A lot of politicos are already looking ahead to the midterms next year. I get that people want to be prepared, but there’s an election this year! My state, Virginia, is voting in all of the state-government races, including governor (go Spanberger!). NYC is voting for mayor. New Jersey is voting for governor & legislature. There are tons of local and state ballot measures and races to vote on, and it’s important to vote in off-years. That’s my PSA before I get into a big controversy up north.
So, next year, Maine will have a Senate race. Profoundly unpopular Republican Senator Susan Collins is running for reelection, and Democrats have been trying to field a good candidate to run against her. Certain politicos think they found their guy: Graham Platner, a veteran and former Blackwater mercenary. I think the podbros spent all of two minutes grooming Platner for this run – while he certainly has a suspiciously astroturfed campaign apparatus, his primary run has already been marred by controversy after controversy. The biggest of which is that the man has a Nazi tattoo (which he covered up).
Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Maine, said on Wednesday that he had covered up a tattoo that he got years ago that resembled a Nazi symbol. Mr. Platner, who is running for the seat held by Senator Susan Collins since 1997, said in a video podcast interview that was broadcast on Tuesday that he got the tattoo, a skull-and-crossbones image that is widely recognized as a Nazi symbol, while drunk 18 years ago and was unaware of its extremist association.
Mr. Platner, a Marine veteran and oyster farmer, has also come under scrutiny for a series of posts he made years ago on Reddit that played down sexual assault in the military and criticized the police and white Americans living in rural areas.
Mr. Platner acknowledged the tattoo in an episode of the podcast Pod Save America. The podcast played a video clip from a decade ago in which Mr. Platner dances shirtless, with the tattoo visible, at a bar while lip-syncing to a Miley Cyrus song at his brother’s wedding. A host of the podcast, Tommy Vietor, said that some of Mr. Platner’s “political opponents” had been telling reporters that he had a tattoo “with Nazi affiliation.”
Mr. Platner said on the podcast, which is hosted by former Obama aides, that he got the tattoo in 2007 in Split, Croatia, and that he and other Marines had chosen a “terrifying-looking skull and crossbones off the wall” and that “skulls and crossbones are a pretty standard military thing.”
“I am not a secret Nazi,” Mr. Platner said on the podcast. In a statement, Mr. Platner reiterated that he was not aware of the tattoo’s Nazi connections when he got it. “It was not until I started hearing from reporters and D.C. insiders that I realized this tattoo resembled a Nazi symbol,” he said. “I absolutely would not have gone through life having this on my chest if I knew that — and to insinuate that I did is disgusting.”
He added in the statement that he had never tried to hide the tattoo, including during a physical examination he had when enlisting in the Army that he said included a check for tattoos with hate symbols. His campaign confirmed in an email on Wednesday that he had gotten the tattoo covered.
Deborah Lipstadt, a professor of modern Jewish history and Holocaust Studies at Emory University, said that the skull and crossbones symbol depicted in Mr. Platner’s tattoo, known as the Totenkopf, was, after the swastika, one of the most well-known symbols from World War II. Guards at Nazi concentration camps wore the symbol prominently on their caps, Professor Lipstadt said. Its seemed “disingenuous” that Mr. Platner would not know the symbol’s Nazi links given his military experience, she said.
Despite Platner’s excuses now, there are stories circulating that Platner actually did know what he had tattooed, to the point where he even described it as “my Totenkopf.” So, now there are Democratic activists (like the podbros) excusing the whole “Nazi tattoo” thing. Like, whomst among us has not gotten a Nazi tattoo, amirite? Which has led to revulsion across the Democratic Party, like “not having a Nazi tattoo” should be pretty standard.
Additionally, the Nazi tattoo is covering up a host of other issues with Platner, including a lengthy history of online homophobia, blaming women for being raped, and the kind of general racism you’d expect from someone with a Totenkopf tattoo.
Photos courtesy of Platner’s Instagram.
