Platner is a direct consequence of Republicans’ amoral excesses. They’re just mad now because they thought it was a one-sided race to the bottom and now they’re realizing they have competition.
Graham Platner is going to be a terrible senator. I have very little doubt about this. But Susan Collins set the bar so low, it imploded like the Titan submersible. So here we are. I hope everyone who got us to this point clutches their pearls so hard they choke.
What you are really talking about is "both sidesisms" and "moral equivalency" which the Republicans have made into an art form which has taken them to peak power with absurd positions .
I recall during the Enron scandal when the chief culprit was a guy named Ken Lay. When pundits questioned the cause, which was actually a real Republican scandal, the pundits started in with Lay contributed to both parties. Yeah maybe $5k to a Democratic friend and $250k to Republicans .
That's the fist time I really noticed and have cringed ever since as most media outlets have fallen into the trap of feeling the need to say "well both sides do it", or "both sides are corrupt". To do so falsely allows the same weight to be applied to two different degrees of morality,
Wonderful article - moral equivalency has never been portrayed in such stark terms
I continue to be shocked that people criticizing Platner do not mention that HE SERVED IN COMBAT IN A STUPID WAR THAT BUSH STARTED, and that TRUMP IS A DRAFT DODGER who starts STUPID WARS with SUSAN COLLIN’s BLESSING!!! Many US troops and people around the Persian Gulf will have PTSD, depression and anger issues after Trump’s stupid war.
My Dad bombed the Nazis, was a senior officer in Vietnam and likely suffered from PTSD that led to drinking too much, depression (which military culture then said you tough out, not seek treatment), and anger management issues.
My sister married a nice young man who left for Vietnam and came back to an ungrateful nation with much worse issues than Platner.
Both parties, especially Republicans, send young soldiers to war and let the VA health and mental health care funding that would heal them and protect their families lag woefully behind the needs while funding tax breaks for donors. THAT is the outrage.
I disagree with Platner on Medicare for all, and probably other issues. I would never stand for a man treating my daughter the way these reports suggest—but military PTSD has led to suicide, assault and worse. Soldiers coming out of combat with inadequate transition support deserve gratitude and grace, and it is the government who failed them and their loved ones.
GW Bush who started and mismanaged the wars Platner risked his life in and saw his brothers in arms die in. Bush got assigned to skirt patrol at stateside bars because Papa Bush pulled strings to keep his kid out of Nixon’s extended Vietnam war.
Almost no members of Congress or the media served in combat like Bo Biden or have kids in harms way. JD bravely served in a media unit to stamp his military credential.
Both Bush’s belonged to a Yale secret society (as did John Kerry and many famous influential people), that has a “totenkopf” (which just means a skull logo, like a Jolly Roger, the Punisher, etc.) as its name and logo:
The only difference to the Nazi logo is the angle of the skull.
Kids across America wear totenkopfs every Halloween, but when you call it a “Jolly Roger”—well, everything sounds scarier in German (this is good for a few laughs):
“Jolly Roger flag typically include (some rarer than others):
“Skull and crossbones – The skull, historically called "death's head" (compare German: totenkopf),[29] represents death and danger, emphasizing the pirates' ruthless and deadly reputation. The crossbones are often positioned behind or beneath the skull and create an "X" shape. “
“Interpretation of Edward England, John Taylor and Samuel Bellamy's Jolly Roger as described by Thomas Baker of Bellamy's crew: “..they spread a large black flag, with a Death's Head and Bones across, and gave chase to Cap't. Prince under the same colours”.[35]”
“The skull and bones are often used in military insignia, such as the coats of arms of regiments.[2][3][4][5][6]
“Since the mid-18th century, skull and crossbones insignia has been officially used in European armies as symbols of superiority. One of the first regiments was the Frederick the Great's Hussars in 1741, also known as the "Totenkopfhusaren". “
Variations of the skull and cross bones have been used for centuries by pirates, soldiers and police units around the world:
And many, many more. I’ve read hundreds of books on WWII, but was focused on tactics, planes, tanks, battles, etc. I had never heard of the “totenkopf” being uniquely Nazi before. Watch Tom Hanks series on WWII. You cannot recognize the differences in the Nazi version and these others in an emblem on a cap and certainly not in a ring from a picture of a German soldier on TV or in a book—the emblem is too small.
