Graham Platner, the socialist veteran/ex-military-contractor-turned-oyster-farmer whose candidacy for Susan Collins’ Senate seat in Maine has fired up progressives and moderates alike excited about his authenticity and willingness to break with the party, has this week made headlines for all the wrong reasons.
It started last week, when posts from his now deleted Reddit account resurfaced in which he claimed he was a communist, criticized the police, asked why black people don’t tip well, and suggested that women shouldn’t get blackout drunk if they want to avoid being sexually assaulted. Many attributed the hits to his opponent, the DSCC-backed Governor Janet Mills, who would be 78 upon taking office.
Platner responded with a heartfelt and generally well received video in which he both explained and apologized for his past comments, citing the disillusionment and “dark feelings” he experienced following several tours in the military.
In an attempt to simultaneously put those issues behind him and get ahead of murmurs about a suspicious tattoo on his chest, Platner sat down for an interview with Pod Save America to explain the origin of the tattoo, which is seen in a video of him singing to Miley Cyrus while shirtless at his brother’s wedding.
In the hours after the interview was posted, it seemed like this all might blow over for Platner. However, the next morning, headlines about the tattoo itself made the rounds, pouring gasoline onto still simmering fire.
According to an anonymous source talking to Jewish Insider, Platner was indeed aware of the symbolism of the tattoo, even referring to it as “my Totenkopf.”
Platner’s former political director, who resigned after the Reddit posts came to light, posted a frankly somewhat incoherent statement in which she seemed to blame both the “DC consultant class” as well as her former boss.
Though few on the left seem to believe he intended to get a Nazi tattoo, this latest incident was the straw the broke the camel’s back for those eager to find a viable opponent to Susan Collins.
At the same time, a wide array of voices from the populist left to moderate Democrats spoke in Platner’s defense, or at the very least in favor of imperfect candidates.
Graham Platner’s life of posting (and his tattoo) are stress testing the party’s interest in younger, fresher candidates “How do you expect to win back men when you go back through somebody’s Reddit history and just pull it all out and say: ‘Oh, my God, this person has no right to ever be in politics?’” he told
@daveweigel “Do I like any of it? Of course not. Do I like what he’s campaigning on and the way he’s connecting to working-class voters? That’s the piece that’s been missing from our party,” said Sen. Heinrich of his posts. He’s still backing Platner but says future candidates should stay off Reddit
Still, Platner faces a steep uphill battle, and already some journalists are criticizing Democrats for once again falling for unviable media darlings.
However, there’s a reason besides their preexisting fundraising lists why Schumer and his lieutenants prefer those who’ve run statewide and even, horror of horrors, “career politicians.” It’s because such candidates have been vetted and, if it exists, the oppo file on their youthful (or middle-aged) indiscretions has likely already been emptied.
…And, this is where we get close to the bone: It’s not as though the outsider candidates are emerging from thin air — who do you think is crafting those viral videos? If you think it’s oystermen in their spare time or Amy McGrath’s former flight crew and not another set of consultants, I’ve got a lobster roll for under $10 to sell you (and if you think a former Blackwater employee who tended bar at the Tune Inn and attended George Washington University is a total outsider, I’ve got a $5 one to sell you).
Emotions are running high, with the Platner campaign going on the offensive, and his supporters expressing frustration at what appears to be the Democratic establishment once again kneecapping a challenger from the left.
But, regardless of one’s feelings about Platner (and imo reasonable people can disagree!) those of us eager to see a Democrat elected to the Senate in Maine can at least be thankful this October surprise drooped a year, not a month, before the general.
And, speaking of the GOP, the irony of these revelations potentially sinking Platner’s campaigns as Republicans respond to (or, more accurately, ignore/defend) actual “I love Hitler” Nazism amongst their rank and file and White House nominees (!!) is almost too much to bear.
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