If you know the German translation then you know what it all entails. On another note the fact that he was dancing shirtless at a wedding is also a minus. It’s a shame that so many white guys are so fing disappointing all around as humans.
Go Spanberger!
Getting a Nazi tattoo in Croatia is not as far-fetched as one might assume. The Croatian Nazi puppet state sponsored one of the more vicious & depraved paramilitary / auxiliary forces during WWII, the Ustashe, apologies if my spelling misses something in translation. This was a Nazi tactic in occupied countries, notably in France with the Milice: to divide & conquer by exploiting local proxies & pre-existing grievances. It poisoned the well so effectively many of those countries either experienced civil wars, as in Italy & Yugoslavia — as it was — or social divisions that simply never healed & continue to fester. Not least in Germany itself. The AfD represents virtually all of the former East, the GDR, which was a Nazi-voting region (quite enthusiastically) before Soviet occupation. Soviet occupation seems only to have cultivated nostalgia for older, indigenous authoritarian figures. Go figure.
I have watched bigoted Dems aka DINOS (Manchin/Fetterman) decimates 🇺🇸 just as as much as raging right wingers and I’m tired of it…I hope he loses…
Are you seriously “both sides ing”??
NOW? In 2025?? The GOP stripped SNAP benefits, ACA, the white house, ICE kidnappings, DOGE, tariffs, 20Billion to Argentina… Millions more children in America slid into starvation level poverty.
But you’re sick of DINOs, hope he loses. Great. One question: Have you looked at his tattoo for yourself?
@Lurk…you can miss me with ALL THAT YOU SAID! I hope he loses THE PRIMARY…😠
I agree, but don’t forget Sinema. History won’t.
I refuse to believe that, in the entire state of Maine, this is the only person who wants to run and they believe can win against Susan Collins. It looks instead like they picked the first half-drunk white guy out of the first bar they stopped at. Like…we can do better than this, surely.
Thinking the same: this is the best the Dems can do? Hell, Heather Cox Richardson lives in Maine. Recruit her!
He got a more obscure Nazi tattoo to cover up this one and has 1919 on his arm. He has a history of racism, antisemitism, and anti-LGBTQ+. I’m glad it’s coming out now and not a month before midterms.
Where did you get this info? I can’t find anything online about his new tattoo or anything that verifies what you’re saying.
I just googled totenkopf to see the symbol and his picture was the first thing that popped up — shirtless. I don’t see anything where he has shown evidence of the cover up.
There are photos and video of him from an interview with Maine station WGME showing and talking about the cover-up. The replacement is the Norse figure Fenrir which has Nazi links as well as being too on the nose a figure to put on over it. The 1919 is on his arm.
This information isn’t correct regarding Platner’s tattoo with 1919 in it, which instead references the Appalachian Mountain Club trail crew that he served on in 2002.
https://bsky.app/profile/frishermansfend.bsky.social/post/3m3sjz5sar22f
Platner’s Instagram account has a video of the new tattoo covering up the skull and crossbones.
Unfortunately, the Nazis and current white supremacists have co-opted a lot of Norse language and mythology to fit their perverted belief systems. My grandparents were Scandinavian, as is my son’s father, and my kid likes T-shirts and jewelry with Norse runes on them. They look cool, and it’s a nod to our family’s culture.
However, every time he does, I check against the extremist symbol databases for the Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center. And every time, more Norse symbols show up that my son can’t wear because he does not want anyone to think that he is a neo-Nazi.
So, Platner does NOT get a hall pass from me for not having figured out some time in the last 18 years that he had a blatantly Nazi symbol on his chest. However, replacing it with a wolf from ancient mythology does not necessarily mean that he’s trying to sneak in a nod to fascism.
Wait, what – is that true? Why do I not know this about him? I thought he was the real deal?
Why is he trying to run as a Democrat?
I listened to his interview on Pod Save America on Tuesday and the man is a walking red flag of the variety Captain Von Trapp would tear in half.
