People defending Graham Platner are pathetic and intellectually bankrupt

[Tamerlane]

@HMS_Irruncible

But I’m interested in hearing from others why the rape is an issue. Last week they were excusing Nazi tattoos. Last week they were insisting that literally nothing mattered except defeating Susan Collins the “fascist”.

C’mon man - I’m on record as probably would abstain if I lived in Maine, but there is clearly a difference. Said Nazi tattoo could be written off as just a dumbfuck trying to be a badass edgelord while young and stupid in the military and then ignoring it thereafter until it became politically inexpedient. Pardon my soft bigotry of low expectations, but that sort of stupid shit doesn’t surprise me coming from young military guys. Especially since he himself has no apparent record of spewing Nazi or Nazi-adjacent ideology. The tattoos plus his possibly chance and glancing weak connections to a couple of anti-Semitic/white supremacist doofuses was enough for me look at him sideways and decide he was probably to big of an idiot to support. But I would have wrestled with my conscience if I lived in Maine and would have at least thought hard about voting for him.

This rape accusation is a whole 'nother kettle of fish, because from my cheap seats it looks at first glance a whole lot more likely than the Nazi accusations (and on top of them, not a great-tasting sandwich). Platner et al surely seems to think so as well. It’s enough for me to stop the mental wrestling.

@HMS_Irruncible

Now that you’ve decided he’s a rapist shitbag who calls his victim a liar… do you think that maybe he was lying about knowingly having a Nazi tattoo

I mean personally I always sort of figured he was likely lying for reasons of political expediency. Didn’t much matter to me because a.) he didn’t strike me as an actual Nazi, just a moron and b.) it’s the only real answer he could give if he wanted to get elected. As I consider all politicians to be liars when it suits them, I have no real purity test here.

Do I still think he isn’t a Nazi? Yeah, to me Occam’s Razor suggests it is more likely that he is still just stupid. But it really doesn’t matter anymore.

[The_Other_Waldo_Pepper]

@Tamerlane

This rape accusation is a whole 'nother kettle of fish, because from my cheap seats it looks at first glance whole lot more likely than the Nazi accusations. Platner et al surely seems to think so as well. It’s enough for me to stop the mental wrestling.

It’s enough to make Susan Collins furrow a brow in concern!

[RitterSport]

Haha! Exactly. She would certainly vote for him to be on SCOTUS if he were a Republican (or, say that he learned his lesson and voted not to convict if he were an impeached Republican president), but her brow would certainly be furrowed while doing so!

[Atamasama]

@Calder

For me, though:

1. The signal‑to‑noise ratio in threads built around poster‑to‑poster conflict is basically zero.

2. I’m not good at emotion‑driven argument - I default to trying to sort things out logically, and that never lands well in the Pit.

3. I don’t like the way I feel when I try to participate in heavy emotional back‑and‑forth. It’s just not a mode that works for me.

I can’t argue with any of that. That all seems totally valid to me.

[Smapti]

And that’s why Republicans keep winning - they don’t shiv their own best candidates in pursuit of moral purity the second an unsubstantiated allegation gets levied against them.

[Smapti]

@Atamasama

Once again, you can’t claim that if Collins wins, it’s only because Platner was not available to be elected.

Name the last candidate to win a major office after replacing another candidate that had already won the nomination.

[Chronos]

@Smapti

Yeah, the mistake I made there was that I doubted my first instinct.

In other words, you’re right and the whole world is wrong, even if the whole world includes you.

And it’s a proven fact that Harris lost. It’s in no way proven that Biden would have won. And as for the notion that “the Democratic party establishment” sabotaged Biden…

@Smapti

Tell me that when we’re watching Collins’ victory speech four months from now. We’re watching the only chance we had at a Senate majority evaporate in real time, because the party has chosen permanent minority status over working with progressives YET AGAIN, and I’m the one who’s nuts for being upset about it.

If Platner can be convinced to step aside, then we’ll have a chance at a Senate majority again, without needing to work with Nazis.

@Smapti

And that’s why Republicans keep winning - they don’t shiv their own best candidates

If Platner was our best candidate, then frankly, we deserve to lose.

[Snarky_Kong]

Nape the last rapist coke dealer with a nazi tattoo to win.

Then go see a therapist.

[Smapti]

@Chronos

And as for the notion that “the Democratic party establishment” sabotaged Biden…

It sure as hell wasn’t Republicans who browbeated him into dropping out by feigning concern over his age.

@Chronos

If Platner can be convinced to step aside,

…then Collins will win.

@Chronos

without needing to work with Nazis.

The only Nazi in this race is Collins.

[Smapti]

@Snarky_Kong

Nape the last rapist coke dealer with a nazi tattoo to win.

Why? Nobody in this race fits that description.

[Snarky_Kong]

Thank you for volunteering to be the poster boy of this thread btw, very helpful.

