Great summary. I also don't understand how these issues about Platner are only coming out now, and weren't discovered earlier in the election cycle when he didn't have all this momentum.
His campaign should have been allowed to die a natural death back
in October last year when all of his top staffers quit after his first scandals erupted. But the Bernie Bros who'd picked him in the first place came to his aid, replacing the staffers they'd hired with ones less likely to have moral concerns about the empty Carhartt it was their job to elect.
He's the figurehead for the campaign that Katz and Co. set up months before they plugged him into it like putting a Lego figure into a Lego merry go round. They could have and should have dumped him in October 2025, but he probably has enough dirt on them now that they don't dare.
Says the man who drops to his knees in awe when a repackaged nepobaby playing at oyster farming says "Free Palestine".
Platner is the latest tool the well funded Bernie People and their pret-a-porter election machinery are trying to get into the Senate. (Fetterman was the first successful one, but they disavowed him once he showed he wasn't a Hamas supporter after all.)
The reason is the same for all major progressive candidates: He challenges the establishment in favor of the working class. If you were to dig into other non-progressive democratic campaigns you'd find similar horror stories if not worse, but since Platner would bring (in the best case) a different idea of what the United States could look like for the average American which doesn't benefit the rich and powerful, he would make the avg dem voter question why their rep isn't doing likewise. Which, we can't have, as you and I must both toil endlessly for fruit we shall not bear, but our bosses shall eat a lavish fill.
To be blunt here, the DNC establishment and media landscape at large are against Platner not merely because of these scandals, but because he is a progressive candidate.
Look, I'm willing to concede that yeah, that totenkopf is a bad fucking look, he definitely knew. But also he was then a commie on reddit in 2019? Nazism and Communism are opposing ideologies, so he can be one or neither, but not both.
His sex scandals are bad on the surface, but if you look at the origins of the sexting allegations you'll find that platner and his wife made amends on that long ago, and the leaker was a confidant to Platners wife who then betrayed her trust.
I don't know much about the abuse accusations, so I won't comment on them directly. However, it is worth noting that all Zionist/Israel suporting Democrats are Pro-Rape. Israel trained rape dogs. Israelis had a "Right to Rape" protest. They're killing palestinians. This is in addition to not offering policies that benefit the material wealth of Americans at large. Whereas with Platner, he both denounces Israel and is Pro Medicare for All. He condemns the invasion of Iran directly on a moral ground and not merely on a procedural basis. He condemns billionaires and refuses PAC money. He does all these things and more, for all his previous misconduct, he has come to a position that stands with the people, instead of againsg.
He isn't a perfect candidate, but his ideals and beliefs for which he stands in conjunction with his actions and compassion on the campaign trail make him a great candidate.
Apologies for my other comment, I was being irritated by the Fed poster nana and mistook your comment as malicious. Mind elaborating on what you were saying?
The Democratic establishment is against Platner because he’s a walking bag of scandals and lies. Collins should easily knock him off, but in case she doesn't, I want you to remember this:
A few years ago you antisemitic "Progressives" mocked Black Democrats when they brought up the time your previous attempt at a Fake Workingman's Hero, John Fetterman, menaced an innocent Black jogger with a shotgun. He beat Conor Lamb in the primary, managed to squeak out a win against a weak Republican opponent, and then broke all of your hearts when he stuck up for Israel.
Platner's been coached by his DSA/Bernie Bro controllers to say "Gaza" and "Palestine" every once in a while. If he wins the Senate seat, he won't need them anymore. Seth Frantzman will be smiling.
Ah yes, one person. Have you heard of the tens if not hundreds of thousands of palestinians being detained, raped, and tortured? Not defending Hamas here, as I am not pro Hamas, I'm pro palistinian.
Yet you make a case against Individual rape, while defending rhe systimatic rape an entire population? Neither is good, but you seem pretty keen on defending the latter.
Paxton: securities fraud, misuse of office, impeachment, currently being divorced by his wife for infidelity.
Platner: claims of physical abuse by former girlfriend, totenkoph tattoo, claims of sexting right after recently marrying, living in a 250,000 house.
You can come to your own conclusions about how these scandals compare. My biggest concern with Platner is why didn’t he immediately have that tattoo removed once he knew what it was? Would that be enough to make me vote for Collins if I lived in Maine? It might. It might.