I am all for booting Susan “I’m concerned but will do fuck all” Collins with a Democrat but I am not interested in another” Democrat in name only” like my own fucking loser Senator John “kiss the ring” Fetterman. We don’t need another white dude who can’t decide if he really supports people who don’t look like him taking one of our precious Senate seats.
This!! I’m sick of the Dems who think the answer to the GOP is to put forward candidates who are just GOP-lite. I’m also sick of white dudes, liberal or conservative, who dismiss misogyny and bigotry against their fellow white dudes.
Slight correction here, but the Dem establishment is not supporting Platner; it’s supporting Janet Mills. It’s the economic populist Bernie Bros who are ride or die for Platner. Bernie himself even gave an endorsement, And before this all came out, there was a lot of anger at Schumer and the DSCC for supporting Mills, who is almost 80, over someone younger like Platner. The friction in the party over wanting younger candidates is understandable, but clearly Platner is too problematic to continue his candidacy.
Bernie endorsed this guy?!?
@Korra-I’d be really surprised if Platner dropped out after all the money he’s managed to raise but who knows. The thing is that this is a state race. Like, we’re all here arguing like Platner’s the next Democratic nominee for the Presidency but at the end of the day only the people of Maine can decide–not us.
Interestingly, I could see this oppo dump against Platner helping a candidate like Jordan Wood. Even though he worked with Katie Porter, he still runs in a less Establishment, more progressive lane than Mills. Plus he’s young, seems very smart etc.
KIKI, dancing shirtless at a WEDDING was one of my first “!” from the article, as well…w..t..f..add to this the nazi tattoo, homophobia, and sexism – kinda funny he makes a distiction between himself and “white people in rural areas.”
This is the best candidate Democrats could dredge up?
I think I’ve seen this season before…We elect the reformed Nazi for Senate and then the reformed Nazi turns around and starts blocking key Democrat legislation and wants to “negotiate”, “reach across the aisle”, and “compromise” with the Republicans/MAGA. And then after a few election cycles getting rich off of Koch brother campaign donations and insider trading, he’ll run as an independent or just drop the pretence and run as a Republican.
For the love of Jeebus, this is why liberals cannot have nice things. I am exhausted by the morality police tearing down strong candidates over ordinary human flaws. Instead of spending ten minutes actually reading Platner’s platform, you’re armchair-psychoanalyzing an 18-year-old’s tattoo “state of mind” from the early aughts. I grew up in Maine in that era — no one my age had any idea what that symbol even meant. And I was a German minor! What is clear, however, is Platner’s adult record: healthcare reform, wealth equality, and a serious, compassionate vision for working people.
Graham Platner’s dumb youthful decisions did not include rape, assault, or even a “long legacy” of hateful rhetoric — that’s the GOP’s brand, not his. Equating a youthful mistake by a committed socialist with the openly fascistic behavior of the worst Republicans is intellectually dishonest and politically suicidal. If Democrats keep cannibalizing every promising candidate over speculative purity tests, then we will have no one to blame for the bleak future ahead but ourselves.
Full disclosure: I’m in my mid-40s and I would not have known that tattoo was a Nazi symbol. I didn’t know what it looked like until I looked it up after listening to his PSA interview, and I usually consider myself to be not completely ignorant. I can see your point to a certain extent, and I might have been able to give him the benefit of the doubt, but if he really was going around calling it his Totenkopf then he *did* know and that’s different. I would like to see legitimate confirmation or repudiation of that.
I appreciate your comment. From what I can tell, he eventually understood the symbol’s meaning, but didn’t bother covering it up until he got serious about public life. Honestly, I don’t fault him for that. I scrubbed my own social media when I started working in government—before that, there were plenty of photos of me chugging Bud Light and throwing potatoes at my brother, and I didn’t care who saw them.
