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Some of the posts are from as recent as 2021. Leaving the military and becoming a “vegetable-growing, psychedelics-taking socialist” who had “pretty much stopped believing in any of the patriotic nonsense that got me there in the first place” might sound like an aspirational mission statement for a progressive Democrat. But then it gets dicey, especially in this moment of heightened political violence and inflammatory rhetoric: “Still got the guns though, I don’t trust the fascists to act politely.” In Reddit posts from 2020 and 2021, Platner called himself a “communist,” said that rural White Mainers are “actually” racist and stupid, and called cops “bastards.” In 2013, Platner downplayed sexual assault in the military. And in 2018 he said that folks who want to “fight fascism without a good semi-automatic rifle” need to “do some reading of history.” It’s true, everything is permanent on the internet. And to Platner’s dismay, the rule applies to his angry ramblings on subreddits like the “Socialist Redditor Rifle Association.” The Maine Wire reported on Wednesday that Platner did more than post online — according to newly unearthed Reddit comments, Platner taught advanced firearms instruction to the Socialist Rifle Association in Maine. Something else that’s (kind of) permanent: tattoos. On Monday, Platner joined the liberal Pod Save America podcast and tried to get ahead of a drunken video of himself dancing shirtless at a wedding with a skull and crossbones tattoo. Given the long list of unsavory Reddit posts, this might sound anodyne enough — except for the fact that the tattoo appears to be a Totenkopf, a symbol adopted by the Nazi SS unit that guarded concentration camps. It was reported Wednesday morning that Platner covered up his tattoo. A campaign that started as a liberal working class revival has turned into an apology tour (with a quick stop at the tattoo parlor). Platner apologized last week after the Reddit posts were described in multiple news stories, including from CNN, The Washington Post, and Politico. He said the posts came about during a period of “disillusionment” after several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. As for the tattoo, he’s promising to get it removed, telling Politico and others: “It was not until I started hearing from reporters and D.C. insiders that I realized this tattoo resembled a Nazi symbol. I absolutely would not have gone through life having this on my chest if I knew that — and to insinuate that I did is disgusting.” His former political director, who resigned after his Reddit posts surfaced, told me otherwise. “The subject of Graham’s tattoo has been quietly but widely discussed among people in Maine politics for the duration of his campaign. He was aware it was a problem,” former Maine State Representative Genevieve McDonald texted me. This is all a tough look for the guy that launched his campaign motoring along Maine’s coastline in an old sweatshirt saying he is “not fooled by this fake charade of Collins’s deliberations and moderation.” The Maine Republican Party has been wise enough to kick back and watch. Executive director Jason Savage told me that he doesn’t “like it when [Democrats] come over and tell us what to do in our primary. So we’re going to continue commenting on the failures of Graham Platner and Janet Mills and watching to see what happens.” Politically, a Platner-vs.-Mills race is the perfect way for Republicans to highlight the Democratic Party’s internal disarray without actually having to do anything. On the left flank, you have Platner, who is more progressive than the common-man flavor of his campaign might suggest. His campaign announcement video was produced by a top adviser to Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, who is favored to become the next mayor of New York City. And while Platner’s campaign website may appeal to the working class with goals like putting an end to “billionaire tax dodging” and stopping “forever wars,” in some parts it reads like a protest pamphlet. Platner, for example, calls the war in Gaza a “genocide” and has said that Collins “killed my friends” by voting in favor of the Iraq War. This isn’t Manhattan — Platner is running in the state with the oldest population in the nation, and one that has more unenrolled voters than either registered Democrats or Republicans. Then you have Mills, an establishment Democrat who would be the oldest elected freshman senator ever in a party still reeling from President Biden’s decision to run for reelection at the age of 81 in 2024. It doesn’t help that she was handpicked by Schumer to go up against a new, young voice in a party that badly needs new and young. I suspect that there are plenty of voters who would disapprove of the way Platner’s old social media posts were dug up and shared with CNN for a piece that presumably would help Mills. And I’m not just talking about Republicans who hate the mainstream media and the cover it gives to liberals: There are Sanders fans who are still bitter about how their guy was treated by the Democratic establishment back in 2016. Any surprise that Sanders is still sticking with Platner? “We are up against the machine. We were told not to run this race,” Platner said on the podcast. “We were sent messages saying we were not supposed to do this. We had to wait our turn. We didn’t have permission, and that if we did it, they were going to try to just destroy my life.” With news of the Reddit posts alone, Platner still stood a chance. “The idea that, like, that a person cannot, like, evolve and grow from years ago is I think pretty laughable to the average human being,” he said on the podcast. Republicans might roll their eyes, but in this internet age, I’m sure there are quite a few voters out there who will sympathize with cringing at old posts. Plus, voters are sadly primed for bad behavior on both sides: I can think of at least three big stories from across the country this week alone about Republicans engaging in or downplaying abhorrent conduct. The tattoo may be the final nail in the Maine pine coffin that was Graham Platner’s swift ascent. But even some fellow Democrats saw his Reddit posts as disqualifying. “I do not see a path for him in the general election. His Reddit posts contain harmful rhetoric that disparage rural and swing voters, law enforcement, women, and others,” McDonald texted. “He made multiple statements regarding his political views that are problematic for his consideration as a serious contender against Susan Collins.” Other liberals, like the Pod Save America bros, seem all of a sudden willing to overlook some gun-toting radicalism as long as they get some fresh blood in the party. But for Democrats to stand by this guy only further underlines the internal disarray of their party. I can see the appeal of a gruff young Democrat who wants to rage against the decrepit Democratic machine — but couldn’t they find someone sans Nazi tattoo to lead the charge? This column first appeared in Right, Left, and Center, Globe Opinion’s free weekly newsletter about local and national politics. If you’d like to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign uphere.