Collins ensured there would only be a 3-day investigation in to the rape charges against Kavanaugh. He got a lifetime appointment because of her. Nothing alleged against Platner come close to rising to that. Democrats must gain the majority or far worse things will happen to this country than electing Platner.
Collin’s gave us Kavanaugh and all pro-Trumpian diseases. She is a hack with no guts. Planter is flawed in his history but an angel compared to Trump and his authoritarian minions.
As a Maine voter, I can tell you that I absolutely will not be voting for Platner tomorrow. He is a disaster, and there are far too many unanswered questions about him. Even before all of the latest scandals, Democrats should have been very skeptical of a man with no experience whatsoever running for such an important position.
He is a left-wing Trump, someone who tells us what we want to hear, gives us a convenient enemy to hate, and savages his detractors. He does not accept responsibility for his behavior, and his supporters only seem to dig in deeper with each passing scandal.
As you point out, there are at least four excellent candidates in the state gubernatorial race, any one of whom would be far better than this blowhard.
Prediction…Platner will win the primary tomorrow (ya think?) and then AIPAC et al will spend a king’s ransom against him in November. They will fail in that effort.
Who the fuck said I was pro hamas? You have openly supported israel within your articles, I am merely stating that by virtue of you supporting israel, you support rape.
LMAO. You're a psyop. Israel, and by extension AIPAC literally controls congress. Dems and Republicans alike would swear an oath of fealty to Israel before the United States.
Says a pro rapist? I am not pro USSR lmao. You know little to nothing about me, but I know you're pro Israel, and thus you want rape dogs and rapists. So, your input is as valuable as a rapists, which is to say none.
Great essay. It really points out the inconsistencies from both parties on how they handle these kinds of accusations.
What seems to be driving Platner voters isn't just anti-Trump but also pro-progressive/anti-establishment sentiments. I wonder if a more mainstream candidate without all the baggage would have a better or a worse chance.
The most salient thing about the woman accusing Platner of abuse is that she’s a social media manager for the Heritage Foundation and once ran a group called Women for Kavanaugh that spent al its time calling a rape victim a liar.
Child Sexual Abuse Material: State Rep. RJ May (R-SC)
DUI / Substance Abuse : State Rep. Mike Bohacek (R), State Rep. Enrique Sanchez (D), State Sen. Ellie Boldman (D) who pleaded guilty, and State Sen. Edgar Flores (D) who was arrested.
Lying, cheating, misogyny, collaborating with the enemy, draft-dodging, etc. Donald J Trump
We need people in government: Sen. James Lankford (OK) , Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD), Sen. Patty Murray (WA), Sen. Bernie Sanders (VT), Jimmy Carter (Democrat), Gerald Ford (Republican),
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (Republican appointee), Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Democratic appointee), Justice John Paul Stevens (Republican appointee), Justice David Souter (Republican appointee), Justice Stephen Breyer (Democratic appointee), Sen. John McCain (Republican), Sen. Bob Dole (Republican), Sen. Paul Wellstone (Democrat), Sen. Olympia Snowe (Republican), Sen. Alan Simpson (Republican), Rep. Barbara Jordan (Democrat), James Talarico: (TX), Pete Buttigieg (MI)
What unites all of these people — across parties, eras, and ideologies — is that they entered public life to serve, not to acquire. They kept strong roots outside Washington. They treated political opponents as fellow Americans rather than enemies. They showed that it is possible to hold power with grace.
So many words, and so little to say about what Platner is doing and saying. Shame on you. I was a participant in his Town Hall yesterday in Portland. He is articulate, smart, has a very clear understanding of our current political economy and is willing to take on the status quo with practical and thoughtful suggestions. We have all made mistakes — his recovery and willingness to talk openly about it is a model. Why not engage with his ideas?
Politics makes for strange bedfellows. At no time have I heard what Platner sees for the country. Platner behaved borishly but we have a president whose behavior, according to a judge, did not commit rape by the State of New York's definition. How does Maine define rape? We have a Supreme Court judge that did more than yank an arm or lock her in a room to calm down. If Platner is the spoiled son of a rich family who will stand for democracy, honesty, and freedom of the press I would vote for him over the creepy zombie Susan Collins.
Can we please stop all of the hand wringing about Graham Platner? If he were a republican, this would have been a nothing burger. Platner has acknowledged that he went through some tough times after he returned from Iraq and Afghanistan. And he has denied the allegations of physical abuse by a conservative influencer no less. This feels like a conspiracy by the Chuck Schumer wing of the party to undermine Platner. The shame is on them, not Platner.