What matters is the present. He is clearly not a Nazi. Read his platform—there isn’t a single fascist policy in it. (Unlike certain Republicans who promote openly authoritarian agendas while sporting current white-nationalist ink.) He even joked about being a communist at one point, which is literally the ideological opposite of fascism.
If the Democratic Party wants to field candidates that Middle America can actually relate to, we have to accept that some of them will have imperfect histories. The old model of Democratic leadership—generational wealth, Ivy League grooming, polished from adolescence for power—is not what wins the center today. Next-generation candidates from working-class backgrounds, the military, or real-world jobs will inevitably come with baggage. Instead of fixating on the flaws, we should be asking what they learned from those experiences, and how their lived realities can make them stronger, more empathetic leaders.
So rather than jumping on a speculative outrage bandwagon, imagine how Platner’s past could actually inform better policy. A cringey tattoo or some dumb comments in your twenties are relatable to most Americans. It’s the demonization of those very normal mistakes that alienates huge swaths of voters we claim to want to reach.
The only evidence he bragged about knowing this tattoo was a Totenkopf was a Zionist article saying a “former acquaintance” confirmed this.
As a working class person with a real job, from a long line of same, I dispute that we all come “with baggage.” How classist can you get?
And since you seem to be referencing the Kennedys too, oh sure, NO baggage there.
Many of us working class people manage not to have hate symbols tattooed on our bodies. Hell, many of us even recognize hate symbols when we see them.
Exactly. Graham Platner has gained a massive following in Maine and people are excited about him. The minute Janet Mills gets in the race, with Chuck Schumer’s encouragement and backing, this is the kind of coverage that starts.
My partner is an ex-marine from Maine and he thinks completely differently than when he enlisted. Platner is owning up to his mistakes and taking accountability. An account on Instagram that supports immigrants in Maine (and helps track ICE movements) posted the following comment on his apology video. I agree with what they say:
“At Project Relief Maine, we have always believed that people are capable of learning, growing & changing. We don’t believe in cancel culture. We believe in accountability, healing, and transformation.
Much has been said about Graham Platner, a candidate for U.S. Senate from Maine, regarding his past online comments and the tattoo that has surfaced. His past words and choices have understandably hurt and disappointed many. We also recognize that, like so many people, he is capable of growth.
As a community rooted in justice and lived experience, we know that no one is perfect. We have all said or done things in our past that we regret. What matters most is what a person chooses to do once they know better, whether they take responsibility, acknowledge harm, and show through their actions that they have learned.
As a white man, Graham Platner holds privilege and power. That means his voice carries weight, and how he chooses to use that voice matters. If he truly wants to stand with Black and brown communities, immigrants, and working-class people, then he must continue to show through his actions that he is committed to unlearning, listening, and building trust with the people he hopes to represent.
Since coming forward with an apology, Graham Platner has talked about his desire to fight for working-class Mainers, for fair wages, affordable healthcare, and an economy that values labor over corporate greed. He has spoken about the need to end corruption and to make politics serve the people instead of the powerful.
We believe that change must be reflected in both words and actions. It takes time to rebuild trust, and that process begins with accountability and a genuine commitment to do better. He has done that already.
Graham Platner is sincere in his apology. We believe in restorative justice, not performative punishment. True justice isn’t about destroying people, it’s about helping them unlearn harmful ideas and supporting them as they build something better. We hope that this moment becomes an opportunity for reflection and dialogue, for him, and for all of us about how to build a future rooted in accountability, empathy and growth.”
YES TO ALL OF THIS.
No one is proposing that he be executed but having a well known Nazi symbol tattooed on your body for years while knowing what it meant is a giant red flag. Not to mention the misogyny and homophobia and racism. If he needs to work on himself, he should do that out of office. A Senate campaign where the stakes are so high is not the place for therapy.
No to someone who has something engraved in his body without knowing what it means.
No to someone who has something engraved in his body And not investigating what it means.
Although I’m concerned about Janet Mills’ age, no to Nazi tattoos gotten at any age.
Signed me, Black Woman.
