r/moderatepolitics 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
128 Upvotes

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65

u/Teganfff Centrist Democrat 2d ago

Example 7,439 of why Democrats/people on the left need to stop purity testing and infighting.

47

u/ferbje 2d ago

What does him having a Nazi tattoo and cheating on his wife have to do with left wing infighting

44

u/airforceCOT 2d ago edited 2d ago

I think he’s annoyed that some Democrats are hesitant about supporting a guy who’s sported a Holocaust symbol on his chest, stated that he wished a Purple Heart recipient would have died, said that women who dress provocatively asked to be raped, cheated on his wife, bragged about masturbating in porta potties, and reposts Twitter content from podcasters who think Jews are evil.

To some folks, this is unnecessary infighting at a time when Democrats need to stick together.

9

u/__Hello_my_name_is__ 2d ago edited 2d ago

and reposts Twitter content from podcasters who think Jews are evil

Every time this is mentioned, I shall point out that several high ranking Republicans, some of them part of the current administration, have been on said podcaster's podcast. Several times.

And, every time, I will ask: What is worse? Reposting a tweet from that guy and immediately deleting it upon finding out about the guy's history, or repeatedly going on the guy's podcast while agreeing with him about most things he says?

Still waiting for an answer to this question to this day.

said that women who dress provocatively asked to be raped

That meanwhile - as far as I can tell - is outright untruthful. He simply didn't say that. He said something pretty bad and equally condemnable, but he didn't say that.

8

u/TP-BANDIT77 2d ago

"Rape is a real thing, if you're so worried about it to buy Kevlar underwear you'd think you might not get blacked out f----- up around people you aren't comfortable with."

Woof

2

u/PairOk7940 22h ago

Yup, dumb guys day dumb stuff ehen theyvare young dumb snd mad.  As a woman and a Progressive Im more interested in how he openly talks about this thinking and its stupidity than the fact that he said it.  Becauae honestly a lot of well meaning liberal men think this way too. They aont say it out loud so its hard to correct.  Liberal men are sexist too, and often the worst at hearing that to be quite frank. 

1

u/digitalime 9h ago

He wasn’t that young he was a full grown man. Even young girls know why what he said was stupid.

-6

u/__Hello_my_name_is__ 2d ago

Welp, I found another quote that wasn't exactly good, either. This one is worse.

He'd fit right in with a lot of high-ranking Republicans on that one.

1

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1

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16

u/Beautiful_Finger4566 2d ago

it's crazy that two of my friends' Teslas were keyed because Musk did a hand-to-heart motion, but a literal SS tattoo seems to a-ok

6

u/scottstots6 2d ago

If you still don’t think Musk did that motion intentionally, I have a bridge to sell you.

4

u/Beautiful_Finger4566 2d ago

there is no evidence that Musk is anti-semitic

he's friggin friends with Israel's PM for Pete's sake

meanwhile Platner is as anti-semitic as you can get without overtly saying he hates Jews

3

u/scottstots6 1d ago

Do you think the only part of Nazi ideology is anti semitism? Do you think it is possible to be receptive to or aligned with Nazism/fascism without hating Jews?

5

u/Beautiful_Finger4566 1d ago

it's the core part of being a Nazi

without anti-semitism, it's just fascism

and given that Musk was tasked with REDUCING the power of the government, he wasn't a fascist either

4

u/IllustriousHorsey 1d ago

Given that antisemitism was a *core tenet* of Nazism, it is definitionally impossible to be a Nazi without hating Jews.

0

u/ferbje 1d ago

Lmao. You have some reading to do. Don’t try to sound smug, it looks bad when you’re wrong

0

u/Consistent-Muscle-87 1d ago

How old are you???

2

u/ferbje 1d ago

What

13

u/KarlsReddit 2d ago

If I was in Maine I'd vote for him. But I hate this lazy argument. Why do we keep having to make huge compromises on candidates. There isn't anyone else qualified? I'm not the DNC. But if that money can't find anyone else decent to boost them there needs to be better leadership.

Why should we stop caring if our elected officials don't lie, cheat, get nazi tattoos etc.? This is the absolute bare minimum but you come in and try and guilt people for caring about things that are fundementally representative of human decency.

-2

u/Letmein202 2d ago

DNC and the entire party is in shambles.

-5

u/Teganfff Centrist Democrat 2d ago

Honestly?

I don’t give a fuck about a person’s past choices if what they are going to do when they get to Washington is going to better all of us.

-4

u/Hour-Ad-9508 2d ago

It’s like Déjà vu reading these exact same comments that were said about Fetterman in 2022.