Point #6 is the most interesting revelation of this--and possibly any--primary race this year. They wanted someone off the radar, but obviously failed to do their homework.
Given the amount of money evidently pledged in some smokey backroom, there's no way he's dropping out.
And of course mommy and daddy are living vicariously through him...
Re: point #8, it would've been more interesting if Jordan Wood had remained in the senate race (he shifted over to the governor's race because he was afraid of going against Mills). Wood is a bigger name than Costello, so his continued candidacy might have altered the current dynamics. Also, I'm not expressing an opinion about Platner overall, but I agree with you that I would not have recognized a Totenkopf on the wall as a Nazi symbol. People act like EVERYONE can recognize that symbol because it was in various popular movies (like one of the Indiana Jones films, Inglorious Basterds, etc.). I've watched all of those movies, yet I didn't know what a Totenkopf was until this whole Platner controversy. Maybe I'm oblivious, but I think there are plenty of others who are the same. As to the polling issue, I have a feeling that there are lots of Mainers who aren't going to volunteer for a poll (I live in Maine), so the results might be skewed towards younger &/or newer Mainers. A final note: Platner grew up in a very small town in Maine. Everybody knows everybody else's business in a small town. If somebody in a small town is a Nazi or an abuser, everybody else in that town would know it, so you'd think there would be some confirmation. I'm not saying whether anything reported about Platner is true or not; I'm just saying what I know about small towns in Maine.
Great summary. I also don't understand how these issues about Platner are only coming out now, and weren't discovered earlier in the election cycle when he didn't have all this momentum.
His campaign should have been allowed to die a natural death back
in October last year when all of his top staffers quit after his first scandals erupted. But the Bernie Bros who'd picked him in the first place came to his aid, replacing the staffers they'd hired with ones less likely to have moral concerns about the empty Carhartt it was their job to elect.
He's the figurehead for the campaign that Katz and Co. set up months before they plugged him into it like putting a Lego figure into a Lego merry go round. They could have and should have dumped him in October 2025, but he probably has enough dirt on them now that they don't dare.
You are so easily manipulated by the monied class.
Says the man who drops to his knees in awe when a repackaged nepobaby playing at oyster farming says "Free Palestine".
Platner is the latest tool the well funded Bernie People and their pret-a-porter election machinery are trying to get into the Senate. (Fetterman was the first successful one, but they disavowed him once he showed he wasn't a Hamas supporter after all.)
https://bsky.app/profile/madisonkittay.bsky.social/post/3mnpwyohruc2p
You support Israel, you are pro rape.
The reason is the same for all major progressive candidates: He challenges the establishment in favor of the working class. If you were to dig into other non-progressive democratic campaigns you'd find similar horror stories if not worse, but since Platner would bring (in the best case) a different idea of what the United States could look like for the average American which doesn't benefit the rich and powerful, he would make the avg dem voter question why their rep isn't doing likewise. Which, we can't have, as you and I must both toil endlessly for fruit we shall not bear, but our bosses shall eat a lavish fill.
To be blunt here, the DNC establishment and media landscape at large are against Platner not merely because of these scandals, but because he is a progressive candidate.
Look, I'm willing to concede that yeah, that totenkopf is a bad fucking look, he definitely knew. But also he was then a commie on reddit in 2019? Nazism and Communism are opposing ideologies, so he can be one or neither, but not both.
His sex scandals are bad on the surface, but if you look at the origins of the sexting allegations you'll find that platner and his wife made amends on that long ago, and the leaker was a confidant to Platners wife who then betrayed her trust.
I don't know much about the abuse accusations, so I won't comment on them directly. However, it is worth noting that all Zionist/Israel suporting Democrats are Pro-Rape. Israel trained rape dogs. Israelis had a "Right to Rape" protest. They're killing palestinians. This is in addition to not offering policies that benefit the material wealth of Americans at large. Whereas with Platner, he both denounces Israel and is Pro Medicare for All. He condemns the invasion of Iran directly on a moral ground and not merely on a procedural basis. He condemns billionaires and refuses PAC money. He does all these things and more, for all his previous misconduct, he has come to a position that stands with the people, instead of againsg.
He isn't a perfect candidate, but his ideals and beliefs for which he stands in conjunction with his actions and compassion on the campaign trail make him a great candidate.
What about the creep at the head of the Defense Dept?
So we should be worse than him?
