Graham Platner's Reddit posts regarding sexual assault victims take on new significance in light of Eric Swalwell...

[PeaceWave]

SOUND THE ALARM: Graham Platner Says Sexual Assault Victims Should “Take Some Responsibility” in Now-Deleted Reddit Posts

https://emilyslist.org/sound-the-alarm/sound-the-alarm-graham-platner-says-sexual-assault-victims-should-take-some-responsibility-in-now-deleted-reddit-posts/

Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner made disturbing comments about sexual assault victims in Reddit posts that were deleted shortly before he launched his campaign — saying assault victims should “just take some responsibility for themselves” to avoid attacks and “act like an adult for f–cks sake.” He said people should avoid alcohol so they don’t end up in a “compromising situation” and downplayed the challenges servicemembers face in reporting sexual assault.

The reservations I have about Platner representing Democrats on any level, let alone putting him in the U.S. Senate, are off the charts. Alarm? How about three alarms?

[mcar]

1. I agree

Swallwell did, and should have, resigned. But we're poised to nominate a man whose behavior and comments raise all sorts of red flags?

[sop]

2. I don't think Platner's ready for what's coming his way.

[Pris]

29. No woman would have gotten this far in the senate race

Even if she were a lobsterwoman! People would have criticized her until she was toast. They would have made fun of her.

But a man....oh that's a different story. Even after Platner disparaged women and had a nazi tattoo people still supported him.

This says something about a sizable portion of the American electorate and it's not good.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

3. lol. Ok

[Ferrets are Cool]

4. And the POTUS said "grab um by the pussy".

Let me know when Platner is charged with any crime.

[Cha]

34. What does PEDO have to do with

Planter's post now deleted on Reddit?

assault victims should “just take some responsibility for themselves” to avoid attacks and “act like an adult for f–cks sake.” He said people should avoid alcohol so they don’t end up in a “compromising situation” and downplayed the challenges servicemembers face in reporting sexual assault.

[sheshe2]

44. Good point and post, Cha.

Victim blaming. A what was she wearing moment.

[Cha]

54. Mahalo, she.. and didn't Planter use being

inebriated as an excuse why he got the Nazi Tat?

[sheshe2]

57. Yes, indeed he did.

He said he and his buddies were as drunk as skunks.


I was just reading his posts over on bsky...And a lot of the comments to him there. I have been keeping an eye on him to see what he is up to. 🤔

[mcar]

48. Yep

I see some what about ism here.

[Cha]

56. I just saw the ol tired ".. the circular firing squad.. "

an attempt to distract from Planter's actual Victim Blaming post... now deleted, of course.

Yeah, like "whatabouism" has Anything to do with Planter's Reddit post.

[Lifeafter70]

86. And he is still using the R slur as late as this year.

Seems he needs a little more reflecting and growing.

[RetiredParatrooper]

42. The circular firing squad is forming

Yet again.

[mcar]

61. What do you mean?

[RetiredParatrooper]

68. Infighting, gerontocracy

Do we really want a Senator that will be 79 when sworn in?

[mcar]

70. Sure. Rather than a Nazi rape apologist. nt

[RetiredParatrooper]

92. And this is why we lose

'Nazi rape apologist?' Me?

Citation needed.

[sheshe2]

5. Thank you for posting this, PeaceWave.

I agree.

[2naSalit]

6. He hasn't...

Given me a reason to vote for him.

[yorkster]

8. Ditto. Will support him if he wins natch..

[Fiendish Thingy]

7. Do they *really* take on a new significance?

Equating Platner’s moronic Reddit comments with Swallwell’s potentially criminal behaviour is ludicrous.

Platner was leading Mills by 27 points in the last poll. If that stands (and there is no evidence it won’t), he is going to be the Dem nominee for senate in Maine.

So, get in your digs and smears while you can, because after the June primary such comments may be risky.

[AloeVera]

10. Some people NEVER miss an opportunity, do they?

No matter how ludicrous.

[DFW]

17. Platner's lead does indeed appear to hold for now.

Crockett’s lead in Texas held, too. Que será será. If Platner is nominated and elected, and turns out great, lucky us. If he is elected and turns out to be another Fetterman, unlucky us. It wouldn’t be the first or last time that a state’s Democrats nominated and elected a Senator, and then experienced buyer’s remorse. My preference remains, but I’m not above hoping for a pleasant surprise, no matter what the outcome.

