r/moderatepolitics • u/TheWyldMan • 3d ago

News Article Graham Platner’s Wife Flagged Sexually Explicit Texts to His Senate Campaign

https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/graham-platners-wife-flagged-sexually-explicit-texts-to-his-senate-campaign-628ec832?mod=e2tw
132 Upvotes

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139

u/WavesAndSaves 3d ago

The guy with a Nazi death squad tattoo has a poor moral compass? I'm shocked.

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u/[deleted] 3d ago edited 2d ago

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u/WD40ContactCleaner Maximum Malarkey 3d ago

There’s a saying in Germany. If there’s a Nazi at the table and ten other people sitting there talking to him, you got a table with eleven Nazis.

😏

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u/joy_of_division 3d ago

Funny how we don't see that phrase tossed around anymore

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u/AresBloodwrath Maximum Malarkey 2d ago

I remember a lot of liberals saying it about Elon when it was convenient for them. They dropped that the moment it applied to them.

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u/decrpt 2d ago

They still say it. It was said about Elon because Elon was doing things like replying to someone suggesting that Hitler was right because "Jewish communties have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them" by saying "you have said the actual truth."

It doesn't apply in the context of Platner because the tattoo is the only point of contention here. He's not actually doing anything, or associating with anyone, that would make it relevant.

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u/redditthrowaway1294 2d ago

Well, that and going on podcasts with anti-semites.

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u/CloudApprehensive322 2d ago

Elon has retweeted and endorsed great replacement theory/white supremacy talking points on dozens of occasions. Platner drunkenly got a bad tattoo of a skull without knowing the historical context while in Europe - not the same thing.

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u/WavesAndSaves 3d ago

There are very fine people on both sides of the Maine Senate race.

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u/No-Significance4800 2d ago

Lol can you link the full clip of that?

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u/Baptism-Of-Fire 1d ago

not gonna get a response on that one of course lmao

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u/Pretend-Culture-4138 2d ago

They don't because it's (D)ifferent this time

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u/Interesting_Total_98 2d ago

That's because there currently isn't a situation where it's relevant.

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u/pperiesandsolos 2d ago

Platner had a Nazi tattoo.

Elon put his hand out in what some people thought looked like a Nazi salute.

One is definitive, one is speculative. Yet, it’s not relevant here?

Politics, man.

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u/Interesting_Total_98 2d ago

There are zero quotes of Platner saying anything that even remotely resembles Nazi rhetoric, which contradicts the idea of him wanting him to make it clear that he was a neo-Nazi by wearing a commonly recognized symbol.

None of the people accusing him have addressed the fact that the symbol was obscure enough for the military to not catch it.

some people thought looked like a Nazi salute.

The salute is raising an outstretched right arm with the palm down, which is what he objectively did. He did it twice, yet you give him the benefit of the doubt.

You're complaining about inconsistency by making an inconsistent argument, whereas I realize that context should be considered in both cases instead of making confident assumptions based on one thing.

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u/CloudApprehensive322 2d ago

Elon has retweeted great replacement theory talking points which align with white supremacy movements on dozens of occasions.

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u/dragonmp93 3d ago

Eh, Stephen Miller keeps quoting Hitler's speeches, if you don't remember.

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u/shacksrus 2d ago

Elon Roman salutes and gets on Twitter calling for work camps for people he considers "animals". Not to mention the dozen children by different women including his employees. The fbi interviewed a woman who said trump raped her when she was 13. Paxton cheated on his wife with the employee of the real estate magnate he was committing fraud with. His wife them divorced him on "biblical grounds"

Yet we're supposed care about "texts"?

Seems hypocritical.

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u/WD40ContactCleaner Maximum Malarkey 2d ago

Really? you are resorting to a whataboutism when I clearly pointed out the hypocrisy on the other side? This nazi table mantra is still used by many liberals/left/dems today but suddenly when the hypocrisy is highlighted, nuance is suddenly in the picture and whataboutisms come out.

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u/shacksrus 2d ago

Its not whataboutism to ask you to explain to me why I should care about something that republicans have never cared about in their own candidates.

It would be hypocritical for me to care about this without good reason.

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u/WD40ContactCleaner Maximum Malarkey 2d ago edited 2d ago

You seem to have misunderstood my point and angry posted. It's still a fair question to ask because everyone like you screeching about nazis in the republican party suddenly are offering explanations and talking about nuance when it comes to the other side. I'm on neither side but as a distant observer it's fascinating to watch the mental gymnastics and denial

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u/shacksrus 2d ago

You should go back and reread my post. You've failed to understand it and instead started screeching about nazis. Get some perspective please.

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u/WD40ContactCleaner Maximum Malarkey 2d ago

I'm not even talking about you, you said you don't care so I reiterated that it's not about you or what you think personally but the general populace. How are you this daft.