The reason Liberals can’t have nice things is because you are like Clooney and Ezra Klein. You have think you’re smarter than anyone else, you don’t listen to Black people who tell you about people like Fetterman and you compromise your morals to try and compete with the racist Trump maga’s.
Shame on you and everyone underneath this comments making excuses for that man.
I agree. The unseemly eagerness to trash people on our own side, every fvcking time. Meanwhile JD Couch-Lover out there giving cover to 34yo children spewing hate in real time. Smdh.
Idon’t know HOW Mamdani has survived liberal purity testing. I bet we’ll find out he touched a boob in high school and the girl now says she didn’t like it 5 days before the election
Has anyone here actually looked for the tattoo on his chest? The photo is so dark you can’t make it out and skull tattoos are everywhere.
And suddenly all these totenkamf experts – I’m a middle aged brown woman who thought I knew every bit of ww2 imagery and coded messaging. Never heard of this. I’d seen the skull but with lightning symbols or s**stikas or eagles or other contextual imagery. By itself? There are at least 10 fictional skull characters, starting with pirates ghost rider, scorpion from mortal combat, skeletors… If he passed the military tattoo check why TF are we sabotaging the campaign of a guy who could actually win??
The “look at Fetterman” argument is 100% valid. But what’s our other option? Janet Mills will be 79 YEARS OLD. Age was the biggest issue for Biden (and Gaza), and the DNC thinks running exactly the same thing will work this time??
This guy is waving so many red flags that we aren’t even discussing his stint as a Blackwater Mercenary.
“ Idon’t know HOW Mamdani has survived liberal purity testing.”
PROBABLY by not having a Nazi tattoo.
I’d rather have an old, mentally acute person than ANYONE with Nazi body engravings
signed Black Woman.
@Lurker — You’re awesome. 🙂
@Is that so? Absolutely correct.
signed White Woman who is getting sick of telling right wingers that Hitler was not a socialist, despite the party name. So much ignorance out there. About those obscure, whoever heard of them Nazis! Did people learn nothing in school?
NOPE. He has had THAT tattoo for TWENTY YEARS. He BRAGGED ABOUT IT BEING A NAZI TAT. He has a HISTORY of racist, antisemitic, and homophobic bullshit. He’s former BLACKWATER MERCENARY. You folks who will excuse Nazi shit for your progressive fave are no better than MAGA. There are other candidates with ACTUAL EXPERIENCE and plenty of time to put forth someone without that history.
The SECOND you excuse Nazi shit you’re showing your ass that you support Nazis. This is no different than telling a woman assaulted that “boys will be boys.” GTFO with that apologist bs.
This is exactly the kind of hyperbolic, speculative nonsense that tanks Democratic chances every time. There is no Nazi history here. No pattern of bigotry, racism, or misogyny. You’re taking isolated incidents and inflating them into a false narrative—and it reads more like an opposition play than honest concern.
@MrsBanjo: Agree completely.
I cannot believe that people are arguing away a hate symbol tattooed on someone’s chest. Nazi shit: a line that can never be crossed.
So my Google searches for his homophobic slurs etc bring up a lot of pro Zionist and right-wing media. I also get Spectrum owned news sites. You may remember Spectrum as the reason why Disney fired Kimmel – the refused to carry his show.
Maybe let’s all examine our sources and question why a non- establishment Dem candidate with a Dem socialist platform is getting sand bagged so thoroughly.
I tried to listen to the interview on PSA and I got through five minutes. I think that the podbros do have a racism blind spot. They are busy attempting to try to appeal to white working class men, which I totally understand. It’s disappointing as member of what is considered the Democratic base to see this man as the “solution”. It’s John Fetterman all over again. All I can say, as a Black woman, this is the apparent tide coming in America. We will be marginalized going further, and this of course saddens me. That said, working class policies inherently benefit minorities, and building a big tent means conservative (racist) Democrats are a thing and this maybe where we start to rebuild. I genuinely don’t know.