The swastika and Iron Cross are the two most prominent symbols of the Nazis. The stylized “SS” of the SS units would be third. I had never heard of the “totenkopf” being a uniquely Nazi symbol, especially having seen so much footage of US military vehicles with the Punisher logo, which is not a rare window sticker on trucks around military bases:
I would bet a fair amount of money that if you made a chart of all the various Jolly Roger/totenkopf symbols used before and after the Nazis and asked most Americans to identify which one is a Nazi symbol, the Queen’s Lancers and a Yale Secret Society, the vast majority would have no idea which was which. JVL’s post yesterday was sorely lacking in evidence that this symbol is “widely” known to be uniquely Nazi.
Nazi hunters, people who study the Holocaust, neo-Nazis and those like the ADL who track hate groups pick up on the subtle angle of the skull and positioning of the crossbones that the Nazis used in their logo—except the same one was used in Spain before the Nazis and by other militaries who sought to emulate the Hussars who used it first https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totenkopf#/media/File%3AInfante_Fernando_de_Espa%C3%B1a.jpg
We absolutely should believe Platner didn’t think it had any significance different from the Punisher and other skull logos widely used in US military unit logos.
Similar to Trump, it's going to be hard to get many voters to focus on Paxton's corruption simply because there is just *so much* - it's overwhelming; the count we hold in our brains overflows and resets like an odometer. For this reason, it would be helpful if Dems and anti-MAGAs more broadly could agree upon and then hammer home a few of his most salacious acts.
I would like to posit one that wasn't mentioned here - his stealing of a pen. Objectively, this was a far lesser crime than so many others, certainly it is dwarfed in impact by all the examples Sarah listed. But I have a feeling that, much like the destruction of the East Wing, this relatively minor crime could prove to be extraordinarily repulsive to voters because it is so visceral, so easy to conceptualize. Think about it - if Paxton, a powerful and wealthy man, can steal a stranger's pen, what property is safe?
Either way, could it make sense to conduct a focus group to determine Paxton's most heinous acts of corruption? I'll leave that decision to you, Sarah!
I'm a very recent Mainer, my kid still votes in Maine, I know people on the campaign staff, and I know Platner's business partner and neighbors. So I've been following this closely. My initial worry with Platner was that he was going to code as phony to real rural Mainers. Ironically, all these things may be making him more authentic to people he needs to get on his side. I'm not sure how I feel about that.
Janet Mills was a good governor - not without flaws - but good. Given the choice, I would vote for her, but Collins needs to go. So, I would vote for Platner, if I still lived in Maine, but I wouldn't feel great about it.
I'm not sure why because American politics has been littered with scumbags for its entire history, and some of them have made really good policy. Platner is much farther left than me, but I agree with a lot of what he says. I guess I worry most about the Fetterman effect. What's the edge-lord going to do when he actually gets in office?
I worry too at how quiet Collins is being. Do they have some nuclear oppo that they are going to drop on him in September. It seems like about 50/50 that they do and they will.
There you have it... you are qualifying the difference we should all see, including Sarah. You would vote for Platner - but you wouldn't feel great about it. Republicans vote for cads like Paxton with an open heart - fully behind their party of misfits and their deranged leader. Democrats do so reluctantly - not for party, but for Democracy. Therefore, I believe it will not become a trend and that Democrats will actually work harder to vet their candidates in the future so this type of, hopefully, "one off" doesn't happen again.