[mcar]

49. Moronic?

His comments were far worse than moronic - they are sexist and blame the victim. Do we really want this in our Senate?

[comradebillyboy]

52. You are correct, but he's still better than Collins.

There will be a Democrat and a Republican on the ballot. I prefer the Democrat. Even a very flawed Dem.

[mcar]

60. Mills is better than both

Oh, but she's an old woman!!11

[Fiendish Thingy]

63. I guess the voters of Maine will let us know what they want.

We will find out soon enough.

[Lifeafter70]

78. And there it is

A perfect example of society at large condoning and accepting certain behaviors that are wrong but not as bad as another.
These types of victim blaming makes it more difficult for women to come forward.
I personally would not want to be associated with someone who expressed these views let alone have him represent me in the senate.

I see what you did with

"So get your digs in and smears while you can, cause after the June primary such comments may be risky"

Sounds a lot like a threat to remain silent.
Should we not share here if he continues with this type of behavior or do we need to be good little girls and remain silent.

To repeat an actual post is not a dig or a smear, but a fact showing his character and attitude towards women. Men who support women do not make statements like that, those are good Ole boys statements.

[Fiendish Thingy]

83. You're overthinking it

My comment was about how DU rules change once the primaries are over.

The “risk” would be in getting posts hidden for bashing Dems.

[Lifeafter70]

84. Yes I know rules change most of us are very aware of that

It was your need to remind us.


Just so you know I have been reading Du since around 2004 by way of Bart Cop. I first joined in 2008 and lost my account like everyone else when DU went down. I continued reading but didn't feel the need rejoin until 2023. So I'm well aware of DU rules

Posting truths is not "bashing" Dems.
Maybe you should ask Graham why he is still using the R slur as late as this year. Seems he still need to grow a bit.

[Fiendish Thingy]

88. Been here since 2004 myself

Guess I was one of the lucky ones who didn’t lose their account.

Maine voters can ask Platner whatever they want about his past comments- he’s had 50 in person town halls since launching his campaign last August, with attendance at capacity, often to overflow crowds.

Mills has had a handful of Zoom Q&A sessions with small groups of invited supporters, who submitted questions in advance. She read her answers from index cards.

I trust the Maine voters will choose the candidate they think is best for their state.

[Lifeafter70]

89. Yes they will

But he does have red flags and we should not minimize them.
He made a lot of horrific comments on Reddit, not just about women. That he didn't delete until he decided to run for congress is a red flag. He was still on Reddit so he knew those comments were there.
He still uses the R slur in his everyday language.
Maybe he has changed but I don't quite believe that to be true.
I have met a lot of people like him in my lifetime, some have changed and others just give lip service. My gut felling is he is one of the latter.
We don't need to trash women for truths that they have lived.
There are better ways to present your argument.

In fact I have seen several in this thread.

Edited to add: I should have said locked out when du went down years ago. I chose not to retrieve my account but hubby did.

[DFW]

9. Not that it will make any difference, but

I talked with someone in Congress yesterday who knows both Platner and Mills.

Said member of Congress would be a LOT more comfortable with Mills as both candidate and Senator. The Congressperson also told me (my apologies if this is common knowledge, but I was not aware) that Platner’s “just an oyster farmer” routine is misleading, and that he comes from a wealthy family who bought him the oyster farm. He doesn’t rub me the right way, so being told this didn’t change my preference in the Maine Senate primary.

[TommyT139]

11. The whole pattern of

...recasting one's upbringing to grab some "workin' man" cred -- along with "self-made man" implications to explain current wealth and privilege -- needs close analysis by people wiser and with more time than me. JD Vance is of course a prominent example.

[TommyT139]

22. "it" referring to which in this case?

[JI7]

26. Yes, And we see with JD Pritzker, FDR, Most of the Kennedys

that people can still be on the right side even if they grew up with wealth.

And then you have someone like Reagan that's the opposite.

[ShazzieB]

59. Reagan was the opposite, all right.

He came from nothing, but acquired wealth through his show biz career, mainly because he happened to be born with genes that gave him a resonant voice that was perfect ror radio and a photogenic face that propelled him into movies. So of course he thought everybody else should be able to pull themselves up by their bootstraps the way he thought he had. As if being a tall, handsome (he WAS handsome back in his younger days) white male had absolutely nothing to do with his success. Never mind that most people don't have a fraction of the assets he aqured free of charge by winning the genetic lottery.