Just popping in to say that there’s big judge elections in PA. Could have far reaching future election impact with gerrymandering and mail in ballots. Please vote next week, PA!!
Yes to this! Thanks, Beth. And go vote retain, PA!
He’s not working class either. His father is a successful attorney and his mother owns an upper end restaurant. He hasn’t held jobs so much as he has had a series of adventures beginning with enlisting in the Marine Corps to fight in wars he claimed to detest. I wish Bernie would stop endorsing weirdos because they chant, Medicare for all! over and over. His track record is not great since it includes the aforementioned Fetterman and Tulsi Gabbard. We won’t even go into Nina Turner. And his cultists attacked Kamala for forming a coalition to defeat fascism with Liz Cheney but think a guy with a whole totenkopf on his chest is A-OK. The Democratic party cannot survive if it must constantly fight a two front war. And if you think a totenkopf is just an honest mistake anyone might make, you have never seen a single WWII movie where the SS officers walk around emblazoned with totenkopfs. If this is what we must do to appease white males, we’re better off letting the majority continue to vote Republican as they have since passage of the Civil Rights Act.
I am politically homeless right now. I’ll never vote for a Republican, certainly not with the current state of that party. But the Democrats need to do better. I voted for Harris and Biden enthusiastically, don’t get me wrong. And maybe this tattoo was just youthful folly and he honestly didn’t know at the time what it connoted. But he still needs to answer for it, because it is completely understandable why people are concerned and I don’t like being gaslit about it.
yikes do not elect your own Fetterman, it will get you no where
and these podbros need to stop dining out on their connection to Obama, they are not helping us
Lets talk about Pod Save America. I think those guys are serious assholes and they are wielding quite a bit of power
Let’s not. Let’s not cannibalize ourselves when the opposition has literally taken a wrecking ball to the white house.
Right?
Voice of reason here. The way people have bought all the oppo research is crazy. This infighting is why the GOP ends up winning.
And now a fascist is destroying the country.
They are the absolute worse and stopped listening to them years ago. I agree with Hunter Biden. They are out of touch, living In Beverly Hills lecturing to black people on how to vote.
These so called progressives are just as racist and sexist as republicans and we do not talk about that enough. They are probably d@ck riding him because they see themselves in him.
Hunter Biden did more damage to the credibility of the democrat brand than any of the guys on PSA. He has been a weapon used by the GOP for years and has damaged credibility because of his actions. He also encouraged his father to run again which is why there is currently a fascist busting down the WH.
@NIC919 thank you for proving my point. I know now to avoid someone like you. PSA have been problematic for years. They are misogynist and insulted black voters like myself in SC. Thank you for letting me that you are just like them. You gonna fall
all over yourself defending the Nazi who’s running in Maine too?
Hunter was a mess and he was used as weapon to hurt his father. The GOP DGAF about what he was doing. They cared about using him to hurt his father.
We have a fascist in the WH because this country is too racist and sexist to vote for a BW.
Yes this country is/was too racist and sexist to vote for a BW. But the purity politics of the pro-gaza left sabotaged her. And the old guard dem machine (which includes the congressional black caucus. Look at what 85yo Jim clyburn from your state has voted for/against recently) focused on holding on to their own personal fiefdoms instead of encouraging the generations coming up or fighting for working class.
If you think the white entitled (that is true) pod bros are racist (idk) there is a whole world of racism that Stephen Miller is itching to show us all, and it looks quite different to the the podbros.
@Nic919, Hunter Biden has documented head trauma.
Democrats have elected too many wolves pretending to be sheep, who once elected declare their true alliance, or VOTE their true affiliation.
If you get a symbol engraved into your body without knowing what it means, you are an IDIOT and shouldn’t have public leadership. Why cover, instead of removing it.
If Democrats elect someone with Nazi engraving the we have to shut up about all the right wing Nazi embossing.
Have you looked at this symbol in his chest for yourself? Google it. See if you would have known what it is with the conviction you currently hold.