Did Sarah and Sykes confer today? There is one main difference between the Dem reasoning and the GOP reasoning. Politicians are human, not super human. We must be gracious to those who admit wrong doing and ruthless to those who lie. Graham admits his flaws and lists specifics on his steps toward redemption. Paxton and Trump lie about their failings and deflect to whataboutism. I will vote for a candidate who is vulnerable and admits weakness over one who doubles down on evil. Good character doesn't mean perfection.
Dear Maine. You’re one of the only places in the Country where your vote actually counts and can change the course of history. don’t fck this up for the rest of us and get Democrat in that seat
Sarah, voting has always been trying to pick the best candidate to advance what you want from your government and most of the time the best candidate available isn't the perfect candidate. Platner isn't the perfect candidate, but he is better than any Republican candidate simply because he is against Trump and all his awful policies and for the working person and small businesses.
Collins votes something like 90 percent for Trump candidates and his policies , even if she sometimes expresses "concern" whatever that means. Really, Kennedy, Bondi, Noem, and Hegseth simply were never qualified to be Secretary of anything, yet, Collins voted for all of them except Hegseth.
Also, at some point the old politicians have to give way to younger ones. Hopefully their party has been continuously bring new alternatives up so that voters have choices instead of having to endure the sudden rise of a so-called populist like Reagan or Trump or Pratt because their party hasn't producing anyone with a spark of life in them.
Sarah, I really think, based on my research, observation, and interaction with candidate Platner, that you and the punditry are really getting it wrong on his character. I don’t deny that he has made real mistakes- of course many who have served in the military, been traumatized by war, who are natives of the digital age, and living in rural obscurity…might find aspects of his past behavior familiar. It’s not excusing him to say he is quite obviously on the path to redemption. It’s not linear- or wasn’t until Fight Agency showed up on his doorstep. I find his clear voice on the issues many of us face a clarion call to action. I am amazed at the fortitude of character that has allowed him to stand in front of live crowds in over 90 town halls in 8 months and take accountability. He has humbly taken accountability. No, it’s not that he’s, “…not as bad as…” it’s actually that he has the potential to be one of the best leaders of his generation.
I’m shocked at the half-heartedness some people voice. Maybe, as a former teacher, I’ve seen enough redemption
stories pan out to trust my gut. Some really troubled kids, who sure took their time becoming trustworthy adults, finally got there. His profile is not unfamiliar to me, or to a lot of families. Certainly not to many Mainers.
I trust that Graham Platner knows we have pinned our hopes on him, I think he takes that burden as a sacred honor, I do not believe he will let us down. He understands the stakes, he is stepping into the moment. Give him the benefit of the doubt. Mainers have.
Moral authority. What a quaint concept. However, moral relativism has been with us for a long while and not just amongst Republicans. In his 1987 book, The Closing of the American Mind, Professor Allan Bloom laments the adoption of moral relativism by his liberal leaning students. He was challenged by one who proclaimed "Then you are a moral absolutist." Moral relativism was adopted by progressives and post modernists decades ago. They still discussed policy and government initiatives, and were particularly fond of those processes while they held power. But political society is no longer polite society and has devolved into moral abandonment as witnessed by the currently powerful Republican Party. "ONE EFFECT OF THE TRUMP ERA might be that the Republicans’ brand of moral agnosticism has trickled down to voters—Dems included." Moral agnosticism may have been an apt description at one time, but no more! Moral abandonment and abrogation of norms of conduct are now the currency of the political realm.
Professor Leah Litman calls the Platner situation, Harm Reduction.
Maine can hold his feet to the 🔥.
🍊 won as a snake oil salesman. That's all he's ever been.
Platner is a direct consequence of Republicans’ amoral excesses. They’re just mad now because they thought it was a one-sided race to the bottom and now they’re realizing they have competition.
Graham Platner is going to be a terrible senator. I have very little doubt about this. But Susan Collins set the bar so low, it imploded like the Titan submersible. So here we are. I hope everyone who got us to this point clutches their pearls so hard they choke.
What you are really talking about is "both sidesisms" and "moral equivalency" which the Republicans have made into an art form which has taken them to peak power with absurd positions .