Reagan was a classic example of the so-called "self-made man" type who is oblivious to his own privilege, unsympathetic to the struggles of those who can't achieve the success he did, and very quick to blame the poor for being poor.

[MustLoveBeagles]

28. I misunderstood your post

Sorry about that.

[TommyT139]

31. No worries :) More on Vance

On the off chance that I wasn't clear about why I referred to JD Vance, I went down a rabbit hole and found an excellent Rolling Stones article summarizing the many lies in Hillbilly Elegy. (I'm not saying Platner is as egregious, but it sounds like some vetting is still necessary.)

J.D. Vance’s Stolen Valor: ‘He Puts on Poverty Like You Put on Makeup’

In light of Vance’s admission [that he makes up stories to prove a point, like the "eating dogs/cats" lie], a close re-reading of Hillbilly Elegy by Rolling Stone uncovers a hollow claim at the center of the book. Namely that J.D. Vance “grew up poor.”
Vance frames the book as a chronicle of overcoming severe economic disadvantage. But the details of Vance’s own writing don’t point to a childhood of material deprivation. Instead — despite the myriad troubles faced by his mother with substance abuse — Vance was raised in middle-class comfort. At one point, his parents enjoyed a six-figure income. And he was spared economic distress by a broad safety net of extended family that provided him with frequent out-of-state vacations, golf lessons, a modeling audition, and therapy. Most importantly, he benefited from a buffer of generational wealth created by his “Papaw,” who retired with a “lucrative pension” from his union job at the local steel plant. ...

The central conceit of Hillbilly Elegy is already a stretch. Vance wasn’t raised in Appalachia. He was born and brought up in Middletown, Ohio, a small city on the road to Dayton. His mother was also born in these suburban Ohio flats. “The guy is from north of Cincinnati,” says Rob Lalka, a Tulane University business professor who has researched Vance’s life for his recent book, The Venture Alchemists. “There are no hills, much less hillbillies.”

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/jd-vance-hillbilly-elegy-grew-up-poor-trump-1235116331/
No paywall:
https://archive.ph/Gsel9

(I'm posting this even though it's now not as pertinent to the thread, because I do suspect that Vance's career is far from finished, and keeping his lies in mind will be helpful.)

[MustLoveBeagles]

33. Thanks for the info

[yardwork]

13. Just like W's family bought him a "ranch."

[DFW]

14. He loved to be photographed "clearing brushweed."

Plenty of Texans are more prepared to accept a $3 bill than that bit of visual fantasy.

[yardwork]

15. I remember. I always refer to it as the pig farm.

That's what it was when it was bought as a prop.

[niyad]

47. Do I remember correctly that the "brush" had to be trucked in?

[JI7]

21. Didn't he sell that ranch after he got out of office

I remember the clearing brush bs.

[OMGWTF]

30. It was KKKarl Rove who suggested GeeDumbya get the Crawford, TX ranch.

Said it would make him look more "Reaganesque" even tho GeeDumbya is skeeeerd of horses. Fk that guy with a barrel cactus, he and his overlord, Cheney The Dick (R-Hell) should have gone on trial in The Hague for war crimes.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

45. The bigger scandal with W was the investors in the baseball team who turned over their shares of the team while daddy...

.. was president (of vp I forget)

Those Texas investors are a generous bunch.

[RockCreek]

16. I get a scent of Fetterman from him and his story

[DFW]

20. I REALLY hope not

The fumes do have a familiar scent, all the same.

[BannonsLiver]

25. Both have significant drawbacks.

Platner has considerable ick around his past. Mills is 400 years old, and excites or interests no one.

[RetiredParatrooper]

41. Self-serving anecdotal evidence aside...

...the polling disagrees with you.

[betsuni]

90. Oysters must be held to the fire and votes earned, like anybody else!

[enigmania]

12. I always question motivation.

[MustLoveBeagles]

18. Swalwell is a serial rapist

Platner, as far as I know, hasn't raped anyone. Big difference. I agree he has an appalling attitude towards victims.

[MagickMuffin]

23. Mansplaining without placing the blame on the male predators

Sure women should be cautious around men because men can’t get laid without drugging a woman who isn’t interested in them.

And men take some responsibility for YOUR actions for fuck sake. Stop preying on women, leave your date rape drugs at home.

And speaking of the date rape drugs,

How are you getting them?

Why are YOU buying them?

What’s YOUR purpose and intention?

