# People defending Graham Platner are pathetic and intellectually bankrupt **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 12, 2026, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839 "2026-06-12T02:58:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 26
**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:** [July 8, 2026, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/501 "2026-07-08T14:14:16Z")
I would have thought that a normal person’s response to this development would be to say “Thank God! We no longer have to keep repeating the same arguments about his fucking tattoo over and over and over until the sun burns out!”. But apparently not. ---
**Author:** ![DeadTreasSecretaries](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deadtreassecretaries/32/4817_2.png) [@DeadTreasSecretaries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadTreasSecretaries)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/502 "2026-07-08T14:41:59Z")
There’s probably something worth arguing with this race regarding outsider candidates and how much they should be vetted / if voters can trust the vetting. How much the nazi tattoo faded is hopefully not a lesson we’ll need to apply in the future. ---
**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:** [July 8, 2026, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/503 "2026-07-08T15:10:38Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > And, fwiw, her testimony is that he was blind drink, so i think it’s entirely plausible that he doesn’t remember raping her. Not because he didn’t do it. The evidence he did it is very strong. But because blind drink people often have holes in their memory. He still shitty for accusing her of lying, but he might honestly not remember it.) There is a crucial distinction here that I think is worth growing out. Might mean he does not remember the rape itself. But the next time he contacted her, she told him what had happened. There is no way that he does not remember that. There is a crucial distinction here that I think is worth drawing out. Being blackout drunk might mean he does not remember the rape itself. But the next time he contacted her, she told him what had happened. There is no way that he does not remember that. He agreed to enter the race knowing that there was a serious chance he had raped somebody. He called her accusations categorically false, when he knew they were not categorically false. ---
**Author:** ![ZosterSandstorm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e0b2c6/32.png) [@ZosterSandstorm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZosterSandstorm)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/504 "2026-07-08T15:14:12Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > He agreed to enter the race knowing that there was a serious chance he had raped somebody. He called her accusations categorically false, when he knew they were not categorically false. Not to mention however many more victims are out there (which is probably what Collins was waiting to drop after the deadline for swapping candidates). I don’t believe in “the guy who rapes exactly once.” As a person who exists, it’s even less likely than the World War II expert who doesn’t recognize the primary symbol of the SS. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/505 "2026-07-08T15:31:47Z")
> [@ZosterSandstorm](#): > > the World War II expert Fun how you keep making shit up. ---
**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:** [July 8, 2026, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/506 "2026-07-08T15:51:25Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Did you just accuse Thing.Fish of being in favor of the genocide of the Jews? What? No, I didn’t say I was a Nazi, I said I do _not see_ Zoster Sandstorm’s posts! ---
**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:** [July 8, 2026, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/507 "2026-07-08T16:05:05Z")
With everything else that’s come out about him, it’s amazing that people are still discussing/arguing about the tattoo. The latest insider word is that Platner will later today announce his withdrawal in a video address. If so, it will no doubt be a masterpiece of denial and self-pity, full of references to his “movement” and how the noble aspirations he represents must not be denied. Of course, I was wrong about what Gore would say when he conceded to Bush (he did it with class), but I don’t see Platner following suit. ---
**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:** [July 8, 2026, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/508 "2026-07-08T17:17:55Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I can’t WAIT until someone leaks the mass email the DNC sent out yesterday that says “You will receive your signal to unendorse Platner tomorrow, do so immediately or we pull your funding”. When this doesn’t happen, and instead we get more sexual misconduct allegations on Platner, will you admit you were wrong, or double down? ---
**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:** [July 8, 2026, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/509 "2026-07-08T17:34:54Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > > [@Babale](#): > > > > Are we sure she isn’t a ‘Republican party operative’ or something? > > Yeah, we are. She told a bunch of people about it before he ran for office. I was being bitterly saarcastic. Even if she had a passing association with the Republican Party, I don’t think that’s reason to discount every accusation, if there’s corroborating evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/510 "2026-07-08T17:53:14Z")
Bill Clinton, Joe Biden, and Donald Trump have all been accused of rape, yet they still got elected and held public office. Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas got confirmed to the Supreme Court, in spite of the allegations against them. It looks like Platner is dropping out. Does this mean that men will be held accountable going forward into the future? Probably not… unless they are economic populists who might upset the status quo. If they are Republicans or centrist Dems, I have less confidence that they’ll be forced to drop out. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/511 "2026-07-08T18:08:30Z")
> [@Blalron](#): > > It looks like Platner is dropping out. Does this mean that men will be held accountable going forward into the future? Probably not… I think there are a few things that brought it about this time… 1. The timing of this bombshell is both problematic for his campaign but convenience for the Democrats who have a chance to replace him before it’s too late. 2. He already had numerous problems with his image. 3. There is a lot to make this particular accusation seem credible. I don’t think all of those elements were present in every other instance in the past, nor will they likely be for others in the future. I’d like to think we are a more enlightened populace that holds men more accountable but sadly. I don’t think so. Not enough at least. ---
