US Senate candidate Graham Platner reassures transgender Mainer he will fight for LGBTQ+ rights. Despite past controversies, he emphasizes growth and empathy. #GrahamPlatner
You people keep saying “purity test” because you don’t want to say “I’m fine if my Senator has Nazi tattoos”. Own it, bud. Make your case why you want the Senator with the Nazi tattoo. Say it with your full chest.
Yeah, my friend, we all agree that people are capable of honest mistakes. Some of us just don’t vote for a Senator unless they at least waited a couple years after getting rid of all their Nazi tattoos. It’s not a high bar.
I actually will say it with my chest that I’d prefer a senator who is a social progressive, anti-billionare, who doesn’t take super PAC money, doesn’t take AIPAC money, loudly professes there is a genocide in Gaza, wants to improve US foreign policy, is actually working class, runs a grassroots campaign, and wants to improve the cost of living and affordability for Mainers and the rest of Americans. And yes, if he made a mistake and got a Nazi tattoo (Which he has fully owned up to and has since covered up) I would still prefer him.
If you think this is some sort of “gotcha” that somehow indicates something poor about my character, or that somehow I’m admitting that Platner is a Nazi, which he’s not, then there’s nothing more I have to say to you. You are wrongfully attempting to jump to an assumption of something that just isn’t true and lacks evidence. You’re providing further evidence to my point that your purity test mindset is keeping people divided.
That’s a really terrible take. Platner also doesn’t want Nazi tattoos, and doesn’t have one anymore, because he covered it up when it was pointed out to him that it was a Nazi symbol.
But what Platner’s supporters do want, is someone who will stand up against injustice, and everything I know about him is that he’s someone who does exactly that.
I am not a Mainer but I’ve donated to Platner’s campaign because I believe we need voices like his. Susan Collins and Janet Mills are two sides of the same coin, in the same way that all the old ‘establishment’ Democrats are similar to their ‘moderate’ Republican counterparts
Graham Platner is the right choice amongst the candidates in this race.
We need to elect candidates like Kat Abu and Abigail Spanberger and Zach Dembo and Darren McAuly and Maura Sullivan and Maggie Goodlander and Deb Halland and many other good, earnest, qualified candidates.
None of them are perfect candidates. None of them are perfect people.
But they are better, and we have to hope we can all get better, be better and do better together over time.
(disclaimer: unfortunately my real opinion is that we’re actually totally fucking cooked as a country, and there’s a solid chance that authoritarian fascism will be with us for a while — longer than my lifetime. I will continue to participate in the ways I’m capable and willing, but it’s probably futile)
I grew up in Maine. I have lots of family and friends there. I no longer live there and don’t vote there, however, I also donated to his campaign and have been openly promoting him as a candidate because I believe he is who the people of Maine, and the country, need.
Also, there’s a reason he remains popular in Maine. He is talking to EVERYONE in Maine, in person, on the ground. That’s the exact behavior that will attract people to him and bring in the Trump voters who can have their minds changed. Mainers don’t care if you made mistakes in your past, so long as you own up to it. They care about who you are now and what you say now. That’s why Platner is popular. He tells it like it is, and that’s the no-nonsense personality that attracts people in Maine, a state with a significant amount of people who are working class and don’t have time to beat around the bush. Campaigns aren’t run online, and nothing anyone says online is likely to sway people who simply don’t care because they’re not chronically online.
It’s important that we can accept a candidate’s flaws and past mistakes and move on from it. Our political system suffers so much from these purity tests and smear campaigns.
Love this response. I fully agree… (even with your last point, which has been looming in the back of my mind even as I rally for these promising candidates… if only this we had this two years ago… if only.)
I legit do not understand. Like even if someone believed it was an honest mistake, why can’t people even admit that it’s bad and SHOULD be disqualifying in a sane world? Like, you can say he’s still better than Mills; I agree. But Jesus Christ in any other race, bro, what the fuck.
I think both things can be true in this case. People can admit that accidental Nazi tattoos should be disquailifying in a sane world, but also recognize that we are not currently in a sane world and that a person that got accidental Nazi tattoos is making a lot of sense in the current circumstances.