Women need to know that the men around them are capable of drugging and then raping them. Even if they think they are safe around these men, chances are they are not.

I have read about a way to find out if some has drugged their drinks, a teenager developed it.

[leftstreet]

27. A lot of his constituents probably agree

I'm sure no one wants to hear this, but suggesting women are responsible or share the blame for victimization is a VERY OLD concept, still accepted by many. And reinforced through decades by misogynist cultures that simply can't fathom the exalted male would be guilty of any wrongdoing (unless of course he was victimized by the siren call of a woman's sexuality)



Just seeing the current social media pushback on Swalwell's victims coming forward
"assuming it's true"
"why did she wait so long"

Ugh. I'm not sure people realize how long it took for women who are out dRinkinG in sHort skirtS !! to even be believed. We have a long f*cking ways to go

[OMGWTF]

32. Men are highly overrated and the patriarchy must die ASAP.

The fact that women have been treated like slaves and garbage for millennia, and yet we are not the ones who do that mass shootings is proof right there that we should be in charge.

[Susan Calvin]

35. I decided not to support him a long long time ago. nt

[Whyisthisstillclose]

36. The Democratic Party needs to make damn sure their vetting is thorough

and all encompassing. I agree social media posts are not the same as some of the horrific behavior we are uncovering lately, but they could be a worrisome red flag. We cannot afford too many "surprises" that make us look like we are hiding misogyny and violence towards women. That is Republican behavior. I am glad we are rid of the two latest perpetrators in a timely manner, but I would have been happier if they had never been elected in the first place.

[Fil1957]

37. Awful comments to be sure. But did he make these comments a year ago? Five years ago? 10 years ago? Try 12 years ago.

He has disavowed them and has not been accused of any assaults. If all he did was say something stupid on the Internet a dozen years ago, I'm willing to give him a pass. Eric Swalwell he is not.

Let's see who wins the primary and give that person our strong full support whoever it may be.

[EdmondDantes_]

39. I agree he's not Swalwell

But from my non-Maine resident perspective, I don't know what he's done to demonstrate that he's grown from then. Not saying he hasn't, but I would feel a lot more comfortable if I had something I could use as evidence.

[Fil1957]

46. I've heard him interviewed a couple of times, and he struck me as someone who is very articulate and smart enough to

have grown from that time. And again, what did he do? He said stupid stuff on the Internet 12 years ago. What if he was a Republican back then?

Wouldn't that be as bad or even worse? If he then became a Democrat afterward, wouldn't we accept him? I would hope so! I would hope we would welcome any former Republicans into the tent as long as they are sincere in their beliefs, and I believe he is.

[obamanut2012]

53. How do you know he isn't like Swalwell?

[NoRethugFriends]

55. The things the two of them did are not comparable

Even though a bunch of Platner's stuff is horrendous. Relating the two makes zero sense.

[EdmondDantes_]

77. That's a fair point. To my current knowledge

Because yeah, a lot of us men are not who we should be.

[mcar]

51. He was a grown ass man when he made them

When is irrelevant. When did he disavow them? When he decided to run for Senate?

Oh but Mills is old so she must be disqualified.

[infullview]

38. Planter is probably a republican posing as a democrat.

There’s a lot I don’t like about mills: age, accepts lots of corporate money, etc. , but, she is serious about prosecuting trump. That’s what we need above all else.

[Joinfortmill]

40. Not good. He's victim blaming.

[JustAnotherGen]

43. I don't care how long ago it was

I see shades of Fetterman in him.

[QueerDuck]

50. First the Nazi tattoo... now this? Heaven help us.

[AloeVera]

58. Oh yes.

Not to mention the audacity of telling people they have the power to change the system and take it back from the oligarchs and corporations and wanting to create a movement to change the system from within! To eliminate the root causes of despair and grievance that led to Trump. The nerve!

And of course those Reddit comments are infinitely worse than killing a Bill to expand Maine's Indigenous tribes' sovereignty or one creating a new top tax bracket. Or pissing off unions so much they tried to publicly draft a candidate to primary her.

/S

Heaven help us indeed.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

67. .

Not to mention the audacity of telling people they have the power to change the system and take it back from the oligarchs and corporations and wanting to create a movement to change the system from within!

Are there any examples of him doing this? In any system?

[AloeVera]

85. In high school he was voted most likely to start a revolution.

He was also forcibly removed by the Secret Service when he skipped school to protest the Iraq War at an airport where GWB was visiting.