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u/shacksrus 1d ago

It's still a fair question to ask because everyone like you screeching about nazis in the republican party suddenly are offering explanations and talking about nuance when it comes to the other side.

Then why did you explicitly say "like you"?

I think you need to reconsider your position if your thoughts are so disorganized they change between reddit comments.

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u/decrpt 2d ago

There's also the one where he responded to someone saying Hitler was right with "you have said the actual truth."

C. Weber @CWBOCA

Nov 15, 2023

To the cowards hiding behind the anonymity of the internet and posting "Hitler was right":

Eric @breakingbaht

Nov 15, 2023

Okay.

Jewish communties have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them.

I'm deeply disinterested in giving the tiniest shit now about western Jewish populations coming to the disturbing realization that those hordes of minorities that support flooding their country don't exactly like them too much.

You want truth said to your face, there it is.

Elon Musk @elonmusk

You have said the actual truth.

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u/rchive 3d ago edited 2d ago

I think there's a reason that's a German phrase and not an American one. Guilt by association is pretty regressive. I certainly would support people disassociating from literal nazis, but refusal to do so obviously doesn't automatically make a person also a nazi.

Edit: missing words

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u/adreamofhodor 3d ago

Really? If one of my buddies was hanging out with a Nazi, I’d certainly view them differently.
Also, it’s funny you say it’s a German phrase and not an American one, because I’m fairly confident that was said ironically - this particular phrase was heavily used by the left for many years.

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u/Gnagus 2d ago

This whole thread is people wondering why the left would be reconsidering strict moral purity standards after years of being told by the center and right that those same standards were why they kept losing to someone with none.

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u/adreamofhodor 2d ago

I’m not wondering. It’s a natural response to Trump winning twice and seeing the media environment we’re in.
I’m lamenting, if anything. I preferred when Nazi tattoos and crusader iconography were taboo.

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u/Gnagus 2d ago

Totally fair, and I agree with you. But there's a lot more gotcha in the rest of this thread than there is genuine lament about what actually caused the moral erosion.

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u/Interesting_Total_98 2d ago

It's still taboo, which is why he had no problem covering it up after being made aware of the meaning.

If he only did it because of bad PR, then why there are zero quotes of him praising Nazis or hating Jewish people in the past? They shouldn't be hard to find if he knowingly had a Nazi tattoo that was commonly recognized, since that would mean not being shy about his beliefs.

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u/Gnagus 2d ago

This is a good point. Pete Hegseth's tattoos seem a lot more relevant given his very Christian Nationalist sound bites about this war with Iran.

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u/rchive 2d ago

I just think it's more nuanced than that. Shunning people as soon as they start believing something we find gross doesn't actually help anything. It just only allows them to socialize with other people like them and reinforces the bad belief.

I have heard the phrase in the US, as well. I just went with the claim for my own purposes.

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u/adreamofhodor 2d ago

I guess, to me, there’s some things that are outside the lines. In the case of Nazis, I’d be worried for my physical security as a Jew. I’m not accusing Platner of being a Nazi to be clear, just speaking generally.

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u/rchive 2d ago

I think that's understandable.

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u/luvsads 2d ago

Yes, really. It's regressive because it removes all nuance and context. If there are 10 people sitting at a table with 1 Nazi and those 10 are talking to the Nazi in an attempt to make them realize Nazism is bad, are there really 11 Nazis at the table?

There are definitely people on the American left who try to use this saying. It's dumb af, though.

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u/neuronexmachina 2d ago

Has anyone who's ever known him and/or served with him ever claimed he sympathized with Nazis or acted like one? I imagine there would be at least a few politically-opposed former acquaintances. Then again, maybe they're just waiting for October.

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u/bettercaust 2d ago

It's actually a phrase of unclear origin but likely "fascists" rather then Nazis specifically due to it being traced to anti-fascists.

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u/L0utre 3d ago

What actions of Platner support your theory?

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u/epicstruggle Perot Republican 2d ago

Getting a Nazi tattoo of the 3rd most recognized Nazi icon

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u/Interesting_Total_98 2d ago

3rd most recognized Nazi icon

That's a meaningless claim. It says nothing about how many people recognize the tattoo. It apparently wasn't recognizable enough for him to get in trouble when he was in the military.

I haven't seen anyone explain why there are absolutely no quotes from him supporting Nazis or hating Jewish people, despite him supposedly being very open about being a neo-Nazi.

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u/CloudApprehensive322 2d ago

The vast majority of the public would never recognize Platner's tattoo or associate it with Nazi iconography unless you are deep into WW2 and german history.

Acting like its such an obvious thing is nonsense and his story about how he got it drunkenly in europe while deployed passes the smell test. Furthermore, none of his leaked social media history backs up any sort of Nazi related beliefs.

1

u/supercodes83 2d ago

Behind what? This is a ridiculous assertion.

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u/e00s 1d ago

Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain sat and talked with Hitler. I guess he was a Nazi too then?