That second point seems to be forgotten when we talk about aspiring progressives. Fellas, a Reddit incel who called himself “Kekius Maximus” pulled a coup d’état with DC police in lock-step, then got pushed out of his leadership because of a scuffle with openly Nazi Stephen Miller. You know how this happened? Because the formerly far less popular Right-wing declared “No Enemies to the Right” and grabbed people with outreach that blatantly contradicts other members. Evangelicals and Incels. Kirk and Fuentes. Homophobes and #WalkAway Gay Republicans. Caitlyn Jenner endorsing Transphobes. Doctors backing RFK, Phil, Oz… We had Nazi Furries called “Burned Furs” (iirc) while school board hijackers whined about “unisex furry litterboxes”.
I don’t care about anything but policy at this point. I don’t care if the man had a tattoo of Hitler sucking a penis. He got it covered up, and has years of posts about Socialism and calling out others for being racist. A Congressman could be fucking a waifu dakimakura bodypillow during their debate and I’d still rally if he’d get the homeless and poor fed and housed. We’re too worried about seeming weird or “politically incorrect” in a world where the policy and decorum is merely an illusion.
There’s still a year before the primary. This is ridiculous. You don’t believe there is a single progressive person in Maine without any tattoos of Hitler sucking a penis?
THANK YOU. The thing no one will say: Platner just happens to be the only person running on a stated leftist platform (whether he means it or not) 8 months before the primary.
For the record I don’t think Platner is a Fetterman or a Sinema. I literally think he’s just a dumbass White Guytm.
My fanfic: Dude was in the marines, got a dumbass tattoo (I do believe him on that account), got out and went through some normal vet deep depression and joblessness which led to (as we see in right wingers all the time) a deep sense of nihilism about whether anything matters in life. He sees blackwater is hiring, nothing matters anyway, so he joins up, does his security detail or whatever (I also believe him on that), then fucks off back to Maine and dumps his blackwater money into a boat. Meets some people, made some friends, got through his depression, learned what his fucking tattoo was but thought (like a White Guytm) “Hey, I received no pushback, maybe it can just mean something else to me, like a redemptive monument to my stupidity.” Dude sees Maine sucks, George Floyd radicalized him some, then Biden did his Biden things, then Trump won. Dude with all the unearned confidence of a white man says “this is fucked up; I’m gonna run for Senate.” And here we are.
At every level, I think Platner has an idea of leftism he does hold dear. Those ideas are usually off-base nonsense when put together (look at his platform on the military), but are held together by sheer lack of self reflection mixed with the most average White Guytm self confidence. I don’t think he’s going to shave his goatee into a toothbrush mustache as soon as he wins. I just think he’s kinda fuckin stupid and in a sane world would sit down and just be stupid in the life he built. I think that we have 8 months for anyone in Maine to step up with a remotely leftist platform, and if they do and it displays even an iota of coherent thought, then they should get all the support Platner is getting now. I think if they don’t, then people should go Platner. I don’t get why everyone is rushing to circle wagons and defend him like a god damn hero immediately, though, and it’s honestly disheartening to see. Like I thought we were all lefties because we kept it real, yk?
I think that you’re onto something with the dumbass White Guy™ thing here, and while it’s pretty reductive and I do believe that people can (and often do) grow and change (for better or worse) over the course of their lived experiences.
So, perhaps today he is still a dumbass. I know that I am in some ways. We’re all dumbasses in our way and it’s the people who believe that they (or anyone) are infallible that are the true idiots.
Maine could do a LOT worse than the dumbass lefty-leaning former Marine that you describe. Maine is composed of roughly 92.82% dumbass White Guy™ (and gals)
So yeah, maybe someone better will rise up. Or maybe, this guy, who just recently pointed out on his own, in an extemporous exchange at a town hall, that he has a lot of privilege based on his cis-white-maleness and personal experiences, is a good fit for Maine.
You people keep saying “purity test” because you don’t want to say “I’m fine if my Senator has Nazi tattoos”. Own it, bud. Make your case why you want the Senator with the Nazi tattoo. Say it with your full chest.
Yeah, my friend, we all agree that people are capable of honest mistakes. Some of us just don’t vote for a Senator unless they at least waited a couple years after getting rid of all their Nazi tattoos. It’s not a high bar.