OK, clearly he has not changed any "system" - he's been an outsider - but he has worked outside the levers of power to effect changes locally. His campaign is about change and power-building from the ground up through organizing, to unite the working class and social and labour movements. His message and vision are clearly resonating with Maine voters.

Platner is up to something different. He isn’t running a campaign so much as seeking to build a mass movement against the status quo. He’s not trying to woo the working class to the Democratic Party; he’s trying to mobilize the working class to take over the Democratic Party and use it to fundamentally change the relationship between government and citizens. To him, Trump is a symptom of a larger rot, a fundamentally broken system, and the old rules of American politics are already beside the point. The Democratic establishment is “still existing in this world where they think that if you know the rules the best, you’re going to win,” he told me. “When the other side is just beating you over the head with the rule book, it doesn’t matter.”

In keeping with these themes, he’s running a far grander campaign than Mills in terms of ambition and drive. (It does help that he isn’t limited by the need to simultaneously govern.) He seems to be everywhere, all the time, both on TV, thanks to his nearly three-to-one fundraising edge, and in person. His call for building working-class power aligns not only with his working-man presentation but with his workman-like approach to campaigning: He has held more than 50 town halls — so well attended that people are often turned away — and shows up in every corner of the state. Unlike Mills, he’s not trying to convince voters he will stand up to Trump; he’s trying to start a movement to build a world without the despair and resentment that he believes allows Trump’s brand of politics to flourish.

Maine is certainly not the first place where these contrasting prescriptions for how to end Trumpism have been present in a Democratic primary. But rarely have they been so perfectly embodied by two such different candidates. And if the polls are even close to right, Democratic voters are about to deliver a bracing message about which of these visions they currently prefer.

Much more about Platner vs Mills at this link:
https://themainemonitor.org/graham-platner-success-explained/

[sheshe2]

62. There is a lot more that he deleted from his Reddit account.

His comments about LGBTQ....I have read them all. Vile stuff.

Granted, it was years ago he said them, but he only just deleted them when they came into light during his Senate run.

[QueerDuck]

64. But if he sticks to the script... all is forgiven, eh?

I have higher standards.

[sheshe2]

65. So, do I.

[mr715]

66. Real question.

At what point does it stop being a script?

Obviously we aren't in a position to assess Platner's authenticity because he no record.

But suppose he (or 'one') does maintain issue discipline / leadership. When does the script morph into ideology?

I guess I am willing to 'forgive' if I get a candidate I am more ideologically aligned with, but I don't know if that just makes me cheap

[EdmondDantes_]

80. It's not cheap. Obviously people can change for the better

Robert Byrd for example. Like you I'm a little skeptical because he doesn't have a record of service. But any candidate can change. It's always your best guess based on what you know/believe at the time.

[mcar]

71. But he's for Medicare for all!!11

[sheshe2]

75. Are you on bsky?

There is a lot more that he posted on reddit...a LOT. Things I haven't seen before. Yikes!

I am not going to post them here, though I could send you a few links.

[mcar]

79. I am, but please send the links

I can't believe we're about to do this again.

[sheshe2]

81. Check out his profile page there and read the comments.

Will also send you a couple of links, mcar.

[QueerDuck]

93. It's an irresistible tune from the piper.

[betsuni]

87. Of course is given full benefit of the doubt because of purifying magic slogans (Medicare for All) in the script.

He is authentic! Working class! The establishment is TERRIFIED!

[Cha]

69. Excellent Point, she.. Planter "only just Deleted them

when they were exposed".

[sheshe2]

72. Exactly. 🤔

[Aepps22]

73. Red Flag After Red Flag

We really have to smarten up when it comes to some of these politicians. Platner has a Nazi Tat and has blamed women for SA, but yet that doesn’t disqualify him but Mills and her age are disqualifying?

Platner told me all I need to know when he gets confronted on his past and blames the “establishment” for trying to destroy him.

[IcyPeas]

74. Who does the vetting? Anyone? Who ever vetted Swalwell?

I feel like there are red flags. I'm not in Maine but... please someone vet him.

[OAITW r.2.0]

76. In the primary, I will happily vote for Janet Mills.

In the general, I will vote for whoever is running against Ms. Concerned.

[dlk]

82. Planter is a truly awful choice for a candidate

His comments are a slap in the face to every woman. Democrats can and should do better.

[Boo1]

91. Look ladies.....

If you leave the house without a male family member you're just asking for it, really....