I recall during the Enron scandal when the chief culprit was a guy named Ken Lay. When pundits questioned the cause, which was actually a real Republican scandal, the pundits started in with Lay contributed to both parties. Yeah maybe $5k to a Democratic friend and $250k to Republicans .
That's the fist time I really noticed and have cringed ever since as most media outlets have fallen into the trap of feeling the need to say "well both sides do it", or "both sides are corrupt". To do so falsely allows the same weight to be applied to two different degrees of morality,
Wonderful article - moral equivalency has never been portrayed in such stark terms
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Sarah, Thank you for this.
I continue to be shocked that people criticizing Platner do not mention that HE SERVED IN COMBAT IN A STUPID WAR THAT BUSH STARTED, and that TRUMP IS A DRAFT DODGER who starts STUPID WARS with SUSAN COLLIN’s BLESSING!!! Many US troops and people around the Persian Gulf will have PTSD, depression and anger issues after Trump’s stupid war.
My Dad bombed the Nazis, was a senior officer in Vietnam and likely suffered from PTSD that led to drinking too much, depression (which military culture then said you tough out, not seek treatment), and anger management issues.
My sister married a nice young man who left for Vietnam and came back to an ungrateful nation with much worse issues than Platner.
Both parties, especially Republicans, send young soldiers to war and let the VA health and mental health care funding that would heal them and protect their families lag woefully behind the needs while funding tax breaks for donors. THAT is the outrage.
I disagree with Platner on Medicare for all, and probably other issues. I would never stand for a man treating my daughter the way these reports suggest—but military PTSD has led to suicide, assault and worse. Soldiers coming out of combat with inadequate transition support deserve gratitude and grace, and it is the government who failed them and their loved ones.
GW Bush who started and mismanaged the wars Platner risked his life in and saw his brothers in arms die in. Bush got assigned to skirt patrol at stateside bars because Papa Bush pulled strings to keep his kid out of Nixon’s extended Vietnam war.
Almost no members of Congress or the media served in combat like Bo Biden or have kids in harms way. JD bravely served in a media unit to stamp his military credential.
Both Bush’s belonged to a Yale secret society (as did John Kerry and many famous influential people), that has a “totenkopf” (which just means a skull logo, like a Jolly Roger, the Punisher, etc.) as its name and logo:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skull_and_Bones
The only difference to the Nazi logo is the angle of the skull.
Kids across America wear totenkopfs every Halloween, but when you call it a “Jolly Roger”—well, everything sounds scarier in German (this is good for a few laughs):
https://youtube.com/shorts/AdzB1DOhXfE?si=Ix-MTIka8qUQAmn3—it’s all good fun:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jolly_Roger
“Jolly Roger flag typically include (some rarer than others):
“Skull and crossbones – The skull, historically called "death's head" (compare German: totenkopf),[29] represents death and danger, emphasizing the pirates' ruthless and deadly reputation. The crossbones are often positioned behind or beneath the skull and create an "X" shape. “
“Interpretation of Edward England, John Taylor and Samuel Bellamy's Jolly Roger as described by Thomas Baker of Bellamy's crew: “..they spread a large black flag, with a Death's Head and Bones across, and gave chase to Cap't. Prince under the same colours”.[35]”
“The skull and bones are often used in military insignia, such as the coats of arms of regiments.[2][3][4][5][6]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skull_and_crossbones
“Since the mid-18th century, skull and crossbones insignia has been officially used in European armies as symbols of superiority. One of the first regiments was the Frederick the Great's Hussars in 1741, also known as the "Totenkopfhusaren". “
Variations of the skull and cross bones have been used for centuries by pirates, soldiers and police units around the world:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skull_and_crossbones_(military)
From England: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17th_Lancers where it is still I use https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Lancers
Australia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totenkopf#/media/File%3A2-6th_cavalry_commando_-_new_guinea_-_beer.jpg
France: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hussards_de_la_Mort
To Estonia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuperjanov_Infantry_Battalion
Greece: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Band_(1821)
And many, many more. I’ve read hundreds of books on WWII, but was focused on tactics, planes, tanks, battles, etc. I had never heard of the “totenkopf” being uniquely Nazi before. Watch Tom Hanks series on WWII. You cannot recognize the differences in the Nazi version and these others in an emblem on a cap and certainly not in a ring from a picture of a German soldier on TV or in a book—the emblem is too small.