I actually will say it with my chest that I’d prefer a senator who is a social progressive, anti-billionare, who doesn’t take super PAC money, doesn’t take AIPAC money, loudly professes there is a genocide in Gaza, wants to improve US foreign policy, is actually working class, runs a grassroots campaign, and wants to improve the cost of living and affordability for Mainers and the rest of Americans. And yes, if he made a mistake and got a Nazi tattoo (Which he has fully owned up to and has since covered up) I would still prefer him.
If you think this is some sort of “gotcha” that somehow indicates something poor about my character, or that somehow I’m admitting that Platner is a Nazi, which he’s not, then there’s nothing more I have to say to you. You are wrongfully attempting to jump to an assumption of something that just isn’t true and lacks evidence. You’re providing further evidence to my point that your purity test mindset is keeping people divided.
That’s a really terrible take. Platner also doesn’t want Nazi tattoos, and doesn’t have one anymore, because he covered it up when it was pointed out to him that it was a Nazi symbol.
But what Platner’s supporters do want, is someone who will stand up against injustice, and everything I know about him is that he’s someone who does exactly that.
I am not a Mainer but I’ve donated to Platner’s campaign because I believe we need voices like his. Susan Collins and Janet Mills are two sides of the same coin, in the same way that all the old ‘establishment’ Democrats are similar to their ‘moderate’ Republican counterparts
Graham Platner is the right choice amongst the candidates in this race.
We need to elect candidates like Kat Abu and Abigail Spanberger and Zach Dembo and Darren McAuly and Maura Sullivan and Maggie Goodlander and Deb Halland and many other good, earnest, qualified candidates.
None of them are perfect candidates. None of them are perfect people.
But they are better, and we have to hope we can all get better, be better and do better together over time.
(disclaimer: unfortunately my real opinion is that we’re actually totally fucking cooked as a country, and there’s a solid chance that authoritarian fascism will be with us for a while — longer than my lifetime. I will continue to participate in the ways I’m capable and willing, but it’s probably futile)
I grew up in Maine. I have lots of family and friends there. I no longer live there and don’t vote there, however, I also donated to his campaign and have been openly promoting him as a candidate because I believe he is who the people of Maine, and the country, need.
Also, there’s a reason he remains popular in Maine. He is talking to EVERYONE in Maine, in person, on the ground. That’s the exact behavior that will attract people to him and bring in the Trump voters who can have their minds changed. Mainers don’t care if you made mistakes in your past, so long as you own up to it. They care about who you are now and what you say now. That’s why Platner is popular. He tells it like it is, and that’s the no-nonsense personality that attracts people in Maine, a state with a significant amount of people who are working class and don’t have time to beat around the bush. Campaigns aren’t run online, and nothing anyone says online is likely to sway people who simply don’t care because they’re not chronically online.
It’s important that we can accept a candidate’s flaws and past mistakes and move on from it. Our political system suffers so much from these purity tests and smear campaigns.
Love this response. I fully agree… (even with your last point, which has been looming in the back of my mind even as I rally for these promising candidates… if only this we had this two years ago… if only.)
Yet, you still say “he’s not perfect”. You’re an asshole.
He HAS A FUCKING TOTENKOPF on his chest. You want people to vote for SOMEONE WITH A NAZI TATTOO.
IT’S FUCKING COVERED UP. Stop reading one headline and thinking you know everything. Stories evolve. Keep the fuck up if you want an opinion on it
Ever hear of object permanence or are you 6? Something “covered up” still exists, so don’t try to “well acktually” me when you’re wrong.
He doesn’t have a skull on his chest anymore. Get over yourself.
I legit do not understand. Like even if someone believed it was an honest mistake, why can’t people even admit that it’s bad and SHOULD be disqualifying in a sane world? Like, you can say he’s still better than Mills; I agree. But Jesus Christ in any other race, bro, what the fuck.
I think both things can be true in this case. People can admit that accidental Nazi tattoos should be disquailifying in a sane world, but also recognize that we are not currently in a sane world and that a person that got accidental Nazi tattoos is making a lot of sense in the current circumstances.
Fascists lie. You really want to elect another Fetterman or Sinema?
When someone tells you who they are by keeping a Nazi Tattoo on their chest for 20 years, believe them.
