In most walks of life there is forgiveness. But especially these days, in politics there is no redemption.
Witness Kamala Harris. She tried hard to get to the center, but she couldn’t shake some things she had said as a successful California Democrat. The most effective ad against her used her previously stated position in favor of taxpayer funded sex change operations for prisoners.
Now we have another story of youthful indiscretion that might be forgiven in most contexts but will not be — should not be — in politics.
Here’s the story. Graham Platner, a Democrat running for his party’s nomination to take on long-time Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine, has had a Nazi symbol (the skull and cross bones worn by concentration camp guards) tattooed on his chest since 2007. And just now it only occurred to him that it was, ya know, a Nazi symbol. So he’s had it covered up. We can only hope that such covering was at least as painful as it was to have it inked into his skin in the first place.
Graham’s political director resigned this week saying that. “Graham has an anti-Semitic tattoo on his chest. He’s not an idiot, he’s a military history buff. We cannot be this painfully stupid,” she wrote, referring to her fellow Democrats.
But, wait, that’s not all. “Cops are bastards. All of them,” he wrote in 2021. In reply to a 2020 post that said, “White people aren’t as racist or stupid as Trump thinks,” Platner replied, “Living in white rural America, I’m afraid to tell you they actually are.”
Platner has tried to distance himself from all that, but Democrats need to take a lesson from Harris. This stuff will scare off independents and even dampen enthusiasm among some Democrats. In a state like Maine, that could reelect Collins.
And yet, the hard-left sticks with Platner. That’s apparently true online, where I fear to tread, but it’s also clearly true of Sen. Bernie Sanders, who said, “What I’m worried about, 50,000 Americans may die unnecessarily? And you’re worried about a tattoo?” The Wall Street Journal reports that, “The online left is making support for Mr. Platner a purity test.” I’ll take their word for it.
Also, NPR ran a fawning piece on him a couple of weeks ago. The guy’s an oyster farmer! This is just the kind of thing quaint rustics do for a living! And who doesn’t love a good Maine oyster paired with a nice Chablis, or perhaps a dry Sauvignon Blanc? If NPR has reported on Platner’s tattoo it doesn’t show up in a search on their site.
I don’t know. Maybe if it were a week before the election I could see (though still not support) partisan Democrats rallying behind their man because, at that point, what alternative would they have? But the election is not until a year from now and the party has a perfectly acceptable alternative in Gov. Janet Mills and there are a handful of other candidates running in the primary.
So, what’s the problem? Probably four things. First, Mills isn’t pure enough for the hard-left. Second, Platner fits the stereotype the hard-left has about what working people look like — they don’t know any blue collar people themselves but Platner looks like a Hollywood version of such. Third, they agree that all rural Americans are racist and stupid — these people don’t even know what wine to pair with Maine oysters, for pitty sakes. And fourth, if he’s a little bit anti-Semitic, well, so are they.
You’re a Democrat. You wonder why we lose elections we should win? Look no further than Graham Platner.
Yellow Stripes & Dead Armadillos 
“….perfectly acceptable alternative in Gov. Janet Mills…”
You know that she’s gonna be 80 when she’s elected, right? The oldest first-term senator in U.S. history.
I agree the tattoo is bad, but mostly from the perspective of educated liberals. It’s manifestly not disqualifying from the perspective of most Americans. You do remember they elected Donald Trump, right?
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I don’t want a Democrat who is anything like Donald Trump.
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I get that’s not what you want. You want staid centrism. You want a return to Clinton v Dole. The only thing standing in the way is the electorate.
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If you want to describe 1996 as staid centrism, I’ll take it. In 1996 historians were declaring “the end of history” with liberal democracy the winner and the federal government was projecting surpluses as far as the eye could see. If that’s staid centrism than bring it on.
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Couldn’t agree more… if you have the time and inclination, listen to this podcast… Nichole Wallace interviews Anthony Scaramucci (remember him!). I can’t get it out of my head and am sharing it far and wide… he hits the proverbial nail on the head about what’s wrong with the Democratic Party, but, more importantly, he offers some sensible ways to create a bigger party… if only they would listen.
Hope you enjoy. Take care…
Peace, Salli Martyniak 608-516-0879
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I strongly disagree, this will come out in the primary. There will be a long campaign and election at the end. If Mills is the stronger candidate she will win, it is that simple. The party can endorse and help, not forbid and that is as it should be. As for the lefts hypocrisy, is it not just as hypocritical to advocate the “canceling” of Platner from the primary for a centrist? Is the center not decrying cancellation for past misdeeds anymore? My point is if we want younger candidates we are going to have to deal with stupid media posts and silly tattoos. Finally, seriously doubt the man is anti-Semitic…I believe Sanders is a Jew and his sister in law is Jewish as well. He does not sound like the lefts image of a working class person, he sounds like the lefts view of a mouth breathing MAGA and that is a big difference. I’m not convinced he’s the best candidate but if he is not that is what democracy is for and it’s a long way from here to the nomination. I think you are using the same motivated reasoning that the left is right now so I guess you have that in common.
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I didn’t suggest that Platner drop out or be cancelled. I’m asking why the left is sticking with him under these circumstances.
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Fair, one would think there is a Democrat who is not in their late 70s or who has a somewhat questionable past that could be found in Maine. I don’t know why Jared Golden didn’t run, he seems like a better fit than either but lots of dems dislike him too these days.
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Ha ha Kamala’s “youthful indiscretion” was Willie Brown. Kamala as an adult moves toward wherever she thinks the prevailing wind is blowing.
Senator Fetterman, an actual moderate and the Democrats last best hope said this last night:
“When Vice President Harris referred to President Trump as a ‘fascist’ … I knew absolutely we lost the plot at that point,” Fetterman told Fox News’ “Hannity” on Wednesday night.”
“If you call the president or someone like a fascist, you are effectively calling the people who are going to vote for him … then they must be fascist too … or they support fascism and those things. And that is just not true.”
Maybe just maybe it’s time to stop playing 6 degrees of Nazi with everything under the sun. I had no idea the skull and crossbones was a Nazi symbol. It’s always been the pirate flag, the “Jolly Roger”. It was my favorite kite as a kid. Strangely no adults took me aside to inform me I was Nazi adjacent.
More Fetterman, zero Kamala.
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I’d be curious to hear your take on how Dems should approach the AG race in Virginia. It wasn’t a week before the election like in your theoretical example, but a month in this case that Jay Jones’ despicable text messages joking about killing a political opponent and his children came to light.
I admittedly don’t know much about the two candidates specific policies, but I think the Dems should really probably just abandon him and take the loss. Really hard to support someone – especially for AG – whose judgment seems so questionable. To mention nothing of the hypocrisy of anyone trying to dismiss those texts while simultaneously blasting right-winters like Brian Kilmeade joking homeless people should be murdered, or the “young” Republican group chat where, among dozens of galling comments, one 35-year old ‘joked’ about killing his political opponents in a gas chamber.
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I’m with you on this. I also haven’t looked into it deeply, but just from what I know it seems like the Dems should have disavowed him. I can’t imagine what he was thinking. It could be that there’s this culture on social media where people say outrageous things to get attention. I’ve noticed younger pols especially doing this.
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