@thatisso! Don’t respond to this comment. There seem to be a lot of opps popping up in the comment session.
People on here are utilizing the “Debate me bro” tactic
I’m astonished people don’t know what a totenkopf is. No, seriously, I am. People need to pay a bit more attention in history class.
It’s telling that some people here are more interested in defending a ‘cool guy’ than holding him accountable for his racism. The excuses start when the truth gets in the way.
I just looked this up on Wikipedia. The Totenkopf is a skull and crossbones. Pirates used it. I had no clue Nazis did. Yeah, I can see young, drunk Marines getting a tattoo that way and having no clue it had an alternate meaning beyond ‘tough guy’. But if he found out what it was later why didn’t he get it changed or removed?
Of course, none of this came out until a candidate with money to dig deep joined the race. I wonder what 76 yr old Janet would have posted on the internet if it was around before she became a politician?
Janet Mills who thanked Susan Collins profusely???
It was a DSCC oppo dump against Platner BTW. Guess they wanted to do it before the GOP did.
Maine has a very deep independent streak and RCV so it will be interesting to see how this plays out. I’m not convinced that any of this is enough to sink his campaign in that state but we shall see…
The difference is that Janet Mills has many years of public service that shows voters what she stands for and gives them an idea of how she’ll behave as a senator. Platner doesn’t have this history and is asking people to trust his word. Its not an easy decision.
This senate race is the democratic party in a nutshell, too-old candidates and an unknown with many red flags that make people concerned he might go rogue. Sigh.
True but it cuts both ways. Mainers who have been largely dissatisfied with Mill’s reign as governor could be drawn to an unknown who’s campaigning as a changemaker.
I dunno, I was a big WWII history buff in HS/college, took several German history courses, studied German, and I still did not know what this symbol was until this story broke (and FWIW I am the same age as Platner). I am not saying it’s totally okay, but this is not quite at the level of a swastika or even SS lightning bolts.
Personally I think at this stage it’s up to the people of Maine to decide. If he is genuinely distasteful to a majority of voters, there is time to find alternative candidates who aren’t 79. If he is genuinely remorseful and a great guy and all that, he should defer to and enthusiastically support a less problematic candidate but that candidate needs to come forward first (Janet Mills age is a serious concern so I don’t think she is necessarily it). While I do not love the Manchins or the Fettermans of the party they are still an improvement over Susan Collins.
There are other, younger candidates running: Jordan Wood, who served as chief of staff to Katie Porter and Dan Kleban, co-founder of Maine Beer Company. That’s why it’s so infuriating that Schumer and Co felt the need to push a 79-year-old woman into running in an already crowded field.
I agree that this other candidate should be given media attention too. He may be too progressive for Maine though. The primary is where this gets decided.
it’s the same thing Schumer and Democratic Establishment did in NYC. Was Cuomo really the only viable option? There were so many other Democrats who were running in the NYC Mayor Democratic Primary that they could have put their weight and money behind.
Mills, at least, seems to have some gumption when it comes to opposing Trump as we saw back in January when she told him, to his face, that Maine would see his administration in court.
Has anyone seen the picture of this tattoo? It looked like a blacked out skull and bones. I wouldn’t have made the connection myself. It’s not a swastika or an SS thing so how many people would have made the connection. Clearly not the army because they specifically ban Nazi imagery on their soldiers. Well they did back then anyway.
As for the “proof” that he knew what it meant, that’s coming from a “former acquaintance” and this was published in a Zionist paper.
The guy may be racist, but there is also obvious evidence of opposition moves happening here.
The issue here is for the people of Maine to decide in a primary anyway. They voted for Susan Collins so they aren’t the same voters as New York State.
That the other main option endorsed by the democrat establishment is a 77 year old who praises Susan Collins seems like a concern too.
