As do swastikas.
I know what I’d think of any human in 2026 who had a swastika tattoo and tried to convince me it was “an old tibetan peace symbol” or some other such bullshit.
I didn’t say that you were incorrect about there being non-Nazi Totenkopfs, did I? So linking that wikipedia page wouldn’t actually contradict what i said, would it?
Yes, there are non-Nazi Totenkopfs; that’s where the ‘plausible’ part of ‘plausible deniability’ comes in.
Generally speaking if a tattoo parlor will do a totenkopf they’ll also do plenty of other Nazi pieces, they’re probably on display, and the tattoo artist may sport a few himself.
Most legit shops won’t do them, and it strains credulity to suppose that Platner didn’t know where he was, who he was dealing with, or what it meant.
Myself, I don’t necessarily think he’s a Nazi. But he knew he was getting a Nazi tattoo, thought he was being edgy, and thought he’d get away with it.
As I’ve said in other threads, I can have a beer with guy who does that and then grows up and changes his ways. But I can’t have that guy as my US Senator. I will never feel that he represents me, nor will I trust his judgment, nor will I be entirely certain that he won’t abruptly choose to be independent maverick who decides he doesn’t need to caucus with Dems anymore.
If the alternative is Susan Collins, I think all we have to do is express concern and vote for him anyway.
I may even furrow my brow.
Note that he got it in Croatia where very technically public display of Nazi symbols like swastikas are illegal. But Croatia has unfortunately got a substantial far right, Nazi-loving minority stemming from WW II history and there apparently is a bit of a wink and nod culture in that regards at times. See the infamous swastika incidents in soccer.
Sounds like someone saying they’ll settle for Collins.
“No, the tattoo really says ‘THE BART THE!’”
That’s my position. The guy scares me. I think he’s a dipshit. He has no actual political track record. And also, he oozes charisma, so he’s potentially dangerous. In the other hand, Susan Collins’ voting record speaks for itself. If i lived in Maine, I’m pretty sure I’d furrow my brow and vote for Platner. Honestly, I’m glad I’m not a Maine voter this year.
As Collins said after Trump’s first impeachment, I think Platner has learned his lesson.
I don’t know if this article has been shared or not (Slate):
Collins’ reelection strategy is simple: maintain her well-regarded constituent services operation. In each and every campaign she’s run, “it’s always been about what she can do for Maine,” as Tom Allen put it. It is about using her leverage in Congress, both as a swing vote and, now, as the top appropriator in the Senate, to bring money back home, not only in the months before reelection, but every minute of every term. Instead of doing big rallies, she’s doing ribbon-cuttings and groundbreakings on projects for which she has claimed credit. She’s visiting medical research centers she’s helped fund. Her website puts on vivid display, in map and list form, the specific earmarks she has landed.
So, as a patriotic American - how can you vote for her? As a Maine resident who needs Federal help, how can you not?
Other politicians can bring home the bacon. Maybe a little less, maybe a little more. Maine is going to be fine either way.
Latest polling shows the two candidate essentially tied.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5945205-maine-senate-race-poll-platner-collins/
Should remain a tight race, depending on what else might pop out of the woodwork.
I honestly don’t know what I’d I’d do. But if it’s as you said, a guy who oozes charisma is potentially dangerous, so if he breaks to the right, he could do a lot more damage than Susan Collins.
And that’s a big if, of course, but we have no basis whatsoever to confidently say that he wouldn’t break right, that he wouldn’t pull a Sinema or Fetterman.
Believe me I do get the impulse to kick out every Republican, and specifically to punish Susan Collins for her bullshit performance of acting concerned about Trump and then backtracking to do nothing. But she’s also a known quantity with something of a known floor as far as her behavior is concerned.
What you know about Platner is that he’s good at saying things that will recruit Democratic votes, and that he is a former private military contractor, and he is an amateur military historian who insists that the didn’t know his Nazi tattoo was a Nazi tattoo. And what we know about Democrat centrist fence-sitters is that they tend to become kingmakers in thinly divided Congresses, and the power attracts a lot of lobbying, which leads them in corrupt and foolish directions.
No matter whether Collins or Platner wins, I think we’re going to regret it, the only difference being that I have a fair idea of how Collins is going to disappoint me. Limited known upside, limited known downside. But Platner really could end up anywhere.
Of course, if Platner wins, and ends up being a tiebreaker vote on things like packing the judiciary for Dems, or safeguarding the right to vote, or scorched-earth crime and punishment for the Trump crime syndicate and all his lackeys in the administration, I will eat my hat. I hope to eat my hat on that, actually.
But more realistically, I expect he’ll withstand a couple years of pressure from the left flank before he gets tired of it and writes his speech about “The left forced me to leave the left, so I must sadly join the right” speech. He is absolutely that kind of guy.
Yes, she will definitely continue to support the rise of fascism in the US, without question.
Are you sure Platner won’t? The man did get a literal Nazi tattoo, so it seems wise to hedge the certainty just a smidge.
You have to vote for the guy who branded himself as a Nazi and is on a speaking tour where he explains that the only reason grocery prices are high is because of The Zionists. If you don’t, then the fascist might win!
That’s the nub isn’t it? I’m right with you in thinking Platner’s stock is potentially bearish - he’s certainly at least a dipshit. I also don’t know who I’d vote for if I were Maine voter, if I even did in this race. But by the same token Collins being a known quantity means you know she will likely/almost certainly acquiesce to more fascism. Perhaps with some nervous hand-wringing and performative resistance, but at the end of the day she’s a weak sister.
Platner is an unknown that could be a righteous warrior manning the anti-fascist bastion. Do I think he will be? Fuck if I know. But I know Collins won’t be, so is the gamble he might be worth it?
Cite, please?
No. But, I’m sure she will.
Personally, I don’t think he’s a Nazi, but if there’s a 50/50 chance he is, or 80/20, or 99.9/0.1, it’s still a better probability that he won’t support America’s fascists than Collins, who 100% already does.