That second point seems to be forgotten when we talk about aspiring progressives. Fellas, a Reddit incel who called himself “Kekius Maximus” pulled a coup d’état with DC police in lock-step, then got pushed out of his leadership because of a scuffle with openly Nazi Stephen Miller. You know how this happened? Because the formerly far less popular Right-wing declared “No Enemies to the Right” and grabbed people with outreach that blatantly contradicts other members. Evangelicals and Incels. Kirk and Fuentes. Homophobes and #WalkAway Gay Republicans. Caitlyn Jenner endorsing Transphobes. Doctors backing RFK, Phil, Oz… We had Nazi Furries called “Burned Furs” (iirc) while school board hijackers whined about “unisex furry litterboxes”.
I don’t care about anything but policy at this point. I don’t care if the man had a tattoo of Hitler sucking a penis. He got it covered up, and has years of posts about Socialism and calling out others for being racist. A Congressman could be fucking a waifu dakimakura bodypillow during their debate and I’d still rally if he’d get the homeless and poor fed and housed. We’re too worried about seeming weird or “politically incorrect” in a world where the policy and decorum is merely an illusion.
There’s still a year before the primary. This is ridiculous. You don’t believe there is a single progressive person in Maine without any tattoos of Hitler sucking a penis?
a tattoo of Hitler sucking dick would go hard,
THANK YOU. The thing no one will say: Platner just happens to be the only person running on a stated leftist platform (whether he means it or not) 8 months before the primary.
For the record I don’t think Platner is a Fetterman or a Sinema. I literally think he’s just a dumbass White Guytm.
My fanfic: Dude was in the marines, got a dumbass tattoo (I do believe him on that account), got out and went through some normal vet deep depression and joblessness which led to (as we see in right wingers all the time) a deep sense of nihilism about whether anything matters in life. He sees blackwater is hiring, nothing matters anyway, so he joins up, does his security detail or whatever (I also believe him on that), then fucks off back to Maine and dumps his blackwater money into a boat. Meets some people, made some friends, got through his depression, learned what his fucking tattoo was but thought (like a White Guytm) “Hey, I received no pushback, maybe it can just mean something else to me, like a redemptive monument to my stupidity.” Dude sees Maine sucks, George Floyd radicalized him some, then Biden did his Biden things, then Trump won. Dude with all the unearned confidence of a white man says “this is fucked up; I’m gonna run for Senate.” And here we are.
At every level, I think Platner has an idea of leftism he does hold dear. Those ideas are usually off-base nonsense when put together (look at his platform on the military), but are held together by sheer lack of self reflection mixed with the most average White Guytm self confidence. I don’t think he’s going to shave his goatee into a toothbrush mustache as soon as he wins. I just think he’s kinda fuckin stupid and in a sane world would sit down and just be stupid in the life he built. I think that we have 8 months for anyone in Maine to step up with a remotely leftist platform, and if they do and it displays even an iota of coherent thought, then they should get all the support Platner is getting now. I think if they don’t, then people should go Platner. I don’t get why everyone is rushing to circle wagons and defend him like a god damn hero immediately, though, and it’s honestly disheartening to see. Like I thought we were all lefties because we kept it real, yk?
I think that you’re onto something with the dumbass White Guy™ thing here, and while it’s pretty reductive and I do believe that people can (and often do) grow and change (for better or worse) over the course of their lived experiences.
So, perhaps today he is still a dumbass. I know that I am in some ways. We’re all dumbasses in our way and it’s the people who believe that they (or anyone) are infallible that are the true idiots.
Maine could do a LOT worse than the dumbass lefty-leaning former Marine that you describe. Maine is composed of roughly 92.82% dumbass White Guy™ (and gals)
So yeah, maybe someone better will rise up. Or maybe, this guy, who just recently pointed out on his own, in an extemporous exchange at a town hall, that he has a lot of privilege based on his cis-white-maleness and personal experiences, is a good fit for Maine.
We will see.
Are they in this race? Are they loudly standing up for justice?
Go find that better candidate first before you hand this seat to a Republican.
There are 8 people in the Primary. Part of “loudly standing up for Justice” is not getting a fucking Totenkopf.
I’m not in Maine. Go fuck yourself.