I got an encyclopedic text message from this guy about a month ago. When the first two paragraphs were about “Palestine,” I realized this guy was probably representing the lefty lunatic fringe of the party.
The more I learned about him, the more I chuckled. Lots and lots of bad decisions that led to poor outcomes in his own life that he blames on others? Check.
Difficulty with moderating his emotions? Check.
Problematic history riddled with social media fuckups? Check!
Bernie endorsement? Absolutely!
Then the news of his Nazi tattoo, homophobic social media history, antisemitic comments, attendance of events with white nationalists… and much of the lunatic fringe left is still behind the dude.
“I mean, come on, who hasn’t heiled Hitler, gotten an SS tattoo, said racist things about Black and Jewish people, and shat on gay people before?”
All from the same people who were screeching incoherently about Sydney Sweeney supposedly being a Nazi just a month ago.
Janet Mills isn’t young but she is proven and has fought Donald Trump effectively. She has no surprises in her closet. This other dude is the classic leftist archetype of the angry man-child that characterizes so much of the left of our party today — he belongs in a mental health treatment facility, not the senate.
If the Maine Dems are saddled with him, it will be a dumpster fire of a campaign that will keep Collins in the Senate for another six years and give the GOP endless gaffe loops for actual non-moronic candidates to have to address.
Well, so much for Platner. Just a few hours ago I posted some replies arguing that we need a broader tent. Although I encouraged people to let the voters decide, I was sympathetic to the argument that people change in regards to the Reddit posts. Now, apparently I just read that he has a Nazi tattoo. Jesus Christ are we fu****d! lol
I’m a Mainer and a monthly donor to Platner. While Mills was great during Covid and has been a fine Governor for those of us with means, she has left those on the margins behind. She is definitely not popular with the labor unions and she believes it’s perfectly okay to lock children up in prison, contrary to all the information that says that it is counterproductive. She doesn’t believe the indigenous people of our state deserve the same rights as other indigenous people in the rest of the country. When it comes right down to it, she is 77, 78 years old and her beliefs are cemented in the 1970s. She really hasn’t evolved in many ways. We don’t need Janet Mills. Graham Platner had evolved. He listens, learns ands is not arrogant in his beliefs like Mills.
Ann, I so appreciate your comments. I have Graham Platner $100. For his campaign (I’m in NJ) and have been SO back and forth with all the recent information on his comments and now, tattoo. I guess we will get down to - may the best person win. I can only imagine doing four tours in the Middle East knowing how our military has treated our vets when have come home. I’ll give him a chance. Thanks.
I find Platner refreshing and honest. Primaries are for vetting candidates. So let's vet him and see what's under the hood. Until further notice, I'm all for new models not used.
I'm sorry, I see the lively debate happening below, but name me a time when the DNC mettled in a race, put its thumb on the race, and it worked out well? I mean it? There must be a time, right?
I'm so pissed about all of this. I thought Platner's campaign so far to be exactly the lane the Democrats should be in. Only to find that the "establishment" has backed yet another member of the gerontocracy? AYFKM? And I get that Maine may be special, and Gov. Mills has a proven track record, but ... we need to bring people back into the fold. We need to grow the tents, and get 20-30 somethings engaged, and the Establishment's choice is simply confounding. And who dropped the OPPO?
Let me be clear, this story is why so many people of turned away from the Democrats.
4 combat tours = more stress than any non-combat politician will endure in a lifetime. Sending a 77 y/o to the Senate is the worst move since the last time Democrats tried to do it. We don't need another Feinstein in the Senate, or Schumer or Collins for that matter.
It’s gonna be real hard to court working class, veterans to revive the Democratic Party if we keep living by the double standards the GOP and right wing media force us to live by.
The FoxNews approved, GOP President of the United States has said much more vile things and is actively pursuing state Socialist industrial policy. Read the Room Dems. No one cares. Be a Communist! FoxNews called Obama a Communist.
I'm rather flabbergasted that the OP notes Mills stood up to Trump -- in person, actually talked back, nice and feisty -- without mentioning about what: Maine's policy on allowing trans girls to participate in hs sports. Good on her when the NYT is pimping a "moderate" Dem profile that would throw those kids under the bus. But Chuck, oh Chuck, you have to know what the GOP will do with that, that she'll be on the back-foot on that for the campaign once the primary ends, and Collins will cruise back into office in the general.
