP celebrates Platner's downfall

Republicans celebrating Graham Platner's decision this week to withdraw from his senatorial campaign in Maine were subjected to rebuke from Democrats who accused them of hypocrisy. Conservatives such as Sen. Ted Cruz were quick to criticize the Democratic Party for pushing a candidate accused of endangering women. In the Texas lawmaker's case, he shared a post comparing their replacement search to Clarice Starling's entrance into Hannibal Lecter's lair in the film "Silence of the Lambs." Such responses did not sit well with Neera Tandren, a former Biden administration official. "The absolute worst people are the Republicans who attack Dems on Platner while they cheer a President who has been credibly accused of assault by 13 women," she wrote. "That hypocrisy is off the damn charts." Novelist Joyce Carol Oates argued Wednesday night that if Republicans were so concerned by Platner, they might follow up with some action. "Platner can lead the way," wrote Oates . "Sex offenders, adjudicated rapists (i.e., T***p), child molesters & traffickers & who knows whom & how many others in the reeking Epstein files should be exposed & banished from public office." Fox News' Democrat-in-residence Jessica Tarlov echoed Oates' sentiments. "Platner is out—good," said Fox News' Democrat-in-residence Jessica Tarlov . "It should’ve happened sooner. I want to underscore that Republicans don’t get to take a moral victory lap here. They’re still the party of Trump." Author and political commentator John Daly took umbrage with Republicans grumbling about a candidate chosen in a Democratic primary. "If you rationalized or overlooked a president trying to overturn a national election to stay in power, I can't take you seriously when you complain about a state party replacing its primary with a convention," he wrote. Political consultant Micah Erfan raised a figurative eyebrow at Trump's personal response to the news, questioning the legitimacy of the claims against Platner. "Trump now likes Graham Platner more after hearing about the rape allegations against him," he wrote. "You can’t make this up."