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What Graham Platner Said When a Trans Mainer Asked: 'Will You Stand Up for Me?'
(www.commondreams.org)
this post was submitted on 30 Oct 2025
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politics
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That second point seems to be forgotten when we talk about aspiring progressives. Fellas, a Reddit incel who called himself "Kekius Maximus" pulled a coup d'état with DC police in lock-step, then got pushed out of his leadership because of a scuffle with openly Nazi Stephen Miller. You know how this happened? Because the formerly far less popular Right-wing declared "No Enemies to the Right" and grabbed people with outreach that blatantly contradicts other members. Evangelicals and Incels. Kirk and Fuentes. Homophobes and #WalkAway Gay Republicans. Caitlyn Jenner endorsing Transphobes. Doctors backing RFK, Phil, Oz... We had Nazi Furries called "Burned Furs" (iirc) while school board hijackers whined about "unisex furry litterboxes".
I don't care about anything but policy at this point. I don't care if the man had a tattoo of Hitler sucking a penis. He got it covered up, and has years of posts about Socialism and calling out others for being racist. A Congressman could be fucking a waifu dakimakura bodypillow during their debate and I'd still rally if he'd get the homeless and poor fed and housed. We're too worried about seeming weird or "politically incorrect" in a world where the policy and decorum is merely an illusion.
There's still a year before the primary. This is ridiculous. You don't believe there is a single progressive person in Maine without any tattoos of Hitler sucking a penis?
a tattoo of Hitler sucking dick would go hard,
THANK YOU. The thing no one will say: Platner just happens to be the only person running on a stated leftist platform (whether he means it or not) 8 months before the primary.
For the record I don't think Platner is a Fetterman or a Sinema. I literally think he's just a dumbass White Guy^tm^.
My fanfic: Dude was in the marines, got a dumbass tattoo (I do believe him on that account), got out and went through some normal vet deep depression and joblessness which led to (as we see in right wingers all the time) a deep sense of nihilism about whether anything matters in life. He sees blackwater is hiring, nothing matters anyway, so he joins up, does his security detail or whatever (I also believe him on that), then fucks off back to Maine and dumps his blackwater money into a boat. Meets some people, made some friends, got through his depression, learned what his fucking tattoo was but thought (like a White Guy^tm^) "Hey, I received no pushback, maybe it can just mean something else to me, like a redemptive monument to my stupidity." Dude sees Maine sucks, George Floyd radicalized him some, then Biden did his Biden things, then Trump won. Dude with all the unearned confidence of a white man says "this is fucked up; I'm gonna run for Senate." And here we are.
At every level, I think Platner has an idea of leftism he does hold dear. Those ideas are usually off-base nonsense when put together (look at his platform on the military), but are held together by sheer lack of self reflection mixed with the most average White Guy^tm^ self confidence. I don't think he's going to shave his goatee into a toothbrush mustache as soon as he wins. I just think he's kinda fuckin stupid and in a sane world would sit down and just be stupid in the life he built. I think that we have 8 months for anyone in Maine to step up with a remotely leftist platform, and if they do and it displays even an iota of coherent thought, then they should get all the support Platner is getting now. I think if they don't, then people should go Platner. I don't get why everyone is rushing to circle wagons and defend him like a god damn hero immediately, though, and it's honestly disheartening to see. Like I thought we were all lefties because we kept it real, yk?
I think that you're onto something with the dumbass White Guy™ thing here, and while it's pretty reductive and I do believe that people can (and often do) grow and change (for better or worse) over the course of their lived experiences.
So, perhaps today he is still a dumbass. I know that I am in some ways. We're all dumbasses in our way and it's the people who believe that they (or anyone) are infallible that are the true idiots.
Maine could do a LOT worse than the dumbass lefty-leaning former Marine that you describe. Maine is composed of roughly 92.82% dumbass White Guy™ (and gals)
So yeah, maybe someone better will rise up. Or maybe, this guy, who just recently pointed out on his own, in an extemporous exchange at a town hall, that he has a lot of privilege based on his cis-white-maleness and personal experiences, is a good fit for Maine.
We will see.