If you want electability, you have to be realistic about the ranking of propaganda vulnerabilities. Any sane person would grok the "communist" claim as ironic hyperbole, and telling Ted Nugent to “suck a dick” is just totally effin awesome.
After listening to HCR explain why Mainers keep voting for Susan Collins, I don’t expect that this fight is going to go anywhere. Both candidates have some serious, nearly insurmountable issues to overcome. Susan Collins may be a disaster on a national level, but Mainers tolerate her because they believe she can deliver for the state under a Trump presidency.
Every primary candidate running in Maine needs to start making the case for why Susan Collins has been a net negative for Mainers. The things she has supported on a national level wipe out any good she may have achieved for the state. This is going to be a lot harder than it sounds because Collins is very calculating and voted against the bug ugly bill, which provides her with some cover to pretend she was taking a principled stance. Both Mills and Platner should be screaming from the rooftops that Collins only votes against the party line when she knows MAGA doesn’t need her vote. She has such a low opinion of her constituents that she thinks they won’t figure out that she is selling them out. Whoever communicates this message the most effectively should be the nominee.
If I were Platner, I’d use the DSCCC’s support for Mills as campaign fuel. That could even get him a few MAGA votes.
The question remains, Lily - who fashioned the knife?
Clearly it was the DSCC who pushed the knife in, and clearly the DSCC is all in on Mills, but who did the research on Platner?
Who went and figured out Platner's anonymous account on Reddit (of all the social medias), and then searched for deleted posts? Posts that were deleted before he announced? Posts from 5 years ago?
It wasn't the DSCC - they don't have the resources nor ability.
It wasn't Mills - she just barely announced, let alone have such an oppo research done.
It wasn't Collins - she would wait MUCH later in the cycle. After all, it's called an October surprise for a reason (October of the year of the election, not the year BEFORE the election).
And why Platner? There are a BUNCH of progressives running around the country. Why did they single THIS progressive out specifically? What is it about HIM that differentiates HIM from other progressives? After all the hot-takes after Harris' loss, he fits the bill perfectly: a straight, white, man (of the people).
Totally agree that this incident should raise a lot of questions about how an anonymous Reddit account was traced back to him. That aspect of this story isn’t getting nearly as much scrutiny as it should. I would not be surprised if it involved multiple parties colluding together.
I hope this effort backfires spectacularly. I don’t expect Platner or any other democrat to win against Collins so I don’t care about that as much as I care about rebuking the establishment. At a time when “young” Republicans can’t get through a sentence without dropping a slur or praising Hitler, this comes across as a deeply calculating and cynical ploy.
I don’t blame them. I don’t think either of them are particularly good candidates, and I’m not sure who would be. Whoever it is has to undermine the narrative that Susan Collins is a net positive for Maine. I think it’s going to be incredibly hard for any democrat to make a case for why it’s better to vote for a democrat who will achieve nothing over the next four years vs. at least getting a few crumbs out of Collins. You could make the case for why it would be better for democrats to control the senate, but that’s a long shot, even if Collins loses.
All that is to say that my expectations are low for this race. I think Collins will win by a comfortable margin regardless of who wins the primary.
Valid pooint but hopefully it's not four years but 2 years from January 2027 through 2029. Obviously, I am hoping for a democratic wins the presidency in 2028. Maybe part of the pitch is do you want crumbs for 2 years or loaves of bread for 4.
Both seem to be decent choices. One edgier. One older and maybe wiser. There are several others also in the primary. All beat the hell out of Susan Collins.
So whoever wins, be prepared to unite around them and take one vote away from Trump and his rabble.
lauren it seems Maine has two candidates for senate that is in some ways what is happening here in Arizona. our working class candidate Harvard grad and Latino Gallegos is similar to your working class guy and our mark Kelly astronaut and conventional democrat but conservative your governor represents the one side of the politics today and your independent senator represents where America is heading. your rough edged working class guys represents the www guys that trump captured but this guy seems real and relatable to current non voters these are interesting times all politics is local but in this case either candidate is better than what has been going to congress of late. America at a crossroads these two are a hopeful future
The corporate establishment Democratic party elite hate Progressives worse than they hate Republicans.
You might ask yourself "why?" It's because the Progressives rail about corporate money in politics and how that money allows the billionaires and corporations to put a leash on their elected representatives. The Progressives refuse corporate PAC money as they rely on small dollar donors. That means they represent the people who donated to them and not corporate America.
