# Are there any reasons to reject Graham Platner in Maine (campaign suspended July 8, 2026) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 4, 2026, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179 "2026-03-04T03:50:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 19
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2026, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/363 "2026-05-03T21:38:03Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > We’ve already lost Maine; we can’t afford to lose more. Which we will, if we support the Nazi. Kind of like how Trump lost in 2016 and took down so many other Republican candidates? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2026, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/364 "2026-05-03T21:53:16Z")
Trump was trying for the fascist vote. That’s what Republican voters want. Democrats can’t win without the non-fascists. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2026, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/365 "2026-05-03T22:01:01Z")
Platner is riding a wave of anti-establishment, blow-up-the-system sentiment that affects many on the Democratic Left, which also includes rejection of “elites”/expertise and willingness to tolerate bigotry as previously noted. I’m not sure why you’re so desperate to ignore this aspect of his popularity. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2026, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/366 "2026-05-03T22:06:19Z")
You haven’t shown any evidence that Platner is relying on or boosted by “rejection of elites/expertise” any more than progressive/DSA types like Bernie, AOC, Mamdani, etc., unless you’re counting Democratic party leadership and billionaire donors as “elites/expertise”. You’re making assertions with no evidence. Anti-establishment? Yes, absolutely. “Blow up the system”? Yes, if “the system” means billionaire/corporate interests and party leadership. But I see no evidence this includes leading scientists, researchers, doctors, etc. If you have evidence of this, you haven’t yet shared it. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2026, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/367 "2026-05-03T22:07:35Z")
Plenty of non-fascists on this board and elsewhere have indicated they will/would vote for Platner over Collins, reluctantly or not. Your assertion that Platner can’t win is a guess, and you shouldn’t expect anyone to treat it like anything other than a guess from a random internet person. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2026, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/368 "2026-05-03T22:09:22Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > We’ve already lost Maine; we can’t afford to lose more. I can’t imagine deciding who to vote for on the basis of who the party’s nominee in _another state_ is. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2026, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/369 "2026-05-03T23:12:42Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Anti-establishment? Yes, absolutely. “Blow up the system”? Yes, if “the system” means billionaire/corporate interests and party leadership. But I see no evidence this includes leading scientists, researchers, doctors, etc. If you have evidence of this, you haven’t yet shared it. See the progressive attraction to MAHA detailed earlier. Expect Platner to court this group. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/370 "2026-05-04T00:15:32Z")
Has Platner said or done anything to “court” antivaxers or health woo people? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/371 "2026-05-04T00:17:25Z")
That says nothing about Platner. You’re just guessing. Guessing isn’t evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/372 "2026-05-04T02:30:47Z")
It’s no guess that other Democrats, including ones from New England, have begun courting MAHA voters. > [@](#): > > “I have told many of my colleagues over the years, ‘You’re crazy if you don’t talk to people about food and toxins,’” Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) said when asked if Democrats should be trying to engage with MAHA voters. > **[Democrats seize on MAHA’s growing frustration with GOP](https://www.aol.com/articles/democrats-seize-maha-growing-frustration-210000227.html)** > > Democrats see an opening ahead of the midterm elections with increasingly disappointed Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) voters. Many activists in the MAHA base are furious with the Trump administration over its backing of not only a controversial... “Toxins” are a favorite bogeyman of alties, who see them menacing us through pesticides, vaccines and GMOs. It’s a good bet Platner will also find a way to woo MAHA. Meanwhile, Tucker Carlson says he’s planning to meet with Platner, who reportedly is weighing whether to appear on Carlson’s show, maybe to expose his audience to progressive ideas. 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/373 "2026-05-04T02:40:37Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > “Toxins” are a favorite bogeyman of alties, who see them menacing us through pesticides, vaccines and GMOs. > > It’s a good bet Platner will also find a way to woo MAHA. You’re just speculating. You’re not criticizing Platner, you’re criticizing a hypothetical version of him that you’ve made up. > [@Jackmannii](#): > > Meanwhile, Tucker Carlson says he’s planning to meet with Platner, who reportedly is weighing whether to appear on Carlson’s show, maybe to expose his audience to progressive ideas Carlson only has about 7,000 paid subscribers these days. He could use the ratings boost. > **[How much support does Tucker Carlson really have?](https://unherd.com/newsroom/how-much-support-does-tucker-carlson-really-have/)** > > The New York Times Magazine put Tucker Carlson on its cover this weekend, running a long interview in which the former Fox News host accuses the President of betraying his voters and calls the Iran war “the single biggest mistake” of Donald Trump’s... ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/374 "2026-05-04T03:51:18Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > > [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > > > I think Babale has things reversed. I only became aware of the Totenkopf after this scandal emerged. The Swastika is common knowledge. > > I didn’t say anything about relative level of awareness of swastikas vs the Totenkopf. I talked about the relative likelihood of someone using the symbol without being a Nazi. > > I’m sure that every non-Nazi with a mirrored non-tilted swastika is well aware of the Nazi usage at this point, I can’t imagine it comes as a surprise to them. But they are related. No American can possibly use a swastika without knowing it’s a Nazi symbol. I have a beautiful tablecloth my grandmother embroidered as a child, that i can’t use, because it’s covered with hundreds of little swastikas. (Not diamond oriented. Some left-handed and some right handed, because she was a kid.) It’s just too awkward to explain that it was an innocent symbol when my Jewish grandmother made it. But while the totenkopf has no other meaning, I’d never seen it before this guy’s tattoo was in the news. And i can totally see a drunk American youth seeing it at a tattoo shop and thinking, “that looks badass” without realizing it has any meaning beyond being an ugly skull on bones. (They aren’t really “cross bones”, they look parallel to me.) Now, is it plausible that he wore that tattoo for 20 years without realizing it was a Nazi symbol? Your links, Babale, make me think that it was the (much more visible) sleeve that prevented him from reenlisting in the Marines. How often do you show off the tattoo on your chest? To what audience? How many people have tattoos that say “pork fried rice” without realizing it? I dunno. I could be persuaded either way. I had an electrician show up once with tatoos that looked kinda white-supremacist to me. I hired a different electrician. (I didn’t even look up the images to be sure i was being fair. I just wasn’t comfortable looking at the guy.) But there are lots of other electricians out there. If the only other choice was someone who was going to burn down my house, I’d probably hire the guy with questionable tats again. Collins has been burning down the house. Neither choice makes me feel warm and fuzzy. At least he’s not running as a Nazi. He’s not running on a platform of anti-DEI, the Nazis include good people, let’s drive trans people out of public and fire all the Blacks. I hope he’s not a Nazi. I’m glad he won’t be my senator. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/375 "2026-05-04T04:41:02Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Platner says that the Marines left him go because of his tattoos. He has one tattoo that would have violated Marine policy. What part of this isn’t clear? Late to this thread, but his sleeve tattoos on his arms were the ones that violated Marine policy. The U.S. military has long had a mixed and changing policy on tattoos. Tattoos that are allowed on enlisted personnel may not be allowed for commissioned officers, for example. I knew a bunch of prior enlisted students in officer commissioning programs who were required to get extensive laser tattoo removal procedures at their own expense. And the effort required to remove his sleeve tattoos would surely have been similarly expensive and painful. So I can see why he’d switch to the Army National Guard if a stricter tattoo policy being newly enforced by the Marines presented an issue. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/376 "2026-05-04T08:42:17Z")
If they’re gettable voters for Democratic messaging, we should try to court them - like any voters. That’s how politics works. Tying this to Platner is still just a guess. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/377 "2026-05-04T13:21:51Z")
Tucker Carlson and Platner would likely find common ground on some issues - burdensome regulations, foreign policy and contempt for “elites” among them. Platner, speaking at this past weekend’s Maine Democratic convention: > [@](#): > > We are taking back our democracy from the oligarchs. “Oligarchs” are a favorite target of [Stew Peters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stew_Peters), He’s the far-right influencer Platner got in trouble for reposting. It’s a convenient code word (or if you prefer, dog whistle) for those in the know. For “oligarchs”, read: Jews. Campaign funding from George Soros is a no-go, one supposes. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/378 "2026-05-04T13:31:37Z")
This is the same language (including “oligarchs” - billionaires and corporate interests) as Bernie and AOC and co have been using for a decade. You still haven’t suggested anything new relating to Platner. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/379 "2026-05-04T13:33:04Z")
Yep, [here’s a recent cite.](https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/prepared-remarks-sanders-on-the-senate-floor-what-the-oligarchs-really-want/) It’s reasonable to refer to any politically connected billionaire like Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg, etc as an oligarch, because they are. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/380 "2026-05-04T13:35:13Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > You still haven’t suggested anything new relating to Platner. Don’t worry, the campaign is just getting started. More to come. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/381 "2026-05-04T13:43:04Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > It’s a convenient code word (or if you prefer, dog whistle) for those in the know. > > For “oligarchs”, read: Jews. > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > This is the same language (including “oligarchs” - billionaires and corporate interests) as Bernie and AOC and co have been using for a decade. Quoted for truth. > **[Bernie Sanders brings anti-oligarchy tour to Rochester](https://www.kttc.com/2026/05/03/bernie-sanders-brings-anti-oligarchy-tour-rochester/?outputType=amp)** > > He is one of the most well-known opponents of the second Trump administration. That same politician made a stop in the Med City to encourage others to join him. > **[Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Fight the Oligarchy](https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/bernie-sanders-and-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-fight-the-oligarchy)** > > In Arizona, a crowd of thousands suggested that the left still has a pulse. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/382 "2026-05-04T13:46:57Z")
I’m sure there is, but you haven’t provided anything new but speculation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179.md?page=20)