[iiandyiiii]

@BigT I hope you’re not composing some long post about the stigma of mental health. For this discussion, I really don’t give a shit. Don’t waste your time.

[steronz]

Who browbeat Biden into having a disastrous debate performance that sent everyone into an absolute panic? And why did he go along with that plan?

[BigT]

@HMS_Irruncible

Now that you’ve decided he’s a rapist shitbag who calls his victim a liar… do you think that maybe he was lying about knowingly having a Nazi tattoo,

No. No evidence on that front has changed. I have been consistent with how I respond to information on this candidate, and nothing about my approach has changed.

First I heard about him was the Nazi tattoo. I tentatively assumed that he was at least a former Nazi, and that, regardless of his personal beliefs now, this would tank him. Then I looked at the situation on the ground and saw it didn’t. I realized that he was doing so well that he was overcoming that handicap. His story resonated. His record (past public and private statements and actions) showed someone consistently further left.

I heard a few other stupid things he’d done, but none seemed like they mattered, as they fit the framing people were accepting. Then I heard about the domestic violence and assumed that would tank him. It didn’t. It seemed that the allegation itself was small enough and the believability of the claimant low enough that his existing supporters just didn’t find it plausible or disqualifying.

Now he has a much worse accusation, and from someone who is seemingly more credible. My take at the moment is that this is enough to tank him. I agree with Smapti that replacing someone isn’t the ideal move, as a lot of people apparently hated Kamala for not being elected in a primary, but it is highly likely that this is the better of the two moves.

What I didn’t do was make up my mind, refusing to accept the information given. That’s what the people going on about the Nazi tattoo well past its relevance have done. They remain wrong for that particular aspect.

There was always the chance something worse would come up. I had hoped it wouldn’t, because it seemed that Platner was ridiculously bad at hiding things. I was optimistic there wouldn’t be a rape accusation because usually the worst sexual assault adjacent accusation comes out first.

I stand by the claim that believing that he’d go MAGA on us was stupid. Hell, if I thought he could win, I’d say he should stay in even now. I just know that a lot of people will not be able to pull the lever for him because of this accusation. I believe it would take near complete proof it didn’t happen to have even a chance at changing that.

I try my best not to hold on to beliefs so strongly that facts can’t change them. I already considered the fact that Platner was coming off as less trustworthy in my previous analysis, so I don’t actually have anything to revise.

I still have no reason to think that he lied about the Nazi tattoo. And, frankly, that fucking thing isn’t important now.

[ZosterSandstorm]

The lesson for sane Democrats should be “stop listening to Morris and Rebecca Katz, Hasan Piker, Bernie Sanders, and everyone else who keeps trying to engineer the White Working-Class Whisperer candidate.” Not only was it incredibly obvious that some sort of decisive scandal like this was ultimately going to come out, Platner was already severely underperforming compared to nationwide Democrats in 2026 and Harris in Maine in 2024 because the whole “noun verb AIPAC” style of campaigning and general disingenuous DSA bullshit does not work in purple states on swing voters. Generalizing from the playbook of hijacking primaries in 90% Democratic districts of Brooklyn or areas of Michigan where the store signs are in Arabic to a general election campaign targeted at rural Maine was always a stupid fucking idea born out of living in an Extremely Online bubble.

The lesson that leftists will actually take from this will be either “Chuck Schumer somehow traveled back in time and made Graham Platner rape that woman through the power of his will to ratfuck us” or “we’d better be way more careful about vetting our next Nazi guy” or some combination of the two.

The mere fact that the Platnertariat is doing anything but groveling in apology in this thread over how everything that was said about them and their guy was 100% correct shows that no lessons will be learned.

[crowmanyclouds]

@Snarky_Kong

Nape the last rapist coke dealer with a nazi tattoo to win.

Coke dealer?

[crowmanyclouds]

@ZosterSandstorm

everything that was said about them and their guy was 100% correct

Like that “the Jewish Question” thing?

[BigT]

@iiandyiiii

@BigT I hope you’re not composing some long post about the stigma of mental health. For this discussion, I really don’t give a shit. Don’t waste your time.

I wasn’t. I had assumed you actually believed the stuff you’d claimed to believe in the past, and would then apologize for crossing the line.

You want to do the same thing as Trumpers claiming Trump Derangement Syndrome, or Trump mocking the disabled? That’s your choice. I just hate that I bought your comic book knowing it’s a lie.

[crowmanyclouds]

@BigT

You want to do the same thing as Trumpers claiming Trump Derangement Syndrome, or Trump mocking the disabled?

Observing that Smapti is often unhinged is in no way comparable to an imaginary illness or mockery.

[iiandyiiii]

Ouch! Hitting a writer where it hurts!

If you want a refund on the comic, send me the details and I will send it.

@BigT you’ve leveled up in Pittery. Congrats!