Are other groups capable of doing this magical conversion by proximity? For example, if ten Nazis are sitting at a table with a communist, maybe we have 11 communists now. Or is a Nazi like a trump card that automatically converts members of all less evil groups?

People should really stop repeating this saying as though it expresses a profound truth. A Nazi in the modern sense is someone who generally supports the platform of the historical NSDAP (especially the stuff about race). At no time has the definition included “someone who sits and talks with someone who supports the platform of the historical NSDAP”.

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u/WD40ContactCleaner Maximum Malarkey 1d ago

I'm sorry man I'm not the one making nazi table rules. This has been an established rule with no exceptions. Yes to all your questions, communists are nazis in different clothing anyway so it still applies

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u/[deleted] 3d ago

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u/L0utre 2d ago

lol, nothing about this dude is a “nazi.” The liberal dem fighting the establishment. Susan Collins brought us Trump and his Nazi pool boy Stephen Miller. Then she blesses allllll of the judicial appointments for Trump. And you’re twisting in knots to retain Susan Collins in the nazi dystopia she helped create.

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u/TheWyldMan 2d ago

lol, nothing about this dude is a “nazi.”

Well except him being a big fan of a podcast that is known for holocaust denial and other Israel/Jewish conspiracy talk.

and retweeting a known Nazi.

and having an SS tattoo for 18 years.

Like he's probably not a nazi, but it's not just one thing.

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u/Interesting_Total_98 2d ago

being a big fan

A common pleasantry is very weak, especially since the podcast's popularity was recent. He said nothing specific that shows him being familiar with the show. I don't see him mentioning it at all beyond that appearance.

holocaust denial

That's false. You seem to be confusing it with your 2nd example.

retweeting a known Nazi.

The tweet was about criticizing the Iran war. What makes you think he knew that person was a Nazi? You say "known Nazi" as if he was famous, which obviously isn't true.

tattoo

It's a tattoo that isn't commonly recognized, which explains the military saying nothing.

If he's so proud of being a neo-Nazi that he's willing to wear an obvious Nazi tattoo, then why are there absolutely no examples of him hating Jewish people?

1

u/No-Significance4800 2d ago

It's funny because you all will call republican Nazis with no proof but you have a dem with an actual nazi tattoo he had for almost 2 decades and didnt decide to have it removed until it became an issue for his campaign yet he's not a nazi.🤣 what the hell are you guys doing??

1

u/Interesting_Total_98 2d ago

you all will call republican Nazis with no proof

I've never done that.

until it became an issue for his campaign

That's consistent with him not being aware of it.

Why didn't you answer my question?

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u/SliceRepulsive8649 2d ago

Notice how you couldn't actually rebut any of his arguments and had to rely on ad hominems and strawmen instead

0

u/redditthrowaway1294 2d ago

Look man, it's a choice between the lesser of two evils. On one side is a self-professed friend and fan of anti-semites whose proudly had a Nazi death squad tattoo or decades. On the other side is...the most moderate person in the Senate.

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u/SliceRepulsive8649 2d ago

Now try it without the strawman

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u/redditthrowaway1294 2d ago

True, the most moderate person in the Senate might be Murkowski, not Collins.

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u/SliceRepulsive8649 2d ago

Are you saying you recognized that symbol before this story? Where did you interact with it?

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u/redditthrowaway1294 1d ago

History class and one of the most widespread memes on the internet about how people wearing it are "the baddies" joking about how a couple of Nazis figured out perhaps they might not be good people.

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u/SliceRepulsive8649 1d ago

What history class is focusing on obscure Nazi symbols? Like outside of a niche college class that would be a massive waste of time. And yea you're right it's in the meme. Never noticed it before. Had to zoom in and know what I was looking for. Can guarantee nearly everyone is the same as me. Don't believe me? Next time you're interacting with people in the real world ask them if they know what that symbol looks like without any other context. Let me know how it goes.

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

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u/Interesting_Total_98 2d ago

You're outraged about a fake quote. You shouldn't take screenshots from random Twitter users at face value.

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u/TheWyldMan 2d ago

So that's not actually in the article.

But it is funny seeing this fake snippet being treated as fact after the fake snippet of Vance fucking couches was treated as true.

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u/Interesting_Total_98 2d ago

It was funny seeing people mock Vance over that after he defended Trump falsely accusing Haitians of eating pets because some guy on TV said it.

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u/No-Significance4800 2d ago

But pets did get eaten. Cats specifically. Watch the local news from that city you had Haitans telling on other Haitians, its something they do in Haiti too. Not all of course but it is pretty common over there.

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u/Interesting_Total_98 2d ago

There hasn't been even a single occurrence that's been discovered, which explains why Trump and the other people spreading fear quickly forgot about it.

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u/decrpt 2d ago

They did not. The lady that started the rumor even found her cat.

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