# 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:** 30
**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 8, 2026, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/583 "2026-05-08T16:52:58Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Nazi style conspiracy theories about cabals of elites controlling the world Are all claims about “cabals of elites controlling the world” Nazi style conspiracies, though? I realize you are claiming that the underlying assertion is that it’s “The Jews” who constitute this supposed Cabal, but isn’t it possible to rail against “cabals of elites” without reference to Judaism? I agree that Platner’s rhetoric very much indicates that he believes in a “cabal of elites controlling the world”, but I don’t see where he makes the leap to something Nazi like. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/584 "2026-05-08T17:06:42Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > And when someone says they are “against anti-semitism”, are they against anti-semitism, or are they for using criticism of their Anti-Semitic opponents when convenient but also happy to engage in it when it suits them? That would be an example of someone _lying about being against anti-Semitism_, though. Which you claim you aren’t accusing Platner of doing. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/585 "2026-05-08T17:13:45Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Are all claims about “cabals of elites controlling the world” Nazi style conspiracies, though? I’ve never seen one that wasn’t. Maybe sometimes they do target a different group than the Jews, but it’s the same disgusting thing at the root. > [@Moriarty](#): > > I realize you are claiming that the underlying assertion is that it’s “The Jews” who constitute this supposed Cabal, but isn’t it possible to rail against “cabals of elites” without reference to Judaism? Funny you should ask, did you know that the very word “Cabal” derives from “Kabbalah”, Jewish mysticism, as part of exactly such an Anti-Semitic conspiracy theory? > [@Moriarty](#): > > I agree that Platner’s rhetoric very much indicates that he believes in a “cabal of elites controlling the world”, but I don’t see where he makes the leap to something Nazi like. In our society, it’s _almost always_ the Jews. Used to be some people in the US thought this way about Catholics, but I think that’s been out of fashion for a very long time. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/586 "2026-05-08T17:15:00Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > That would be an example of someone _lying about being against anti-Semitism_, though. Which you claim you aren’t accusing Platner of doing. I think he is truthfully against what _he considers_ to be anti-semitism. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/587 "2026-05-08T17:22:10Z")
So your position is that Graham Platner is: _Genuinely_ against racism. _Genuinely_ against homophobia. _Genuinely_ against anti-Semitism, albeit with a limited understanding of everything that constitutes anti-Semitism. But also: _Genuinely_ pro-Nazi. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/588 "2026-05-08T17:23:35Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > So your position is that Graham Platner is: Instead of putting strawmen in my mouth, you could read what I said my position on Platner is many times: > [@Babale](#): > > Someone can believe in the Nazi conspiracy of international jewery controlling the world while being a progressive in other ways. ---
**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 8, 2026, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/589 "2026-05-08T17:39:14Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > In our society, it’s _almost always_ the Jews. It’s also the message of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. No “Jews” needed. > **[Fighting Oligarchy tour](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighting_Oligarchy_tour)** > > The Fighting Oligarchy Tour, sometimes subtitled Where We Go from Here, is a series of American political rallies led by independent\[a\] U.S. senator Bernie Sanders and Democratic U.S. representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. > It began on February 21, 2025, in Omaha, Nebraska, with the stated goal to oppose oligarchy and the influence of billionaires and big corporations in U.S. politics. A segment covering the western U.S. began on March 20 in Las Vegas, Nevada. 34,000 people attended a March ... ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/590 "2026-05-08T17:43:54Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > It’s also the message of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. And I find that _incredibly_ concerning. If the Democrats fall to populism like the Republicans did to MAGA, this country is done. > [@Moriarty](#): > > No “Jews” needed. No “Jews” other than their cabal of choice being AIPAC, sure. Thanks for proving my point. And yeah, Sanders is Jewish; he also created the career of BJG. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/591 "2026-05-08T18:08:33Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Instead of putting strawmen in my mouth, you could read what I said my position on Platner is many times: I did read that, but it did not seem to address what I was asking you. I don’t see how my last post is strawmaning you in anyway - it is, as near as I can tell, exactly what you’re arguing in this thread. Like, I don’t see anyway to reconcile, “Is honest when he says he’s against anti-Semitism,” with “Is also a Nazi.” I can understand how someone can take a position that is anti-Semitic _without understanding how it’s anti-Semitic_, but that’s not what you’ve been saying about Platner: you’ve been saying that he is _explicitly and openly_ a Nazi, but you also say he’s not lying when he says he opposes anti-Semitism, and those are two positions that just don’t jibe. > [@Babale](#): > > …he also created the career of BJG. Who? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/592 "2026-05-08T18:12:03Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > It’s also the message of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. No “Jews” needed. I’ve said this before, but: 1. “Cabal” implies secrecy, and the progressive wing isn’t acting like this is some secret group: it’s the CEOs of the world’s largest companies. 2. Claiming that billionaires are in charge of our country is only a lie if Trump is lying about his wealth. 3. Claiming that the world’s wealthiest people control an outsize amount of the world’s resources isn’t conspiracy theory: it’s what money is. It’d be bizarre to think that, as wealth concentrates in ever-fewer hands, power isn’t doing the same thing. 4. Objecting to the concentration of power isn’t part of an antisemitic conspiracy. It’s part of the American tradition. 5. The oligarchs objected to by name by Progressives tend to be at least nominally Christian. I cited specific examples above and can cite them again if needed. Antisemitic conspiracy theories are a problem. Conflating antisemitic conspiracy theories with all objections to oligarchy is absurd. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/593 "2026-05-08T18:35:13Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Antisemitic conspiracy theories are a problem. Conflating antisemitic conspiracy theories with all objections to oligarchy is absurd. But certainly convenient if your actual agenda is to protect the oligarchy. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/594 "2026-05-08T18:41:23Z")
[Briahna Joy Green](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Briahna_Joy_Gray), an insignificant dingbat Babale is obsessed with who was on Bernie’s campaign payroll for a couple months in 2020. After he dropped out, she went on to a “career” of being on a podcast, until she got fired from it for being disrespectful to family members of Israeli hostages. Since then she has had another, less popular, podcast. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/595 "2026-05-08T18:49:22Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > But certainly convenient if your actual agenda is to protect the oligarchy. Not for nothing, but I’m skeptical of claims of hidden agendas. Much likelier is that people are hypercorrecting via generalizations. Antisemitism is awful, and antisemitism usually involves theories about people holding unjust power, so theories about people holding unjust power are awful. Trump is awful, and Trump is a populist, so populism is awful. It really doesn’t help that Platner has at least three different dumbass moves that superficially look antisemitic–but in each move, looking deeper shows a likelier and less antisemitic explanation, viz. dumbassery. Nevertheless I don’t blame people for holding him to higher scrutiny. I just don’t think the “definitely a Nazi” conclusion is supportable. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/596 "2026-05-08T18:52:09Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > you’ve been saying that he is _explicitly and openly_ a Nazi, but you also say he’s not lying when he says he opposes anti-Semitism, and those are two positions that just don’t jibe. He opposed only the forms of antisemitism that meet his limited view of what qualifies as antisemitism while happily engaging in forms of antisemitism that he does not consider antisemitic. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/597 "2026-05-08T19:15:17Z")
To be very clear, what I was getting at was that Babale would despise Platner and think his election was a harbinger of _the end of it all_ even if he actually was just exactly what he claims to be – a progressive populist in the Bernie/AOC mode. He’s repeatedly expressed his disdain for that wing of the Party, so I’m not accusing him of having a “hidden agenda”. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/598 "2026-05-08T19:20:38Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > as opposed to him saying that he’s a fan of a white supremacist podcast Again, this has not been proven- there is no good evidence that the podcast is white supremacist. > [@Thing.Fish](#): > > Why would a politician start off an interview by flattering the interviewer? You’re actually posing that as a serious question? Next you’ll be accusing him of campaigning at a donut shop and falsely claiming to have enjoyed the donuts. Yep. > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > The idea that Platner is definitely a liar about his core political beliefs, but is definitely telling the truth when he gives generic compliment to a podcaster whose listeners he’s hoping to win to his side, is a bit confusing to me. Doesnt really make sense, does it? ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/599 "2026-05-08T19:26:56Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > He opposed only the forms of antisemitism that meet his limited view of what qualifies as antisemitism while happily engaging in forms of antisemitism that he does not consider antisemitic. You could say that about literally anyone. Some people think criticizing Israel is antisemitic. Some people think supporting Israel is antisemitic, because it makes Jews look bad. Some people think that failure to scrupulously observe all the commandments is antisemitic because it disgraces the Name of God. Unless you’re claiming to be the Official Antisemitism Arbiter, that statement is literally meaningless. It seems like you’re semi-implying that opposition to spiraling wealth inequality is _inherently_ an antisemitic dog whistle, which is not a claim anyone else is prepared to take seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/600 "2026-05-08T19:34:29Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > The only things I think he lied about are his sympathy for Nazi style conspiracy theories about cabals of elites controlling the world, and not knowing the origin of his tattoo. Where exactly, in your mind, is the line between “thinking rich people have too much power” and “Nazi style conspiracy theories about cabals”, and why do you think Platner is on the wrong side of that line? Can you point to anything he’s said (recently) that you think would be a huge red flag even if you didn’t know who said it? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/601 "2026-05-08T19:40:07Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > He opposed only the forms of antisemitism that meet his limited view of what qualifies as antisemitism while happily engaging in forms of antisemitism that he does not consider antisemitic. Yes, I get that part. The part where it breaks down for me is where you go from “Platner is genuine in his opposition to some forms of antisemitism” to “Platner is also literally a Nazi.” Again, I get people can be antisemitic in some ways and not in others, but “literal Nazi” implies, to me, active support for genocide against Jews, and I’m having trouble figuring out what forms of antisemitism someone who supports the extinction of Jews as a people might oppose. Also, more confused than ever how my previous post was a strawman of your position. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/602 "2026-05-08T19:51:59Z")
Here’s the take by Michelle Goldberg, NY Times op-ed writer, and FWIW was born into a [Jewish family](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Goldberg?utm_source=copilot.com): /quote: [I have a confession:](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/opinion/graham-platner-nazi-tattoo-maine.html?unlocked_article_code=1.g1A.ORFT.gBTWbF1gWe2v&smid=url-share) I would not have recognized the skull that the Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner had tattooed on his chest as a Nazi symbol. I knew that a skull and crossbones formed part of the insignia for the Nazi SS, but had never really clocked the image’s particularities — its three-quarter profile, the bones at the side of the skull instead of underneath — that gave it meaning even when stripped of all other Nazi context. So when Platner insists that he and his military buddies, drunk on shore leave, picked it off a tattoo parlor wall without recognizing it, it’s easy for me to believe him. I also can’t quite blame those who detest Platner’s left-wing politics for refusing to give him the benefit of the doubt. They have an easy line of attack, and naturally they’re going to use it. Still, it’s worth drawing a distinction between what is true and what makes an easy political narrative. /end quote [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=29) [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=31)