Apologies for my other comment, I was being irritated by the Fed poster nana and mistook your comment as malicious. Mind elaborating on what you were saying?
Yeah, what about the random guy unrelated to this conversation?
The Democratic establishment is against Platner because he’s a walking bag of scandals and lies. Collins should easily knock him off, but in case she doesn't, I want you to remember this:
A few years ago you antisemitic "Progressives" mocked Black Democrats when they brought up the time your previous attempt at a Fake Workingman's Hero, John Fetterman, menaced an innocent Black jogger with a shotgun. He beat Conor Lamb in the primary, managed to squeak out a win against a weak Republican opponent, and then broke all of your hearts when he stuck up for Israel.
Platner's been coached by his DSA/Bernie Bro controllers to say "Gaza" and "Palestine" every once in a while. If he wins the Senate seat, he won't need them anymore. Seth Frantzman will be smiling.
So you're pro rape?
You're pro-Hamas, so you obviously are
https://archive.is/0Q7s3#selection-2739.0-2739.214
Ah yes, one person. Have you heard of the tens if not hundreds of thousands of palestinians being detained, raped, and tortured? Not defending Hamas here, as I am not pro Hamas, I'm pro palistinian.
Yet you make a case against Individual rape, while defending rhe systimatic rape an entire population? Neither is good, but you seem pretty keen on defending the latter.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/11/opinion/israel-palestinians-sexual-violence.html
Let’s see.
Paxton: securities fraud, misuse of office, impeachment, currently being divorced by his wife for infidelity.
Platner: claims of physical abuse by former girlfriend, totenkoph tattoo, claims of sexting right after recently marrying, living in a 250,000 house.
You can come to your own conclusions about how these scandals compare. My biggest concern with Platner is why didn’t he immediately have that tattoo removed once he knew what it was? Would that be enough to make me vote for Collins if I lived in Maine? It might. It might.
Collins ensured there would only be a 3-day investigation in to the rape charges against Kavanaugh. He got a lifetime appointment because of her. Nothing alleged against Platner come close to rising to that. Democrats must gain the majority or far worse things will happen to this country than electing Platner.
Collin’s gave us Kavanaugh and all pro-Trumpian diseases. She is a hack with no guts. Planter is flawed in his history but an angel compared to Trump and his authoritarian minions.
As a Maine voter, I can tell you that I absolutely will not be voting for Platner tomorrow. He is a disaster, and there are far too many unanswered questions about him. Even before all of the latest scandals, Democrats should have been very skeptical of a man with no experience whatsoever running for such an important position.
He is a left-wing Trump, someone who tells us what we want to hear, gives us a convenient enemy to hate, and savages his detractors. He does not accept responsibility for his behavior, and his supporters only seem to dig in deeper with each passing scandal.
As you point out, there are at least four excellent candidates in the state gubernatorial race, any one of whom would be far better than this blowhard.
Prediction…Platner will win the primary tomorrow (ya think?) and then AIPAC et al will spend a king’s ransom against him in November. They will fail in that effort.
Qatar has more pull than AIPAC. Just look at how much it's spent on college campuses since 9/11.
You support Israel, you are pro rape.
Says the Hamas rape loving guy.
Your heroes filmed their crimes:
https://archive.is/0Q7s3#selection-2739.0-2739.214
Who the fuck said I was pro hamas? You have openly supported israel within your articles, I am merely stating that by virtue of you supporting israel, you support rape.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/11/opinion/israel-palestinians-sexual-violence.html
LMAO. You're a psyop. Israel, and by extension AIPAC literally controls congress. Dems and Republicans alike would swear an oath of fealty to Israel before the United States.
A guy who repeats USSR boilerplate propaganda verbatim calls people bots who point out the problems with his heroes
Says a pro rapist? I am not pro USSR lmao. You know little to nothing about me, but I know you're pro Israel, and thus you want rape dogs and rapists. So, your input is as valuable as a rapists, which is to say none.
Have some reality, Comrade Molotov-Ribbentrop:
https://www.city-journal.org/article/the-nakba-obsession
To counter your pro-rape propaganda, here is some anti-rape propaganda
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/11/opinion/israel-palestinians-sexual-violence.html
Great essay. It really points out the inconsistencies from both parties on how they handle these kinds of accusations.
What seems to be driving Platner voters isn't just anti-Trump but also pro-progressive/anti-establishment sentiments. I wonder if a more mainstream candidate without all the baggage would have a better or a worse chance.