This is a threat to the corporate Dem's honeypot of big corporate dollars. Just like in all things, it's always the money. The Progressives can diminish the power of the corporations to dictate House and Senate actions by not being beholden to them to get elected.
Graham Platner is that kind of threat and you're seeing the hysterical response from the Democratic establishment. Same with Zohran Mamdani. Because it's always the money.
"The corporate establishment Democratic party elite hate Progressives worse than they hate Republicans"
Yup.
Far, FAR worse.
I agree it's definitely the money - but what other overlap is there between Zohran Mamdani and Graham Platner that gets them even more hate that ever other progressive?
Its not hate. Its wariness about candidates who go too far left. People with money aren't going to vote for someone who wants to chop their heads off, even metaphorically. We always talk about how people should vote their economic interests. Well surprise, rich people vote their economic interests.
Did you bother to listen to anything Graham Platner has advocated?
How is it "far left" to want to rebuild the failing healthcare system, help small business succeed and break up the oligarch monopolies, stop the ICE secret police from disappearing people off of the streets, stop corporate polluters, build more affordable housing, and defend Medicaid and Medicare?
Where's the Radical Left in any of that? The Establishment Dems hate all of this because it threatens the river of money they get from corporations and billionaires.
Mamdami advertises himself as a socialist. He wants to raise taxes on rich New Yorkers.
I'm probably as far left as he is. I have no problem raising taxes on rich people. But I also recognize that means they probably would not vote for me. And sure, its a democracy, but an asymmetrical one. One person one vote. But a few people have enough money to tilt an election in their favor.
Zohran Mamdani defines himself as a Democratic socialist. You missed a word. He's not going to have the government of New York seize the means of production. He only wants a trial of five grocery stores in food deserts so the people there can afford to eat. He's going to work through the capitalist system and try to make New York more affordable rather than ceding the city to only the deca-millionaires and billionaires.
I got an encyclopedic text message from this guy about a month ago. When the first two paragraphs were about “Palestine,” I realized this guy was probably representing the lefty lunatic fringe of the party.
The more I learned about him, the more I chuckled. Lots and lots of bad decisions that led to poor outcomes in his own life that he blames on others? Check.
Difficulty with moderating his emotions? Check.
Problematic history riddled with social media fuckups? Check!
Bernie endorsement? Absolutely!
Then the news of his Nazi tattoo, homophobic social media history, antisemitic comments, attendance of events with white nationalists… and much of the lunatic fringe left is still behind the dude.
“I mean, come on, who hasn’t heiled Hitler, gotten an SS tattoo, said racist things about Black and Jewish people, and shat on gay people before?”
All from the same people who were screeching incoherently about Sydney Sweeney supposedly being a Nazi just a month ago.
Janet Mills isn’t young but she is proven and has fought Donald Trump effectively. She has no surprises in her closet. This other dude is the classic leftist archetype of the angry man-child that characterizes so much of the left of our party today — he belongs in a mental health treatment facility, not the senate.
If the Maine Dems are saddled with him, it will be a dumpster fire of a campaign that will keep Collins in the Senate for another six years and give the GOP endless gaffe loops for actual non-moronic candidates to have to address.
Well, so much for Platner. Just a few hours ago I posted some replies arguing that we need a broader tent. Although I encouraged people to let the voters decide, I was sympathetic to the argument that people change in regards to the Reddit posts. Now, apparently I just read that he has a Nazi tattoo. Jesus Christ are we fu****d! lol
Counterpoint: it's a smear job.
The question should be: who is running the smear job.
I’m a Mainer and a monthly donor to Platner. While Mills was great during Covid and has been a fine Governor for those of us with means, she has left those on the margins behind. She is definitely not popular with the labor unions and she believes it’s perfectly okay to lock children up in prison, contrary to all the information that says that it is counterproductive. She doesn’t believe the indigenous people of our state deserve the same rights as other indigenous people in the rest of the country. When it comes right down to it, she is 77, 78 years old and her beliefs are cemented in the 1970s. She really hasn’t evolved in many ways. We don’t need Janet Mills. Graham Platner had evolved. He listens, learns ands is not arrogant in his beliefs like Mills.
Ann, I so appreciate your comments. I have Graham Platner $100. For his campaign (I’m in NJ) and have been SO back and forth with all the recent information on his comments and now, tattoo. I guess we will get down to - may the best person win. I can only imagine doing four tours in the Middle East knowing how our military has treated our vets when have come home. I’ll give him a chance. Thanks.