The swastika and Iron Cross are the two most prominent symbols of the Nazis. The stylized “SS” of the SS units would be third. I had never heard of the “totenkopf” being a uniquely Nazi symbol, especially having seen so much footage of US military vehicles with the Punisher logo, which is not a rare window sticker on trucks around military bases:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0330793/
https://screenrant.com/marvel-punisher-skull-logo-symbol-misunderstood-history-explainer/
I would bet a fair amount of money that if you made a chart of all the various Jolly Roger/totenkopf symbols used before and after the Nazis and asked most Americans to identify which one is a Nazi symbol, the Queen’s Lancers and a Yale Secret Society, the vast majority would have no idea which was which. JVL’s post yesterday was sorely lacking in evidence that this symbol is “widely” known to be uniquely Nazi.
Nazi hunters, people who study the Holocaust, neo-Nazis and those like the ADL who track hate groups pick up on the subtle angle of the skull and positioning of the crossbones that the Nazis used in their logo—except the same one was used in Spain before the Nazis and by other militaries who sought to emulate the Hussars who used it first https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totenkopf#/media/File%3AInfante_Fernando_de_Espa%C3%B1a.jpg
We absolutely should believe Platner didn’t think it had any significance different from the Punisher and other skull logos widely used in US military unit logos.
Thank you, Sarah, well said!
Only one word for this piece: Brilliant.
Wait, I have a second one: Perfect.
Can you make this shareable, without a paywall? Everyone needs to be able to see this.
Similar to Trump, it's going to be hard to get many voters to focus on Paxton's corruption simply because there is just *so much* - it's overwhelming; the count we hold in our brains overflows and resets like an odometer. For this reason, it would be helpful if Dems and anti-MAGAs more broadly could agree upon and then hammer home a few of his most salacious acts.
I would like to posit one that wasn't mentioned here - his stealing of a pen. Objectively, this was a far lesser crime than so many others, certainly it is dwarfed in impact by all the examples Sarah listed. But I have a feeling that, much like the destruction of the East Wing, this relatively minor crime could prove to be extraordinarily repulsive to voters because it is so visceral, so easy to conceptualize. Think about it - if Paxton, a powerful and wealthy man, can steal a stranger's pen, what property is safe?
Either way, could it make sense to conduct a focus group to determine Paxton's most heinous acts of corruption? I'll leave that decision to you, Sarah!
Video of the pen snatching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKX1Y5NwZZM
I'm a very recent Mainer, my kid still votes in Maine, I know people on the campaign staff, and I know Platner's business partner and neighbors. So I've been following this closely. My initial worry with Platner was that he was going to code as phony to real rural Mainers. Ironically, all these things may be making him more authentic to people he needs to get on his side. I'm not sure how I feel about that.
Janet Mills was a good governor - not without flaws - but good. Given the choice, I would vote for her, but Collins needs to go. So, I would vote for Platner, if I still lived in Maine, but I wouldn't feel great about it.
I'm not sure why because American politics has been littered with scumbags for its entire history, and some of them have made really good policy. Platner is much farther left than me, but I agree with a lot of what he says. I guess I worry most about the Fetterman effect. What's the edge-lord going to do when he actually gets in office?
I worry too at how quiet Collins is being. Do they have some nuclear oppo that they are going to drop on him in September. It seems like about 50/50 that they do and they will.