They’re not the same as NY voters at all. People who don’t like Platner (including the Dem establishment) are banking on the ME voting base being repulsed by his Reddit shit-posting. But I could actually see plenty of rural Maine voters not even knowing anything beyond the fact that he’s a former marine, oyster farmer, regular working class guy who cares deeply about his state.
One thing that Trump has done very effectively is to inure the American public to distasteful language. I don’t think the GOP ever thought that would work on people who fall outside of the MAGA world but it has. Lots of people who are apolitical, libertarian or independent just want someone to stand up for them–they don’t care what they wrote 10 years ago on a Reddit thread.
as a Pennsylvanian, no I am not getting anything better from Fetterman than I am getting from McCormick
The SS used fake runes; they are not lightning bolts.
And the totenkopf IS an SS thing. It’s on SS uniforms.
Yeah, I don’t know if he’s sincere in his apology or not, but I’m really confused by all the comments here caping for a man who unapologetically tattooed a Nazi symbol on himself and had no problem with it for years. Nevermind all the other stuff coming to light about him.
Throw this whole man away and try again. Go get a sandwich maker from Amato’s or something.
I’d love to see anyone other than a mediocre white man try to fail upwards like this, people are conditioned to have so much grace for them
Some of you are opps in here. Some who I’ve never seen post on Celebitchy. Be careful folks because you accept the little shit, the next thing you know you lose the East wing of the White House—and that’s not even the worst of it.
I’ve noticed that too. Someone on here is defending the Pod save America bros and that alone was a red flag.
My comments are getting deleted so I’ll keep this brief:
“Throw this whole man away” and similar calls to magically find another candidate seem to be marvelously oblivious to the current constitutional crisis.
I am an immigrant brown citizen. I now carry papers with me when I leave home. I have lost jobs when I shared lgbtqia work in my portfolio. I am watching the dollar depreciate and signs point to a looming economic crisis.
I’m in a red state.
It must be nice to read the news and still feel safe. Because I will take ANYONE who will fight for me bc at this point there is no one.
Are you canvassing for a better candidate? Are you running for office?
It’s kinda crazy because we have people in the White House RIGHT NOW who use the n-word and other slurs on the daily. People who have actively done everything in their power to hurt and punish women, immigrants, black and brown folks, the LGBTQ community, the disabled etc in a very tangible, meaningful, IMPACTFUL way. Yet we’re all here fighting about a guy who said some seriously stupid shit online 10-15 years ago. He didn’t suppress our votes, eradicate our bodily autonomy, reduce our job opportunities, trample on our civil rights and on and on. But we’re putting him on the same level as a MAGA Republican.
FWIW I’m not invested in Platner’s candidacy one way or another–I want whoever can beat Collins–but the contrast between the two parties could not be more stark. I 100% VHEMENTLY agree that there’s no room in the Dem party for bigots but I also believe we should be welcoming to people who have evolved on their views. Whether that’s Platner or not IDK but at least he seems willing to own up to his past mistakes and apologize. We’ll see if that goes far enough for Maine voters….
I don’t know anything about Maine but what kind of candidate would win in Maine?
Why does Collins keep winning?
In 2020, Sara Gideon ran as a nice moderate Democrat and lost bigly. Mills has at least won statewide.
There has GOT to be a better person to run as a candidate than THIS.
Please be mindful of some of the people commenting. A lot of opps are popping up using the Debate me bro and seal lioning tactics.
“Sealioning is a form of online harassment where a person persistently asks disingenuous questions, demands evidence, and insists on justification, all while maintaining a pretense of sincerity and a desire for civil debate. The goal of a sealioner is not to have a productive discussion, but to frustrate and exhaust their target, derailing the conversation and making them appear unreasonable in bad faith.”
Last thing: Graham Platner wrote a series of Reddit comments containing homophobic slurs, anti-LGBTQ+ jokes, and sexually explicit stories that denigrated gay men.
He was around 33 YEARS OLD.
If he’s changed great. Let him live his changed life OUT of public service in any capacity.
JFC.