Oh great, another Schumer-approved Demomummy to force down voters throat.
That totenkopf tattoo though--that seems like the kind of thing he should have either had lasered or covered sometimes in the last 15 years.
You have to be a true believer to get that tattoo.
It's a smear job.
Fetterman
I find Platner refreshing and honest. Primaries are for vetting candidates. So let's vet him and see what's under the hood. Until further notice, I'm all for new models not used.
I'm sorry, I see the lively debate happening below, but name me a time when the DNC mettled in a race, put its thumb on the race, and it worked out well? I mean it? There must be a time, right?
I'm so pissed about all of this. I thought Platner's campaign so far to be exactly the lane the Democrats should be in. Only to find that the "establishment" has backed yet another member of the gerontocracy? AYFKM? And I get that Maine may be special, and Gov. Mills has a proven track record, but ... we need to bring people back into the fold. We need to grow the tents, and get 20-30 somethings engaged, and the Establishment's choice is simply confounding. And who dropped the OPPO?
Let me be clear, this story is why so many people of turned away from the Democrats.
4 combat tours = more stress than any non-combat politician will endure in a lifetime. Sending a 77 y/o to the Senate is the worst move since the last time Democrats tried to do it. We don't need another Feinstein in the Senate, or Schumer or Collins for that matter.
The Dangerous Delusion of the Center
https://www.americasundoing.com/p/the-dangerous-delusion-of-the-center?r=9kpps&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
It’s gonna be real hard to court working class, veterans to revive the Democratic Party if we keep living by the double standards the GOP and right wing media force us to live by.
The FoxNews approved, GOP President of the United States has said much more vile things and is actively pursuing state Socialist industrial policy. Read the Room Dems. No one cares. Be a Communist! FoxNews called Obama a Communist.
I'm rather flabbergasted that the OP notes Mills stood up to Trump -- in person, actually talked back, nice and feisty -- without mentioning about what: Maine's policy on allowing trans girls to participate in hs sports. Good on her when the NYT is pimping a "moderate" Dem profile that would throw those kids under the bus. But Chuck, oh Chuck, you have to know what the GOP will do with that, that she'll be on the back-foot on that for the campaign once the primary ends, and Collins will cruise back into office in the general.
If you want electability, you have to be realistic about the ranking of propaganda vulnerabilities. Any sane person would grok the "communist" claim as ironic hyperbole, and telling Ted Nugent to “suck a dick” is just totally effin awesome.
After listening to HCR explain why Mainers keep voting for Susan Collins, I don’t expect that this fight is going to go anywhere. Both candidates have some serious, nearly insurmountable issues to overcome. Susan Collins may be a disaster on a national level, but Mainers tolerate her because they believe she can deliver for the state under a Trump presidency.
Every primary candidate running in Maine needs to start making the case for why Susan Collins has been a net negative for Mainers. The things she has supported on a national level wipe out any good she may have achieved for the state. This is going to be a lot harder than it sounds because Collins is very calculating and voted against the bug ugly bill, which provides her with some cover to pretend she was taking a principled stance. Both Mills and Platner should be screaming from the rooftops that Collins only votes against the party line when she knows MAGA doesn’t need her vote. She has such a low opinion of her constituents that she thinks they won’t figure out that she is selling them out. Whoever communicates this message the most effectively should be the nominee.
If I were Platner, I’d use the DSCCC’s support for Mills as campaign fuel. That could even get him a few MAGA votes.
The question remains, Lily - who fashioned the knife?
Clearly it was the DSCC who pushed the knife in, and clearly the DSCC is all in on Mills, but who did the research on Platner?
Who went and figured out Platner's anonymous account on Reddit (of all the social medias), and then searched for deleted posts? Posts that were deleted before he announced? Posts from 5 years ago?
It wasn't the DSCC - they don't have the resources nor ability.
It wasn't Mills - she just barely announced, let alone have such an oppo research done.
It wasn't Collins - she would wait MUCH later in the cycle. After all, it's called an October surprise for a reason (October of the year of the election, not the year BEFORE the election).
And why Platner? There are a BUNCH of progressives running around the country. Why did they single THIS progressive out specifically? What is it about HIM that differentiates HIM from other progressives? After all the hot-takes after Harris' loss, he fits the bill perfectly: a straight, white, man (of the people).
Why HIM? Why NOW?
Totally agree that this incident should raise a lot of questions about how an anonymous Reddit account was traced back to him. That aspect of this story isn’t getting nearly as much scrutiny as it should. I would not be surprised if it involved multiple parties colluding together.