There you have it... you are qualifying the difference we should all see, including Sarah. You would vote for Platner - but you wouldn't feel great about it. Republicans vote for cads like Paxton with an open heart - fully behind their party of misfits and their deranged leader. Democrats do so reluctantly - not for party, but for Democracy. Therefore, I believe it will not become a trend and that Democrats will actually work harder to vet their candidates in the future so this type of, hopefully, "one off" doesn't happen again.
Did Sarah and Sykes confer today? There is one main difference between the Dem reasoning and the GOP reasoning. Politicians are human, not super human. We must be gracious to those who admit wrong doing and ruthless to those who lie. Graham admits his flaws and lists specifics on his steps toward redemption. Paxton and Trump lie about their failings and deflect to whataboutism. I will vote for a candidate who is vulnerable and admits weakness over one who doubles down on evil. Good character doesn't mean perfection.
Well said.
Dear Maine. You’re one of the only places in the Country where your vote actually counts and can change the course of history. don’t fck this up for the rest of us and get Democrat in that seat
Sarah, voting has always been trying to pick the best candidate to advance what you want from your government and most of the time the best candidate available isn't the perfect candidate. Platner isn't the perfect candidate, but he is better than any Republican candidate simply because he is against Trump and all his awful policies and for the working person and small businesses.
Collins votes something like 90 percent for Trump candidates and his policies , even if she sometimes expresses "concern" whatever that means. Really, Kennedy, Bondi, Noem, and Hegseth simply were never qualified to be Secretary of anything, yet, Collins voted for all of them except Hegseth.
Also, at some point the old politicians have to give way to younger ones. Hopefully their party has been continuously bring new alternatives up so that voters have choices instead of having to endure the sudden rise of a so-called populist like Reagan or Trump or Pratt because their party hasn't producing anyone with a spark of life in them.
Sarah, I really think, based on my research, observation, and interaction with candidate Platner, that you and the punditry are really getting it wrong on his character. I don’t deny that he has made real mistakes- of course many who have served in the military, been traumatized by war, who are natives of the digital age, and living in rural obscurity…might find aspects of his past behavior familiar. It’s not excusing him to say he is quite obviously on the path to redemption. It’s not linear- or wasn’t until Fight Agency showed up on his doorstep. I find his clear voice on the issues many of us face a clarion call to action. I am amazed at the fortitude of character that has allowed him to stand in front of live crowds in over 90 town halls in 8 months and take accountability. He has humbly taken accountability. No, it’s not that he’s, “…not as bad as…” it’s actually that he has the potential to be one of the best leaders of his generation.
I’m shocked at the half-heartedness some people voice. Maybe, as a former teacher, I’ve seen enough redemption
stories pan out to trust my gut. Some really troubled kids, who sure took their time becoming trustworthy adults, finally got there. His profile is not unfamiliar to me, or to a lot of families. Certainly not to many Mainers.
I trust that Graham Platner knows we have pinned our hopes on him, I think he takes that burden as a sacred honor, I do not believe he will let us down. He understands the stakes, he is stepping into the moment. Give him the benefit of the doubt. Mainers have.
hell yeah, get 'em!
Moral authority. What a quaint concept. However, moral relativism has been with us for a long while and not just amongst Republicans. In his 1987 book, The Closing of the American Mind, Professor Allan Bloom laments the adoption of moral relativism by his liberal leaning students. He was challenged by one who proclaimed "Then you are a moral absolutist." Moral relativism was adopted by progressives and post modernists decades ago. They still discussed policy and government initiatives, and were particularly fond of those processes while they held power. But political society is no longer polite society and has devolved into moral abandonment as witnessed by the currently powerful Republican Party. "ONE EFFECT OF THE TRUMP ERA might be that the Republicans’ brand of moral agnosticism has trickled down to voters—Dems included." Moral agnosticism may have been an apt description at one time, but no more! Moral abandonment and abrogation of norms of conduct are now the currency of the political realm.
"Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?!" DJT during 2015 campaign primary.
And of course, it was in reference to a female candidate. He never changes.