**Author:** ![DeadTreasSecretaries](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deadtreassecretaries/32/4817_2.png) [@DeadTreasSecretaries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadTreasSecretaries)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/512 "2026-07-08T19:26:55Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I can’t WAIT until someone leaks the mass email the DNC sent out yesterday that says “You will receive your signal to unendorse Platner tomorrow, do so immediately or we pull your funding”. This primary shows that not only do the democrats not ratfuck outsiders and DSA types, they don’t even do vetting or opposition research on them. If they could coordinate this shit why would they pick now as the time and why would they have gone with a weaksauce secting scandal a month ago? And why would Mills concede? The party bosses forgot to tell her? ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/513 "2026-07-08T19:30:32Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > The new information for me is McDonald’s testimony. My answers are: yes, almost, and no. New information (or better-understood information) changes my answers. > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Rereading that last piece of evidence To be clear, that was one of the three pieces of information I presented in the original thread. Jewish Insider reported: > according to a person who socialized with Platner when he was living in Washington, D.C., more than a decade ago, Platner had specifically acknowledged that the tattoo was a Totenkopf […] “He said, ‘Oh, this is my Totenkopf,’” and CNN KFile reported: > CNN also spoke with an acquaintance of Platner from more than a decade ago […] who told them that Platner had described it as a Nazi-style design. > > CNN also reviewed a text chain between the acquaintance and another person discussing Platner’s Nazi-like tattoo several months ago, before the story became public. This was one click away from you if you had the curiosity to look. This was not “new information”, the original reporting for this was done in October 2025, it entered into the public record in the thread in March of 2026, 10 days after the thread had been started. But there was a persistent refusal by Platner supporters to grapple with the actual evidence. You can have different opinions on the credibility of the evidence but remaining ignorant about it is a different story. I’m not going to use the word “stupid” but you did and I’d ask you, do you feel kind of odd that I said multiple times in my post yesterday that there were multiple pieces of evidence and I was just going to present one and you somehow only grappled with a single example and showed no curiosity that there might be more stuff you weren’t aware of? ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/514 "2026-07-08T19:33:56Z")
Rebecca Watson presents a scathing piece on some other pathetic and intellectually bankrupt people on the left who hopped on the “she’s a Republican so this must be a hitjob” bandwagon with total confidence and draws the direct causal link between that behavior and Racicot coming forward against her will: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/6pQxb_lAncM/maxresdefault.jpg "The Leftists who Mocked Graham Platner's Victims") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pQxb_lAncM) ---
**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:** [July 8, 2026, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/515 "2026-07-08T19:58:01Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The DNC has no problem standing by sex pests when the alternative is a leftist, or did you not notice how they repeatedly tried to ratfuck Zohran after he won the nomination it was Cuomo’s turn to have? You mean when they endorsed Mamdani? Or is “The Establishment” your nickname for Tom Suozzi? ---
**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:** [July 8, 2026, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/516 "2026-07-08T20:24:06Z")
> [@Blalron](#): > > Bill Clinton, Joe Biden, and Donald Trump have all been accused of rape, yet they still got elected and held public office. Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas got confirmed to the Supreme Court, in spite of the allegations against them. The accusations against Biden were investigated, as they should be, and were found to be groundless (because it turns out that it’s actually difficult to fake a rape accusation). Clinton was elected 34 years ago, and I hope that we’ve moved past that point, and that he would not be elected today. For more recent comparisons, Al Franken and Anthony Weiner were both pushed out of office for their sexual offenses. The others are all members of the Rape Party. We should be better than them. ---
**Author:** ![ZosterSandstorm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e0b2c6/32.png) [@ZosterSandstorm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZosterSandstorm)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/517 "2026-07-08T21:12:57Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > Rebecca Watson presents a scathing piece on some other pathetic and intellectually bankrupt people on the left who hopped on the “she’s a Republican so this must be a hitjob” bandwagon with total confidence and draws the direct causal link between that behavior and Racicot coming forward against her will The American left is composed of people who think that a person who spent his whole adult life posting his rape fantasies on Reddit could not possibly rape a Jew or a Republican, even with independent evidence of it happening, but will believe without question that Israelis train dogs to rape Arabs. ---
**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:** [July 8, 2026, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/518 "2026-07-08T21:46:37Z")
Your delusions about the left continue to amuse. You might have a potential career on Fox News waiting for you! ---
**Author:** ![Frilly\_Heck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/90ced4/32.png) [@Frilly\_Heck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frilly_Heck)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/519 "2026-07-08T22:22:37Z")
Thanks for sharing Rebecca’s video. I share her anger about this, and it’s good to see someone who can be both furious and articulate about it. Here’s an article I appreciated: [We didn’t need a rape accusation to know Graham Platner was unfit](https://www.thehandbasket.co/p/graham-platner-rape-accusation-maine-senate) ---
**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:** [July 8, 2026, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839/520 "2026-07-08T22:24:54Z")
And another round of fresh allegations: [https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/07/07/ex-girlfriend-graham-platner-says-he-removed-condoms-without-consent/](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/07/07/ex-girlfriend-graham-platner-says-he-removed-condoms-without-consent/) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839.md?page=25) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-defending-graham-platner-are-pathetic-and-intellectually-bankrupt/1030839.md?page=27)