The most salient thing about the woman accusing Platner of abuse is that she’s a social media manager for the Heritage Foundation and once ran a group called Women for Kavanaugh that spent al its time calling a rape victim a liar.
Sexual Misconduct & Scandal: Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) , Justice Brett Kavanaugh
Violence:Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ)
Child Sexual Abuse Material: State Rep. RJ May (R-SC)
DUI / Substance Abuse : State Rep. Mike Bohacek (R), State Rep. Enrique Sanchez (D), State Sen. Ellie Boldman (D) who pleaded guilty, and State Sen. Edgar Flores (D) who was arrested.
Ethics Violations / Financial Misconduct (Supreme Court): Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito
Financial/Professional Misconduct: Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL)
Lying, cheating, misogyny, collaborating with the enemy, draft-dodging, etc. Donald J Trump
We need people in government: Sen. James Lankford (OK) , Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD), Sen. Patty Murray (WA), Sen. Bernie Sanders (VT), Jimmy Carter (Democrat), Gerald Ford (Republican),
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (Republican appointee), Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Democratic appointee), Justice John Paul Stevens (Republican appointee), Justice David Souter (Republican appointee), Justice Stephen Breyer (Democratic appointee), Sen. John McCain (Republican), Sen. Bob Dole (Republican), Sen. Paul Wellstone (Democrat), Sen. Olympia Snowe (Republican), Sen. Alan Simpson (Republican), Rep. Barbara Jordan (Democrat), James Talarico: (TX), Pete Buttigieg (MI)
What unites all of these people — across parties, eras, and ideologies — is that they entered public life to serve, not to acquire. They kept strong roots outside Washington. They treated political opponents as fellow Americans rather than enemies. They showed that it is possible to hold power with grace.
,
So many words, and so little to say about what Platner is doing and saying. Shame on you. I was a participant in his Town Hall yesterday in Portland. He is articulate, smart, has a very clear understanding of our current political economy and is willing to take on the status quo with practical and thoughtful suggestions. We have all made mistakes — his recovery and willingness to talk openly about it is a model. Why not engage with his ideas?
Politics makes for strange bedfellows. At no time have I heard what Platner sees for the country. Platner behaved borishly but we have a president whose behavior, according to a judge, did not commit rape by the State of New York's definition. How does Maine define rape? We have a Supreme Court judge that did more than yank an arm or lock her in a room to calm down. If Platner is the spoiled son of a rich family who will stand for democracy, honesty, and freedom of the press I would vote for him over the creepy zombie Susan Collins.
Can we please stop all of the hand wringing about Graham Platner? If he were a republican, this would have been a nothing burger. Platner has acknowledged that he went through some tough times after he returned from Iraq and Afghanistan. And he has denied the allegations of physical abuse by a conservative influencer no less. This feels like a conspiracy by the Chuck Schumer wing of the party to undermine Platner. The shame is on them, not Platner.
Point #6 is the most interesting revelation of this--and possibly any--primary race this year. They wanted someone off the radar, but obviously failed to do their homework.
Given the amount of money evidently pledged in some smokey backroom, there's no way he's dropping out.
And of course mommy and daddy are living vicariously through him...
Re: point #8, it would've been more interesting if Jordan Wood had remained in the senate race (he shifted over to the governor's race because he was afraid of going against Mills). Wood is a bigger name than Costello, so his continued candidacy might have altered the current dynamics. Also, I'm not expressing an opinion about Platner overall, but I agree with you that I would not have recognized a Totenkopf on the wall as a Nazi symbol. People act like EVERYONE can recognize that symbol because it was in various popular movies (like one of the Indiana Jones films, Inglorious Basterds, etc.). I've watched all of those movies, yet I didn't know what a Totenkopf was until this whole Platner controversy. Maybe I'm oblivious, but I think there are plenty of others who are the same. As to the polling issue, I have a feeling that there are lots of Mainers who aren't going to volunteer for a poll (I live in Maine), so the results might be skewed towards younger &/or newer Mainers. A final note: Platner grew up in a very small town in Maine. Everybody knows everybody else's business in a small town. If somebody in a small town is a Nazi or an abuser, everybody else in that town would know it, so you'd think there would be some confirmation. I'm not saying whether anything reported about Platner is true or not; I'm just saying what I know about small towns in Maine.
S. Lammert : I hear that the Pro Israel forces are creating negative vibes about Ghram Platnerl