I hope this effort backfires spectacularly. I don’t expect Platner or any other democrat to win against Collins so I don’t care about that as much as I care about rebuking the establishment. At a time when “young” Republicans can’t get through a sentence without dropping a slur or praising Hitler, this comes across as a deeply calculating and cynical ploy.
Unfortunately voters might not know which would be better against Collins. Meanwhile they are hammering each other.
I don’t blame them. I don’t think either of them are particularly good candidates, and I’m not sure who would be. Whoever it is has to undermine the narrative that Susan Collins is a net positive for Maine. I think it’s going to be incredibly hard for any democrat to make a case for why it’s better to vote for a democrat who will achieve nothing over the next four years vs. at least getting a few crumbs out of Collins. You could make the case for why it would be better for democrats to control the senate, but that’s a long shot, even if Collins loses.
All that is to say that my expectations are low for this race. I think Collins will win by a comfortable margin regardless of who wins the primary.
Valid pooint but hopefully it's not four years but 2 years from January 2027 through 2029. Obviously, I am hoping for a democratic wins the presidency in 2028. Maybe part of the pitch is do you want crumbs for 2 years or loaves of bread for 4.
Both seem to be decent choices. One edgier. One older and maybe wiser. There are several others also in the primary. All beat the hell out of Susan Collins.
So whoever wins, be prepared to unite around them and take one vote away from Trump and his rabble.
lauren it seems Maine has two candidates for senate that is in some ways what is happening here in Arizona. our working class candidate Harvard grad and Latino Gallegos is similar to your working class guy and our mark Kelly astronaut and conventional democrat but conservative your governor represents the one side of the politics today and your independent senator represents where America is heading. your rough edged working class guys represents the www guys that trump captured but this guy seems real and relatable to current non voters these are interesting times all politics is local but in this case either candidate is better than what has been going to congress of late. America at a crossroads these two are a hopeful future
The corporate establishment Democratic party elite hate Progressives worse than they hate Republicans.
You might ask yourself "why?" It's because the Progressives rail about corporate money in politics and how that money allows the billionaires and corporations to put a leash on their elected representatives. The Progressives refuse corporate PAC money as they rely on small dollar donors. That means they represent the people who donated to them and not corporate America.
This is a threat to the corporate Dem's honeypot of big corporate dollars. Just like in all things, it's always the money. The Progressives can diminish the power of the corporations to dictate House and Senate actions by not being beholden to them to get elected.
Graham Platner is that kind of threat and you're seeing the hysterical response from the Democratic establishment. Same with Zohran Mamdani. Because it's always the money.
"The corporate establishment Democratic party elite hate Progressives worse than they hate Republicans"
Yup.
Far, FAR worse.
I agree it's definitely the money - but what other overlap is there between Zohran Mamdani and Graham Platner that gets them even more hate that ever other progressive?
Its not hate. Its wariness about candidates who go too far left. People with money aren't going to vote for someone who wants to chop their heads off, even metaphorically. We always talk about how people should vote their economic interests. Well surprise, rich people vote their economic interests.
Did you bother to listen to anything Graham Platner has advocated?
How is it "far left" to want to rebuild the failing healthcare system, help small business succeed and break up the oligarch monopolies, stop the ICE secret police from disappearing people off of the streets, stop corporate polluters, build more affordable housing, and defend Medicaid and Medicare?
Where's the Radical Left in any of that? The Establishment Dems hate all of this because it threatens the river of money they get from corporations and billionaires.
I didn’t know chopping heads off was an option - metaphorically or otherwise.
Who is promising to do that? Where can I donate to such a candidate?
But thank god we live in a democracy, eh? Where the rich and powerful don’t always get their way?
I mean … imagine such a place!
Mamdami advertises himself as a socialist. He wants to raise taxes on rich New Yorkers.
I'm probably as far left as he is. I have no problem raising taxes on rich people. But I also recognize that means they probably would not vote for me. And sure, its a democracy, but an asymmetrical one. One person one vote. But a few people have enough money to tilt an election in their favor.
Zohran Mamdani defines himself as a Democratic socialist. You missed a word. He's not going to have the government of New York seize the means of production. He only wants a trial of five grocery stores in food deserts so the people there can afford to eat. He's going to work through the capitalist system and try to make New York more affordable rather than ceding the city to only the deca-millionaires and billionaires.