People tried to warn democrats about him back then but the same hand waving took place then.

21

u/sgtabn173 Ask me about my TDS 2d ago

I’m beginning to really suspect the purity tests and infighting are oftentimes instigated by people outside the party. Dude has the support of dems in Maine, far as I can tell. So where is the infighting originating? Who benefits from the dems purity tests?

17

u/halfar 2d ago

The story was leaked by his former campaign manager, Genevieve McDonald, who left his campaign when Mills announced her run, because she's a big supporter of Mills, and has been a very loud and active voice against Platner ever since.

So in this case, it's very explicitly coming from a moderate democrat trying to sink another democrat's campaign.

6

u/TheWyldMan 2d ago

Weird way to say she quit after Gus Reddit account was discovered and she said she couldn’t represent him after his comments

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2

u/TheWyldMan 2d ago

he had already won the primary.

Not yet

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15

u/Chrispanic 2d ago

It's a bit of both. Dems/dem leaning left voters push moral values with militism.

This is an obvious weakness, and the right/Repubs will and do exploit it.

There are a lot of left, liberal, whatever label people who vote Dem, that aren't Democrats that push these standards. There are also some Dems/Progressives that also push this, and Centrist whatever Dems that keep their mouths shut. Hence infighting.

Then Republicans laugh all the way to the bank...

6

u/airforceCOT 2d ago

There are a lot of left, liberal, whatever label people who vote Dem, that aren't Democrats

This. Are we forgetting that independents and undecideds exist? And clearly there are a lot of them in Maine because they always vote Democrat in presidential elections but have reelected Collins three times?

The “vote blue no matter who or you’re an asshole traitor!” argument isn’t going to work with these people.

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

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8

u/SliceRepulsive8649 2d ago

I mean they did vote in a person who a jury thinks more than likely raped a women and has some concerning ties to Epstein that republicans are actively avoiding looking into. Add in the generalized hate he spews and fear mongering his campaign pushed about minorities it does paint a picture.

21

u/Interesting_Total_98 2d ago

Both sides see themselves are morally superior, and conservatives aren't any nicer toward dissent than liberals are. They voted for a president who's obsessed with going after certain critics. Even a pollster isn't safe from his revenge attempts.

-11

u/ferbje 2d ago

They are significantly nicer toward dissent. Measurably nicer. There is debate on just about every post on r/ conservative. Constant critique of Trump and the party, and nothing but disavowal of all violence and misfortune even towards those they despise. Same thing cannot be said of the online left.

19

u/Interesting_Total_98 2d ago

Focusing on a miniscule group and cherry-picked examples is a nonsensical way to measure it.

Looking at who the vast majority of conservatives across the country vote for it much more useful. Their choice is someone who's desperate to punish critics, and the congressmen their vote for are generally fine with that.

-14

u/ferbje 2d ago

“Miniscule group” AKA a simple random sample of the population group

“Cherry picked examples” look up anything you’d like

Voting for Trump over another candidate is not an endorsement of all of his policies or an excuse for all of his previous dealings. It’s simply a decision in a vacuum against another candidate. Who is better for me and my country in my opinion

17

u/Interesting_Total_98 2d ago

random sample

It's not random. You specifically chose the group to entirely focus on.

look up anything you’d like

Criticism of Trump is the exception.

It’s simply a decision in a vacuum against another candidate.

They chose him over other Republicans. The biggest differences between them and Trump is his level of corruption and how aggressive he is toward his enemies.

5

u/dragonmp93 2d ago

Go and say you are Cisgender on Twitter and see what happens to your account.

r/ conservative.

Are you sure you are thinking of the correct sub ?

-6

u/ferbje 2d ago

Say I’m cisgender on twitter? Would i get banned for being cis? Is that supposed to be a point in favor of libs? Yes i am thinking of the correct sub ?

-1

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10

u/TheWyldMan 2d ago

purity testing

This isn't purity testing. This is common sense.

32

u/blewpah 2d ago

Okay so do you oppose Ken Paxton or Trump because of their known infidelities?

34

u/Gnagus 2d ago

This is an interesting point, why are there so many Plattner posts but not nearly as many about Paxton or Cory Mills?

14

u/BrokenManOfSamarkand 2d ago

Reddit leans left and talks more about things relating to the left and center left. You're not going to find redditors defending Paxton outside of a handful of dedicated conservative subs.

22

u/Gnagus 2d ago

Sorry I should have clarified this sub specifically which seems to attract a balanced perspective thanks to more center right conversation than other spaces on Reddit, probably due to moderation geared towards civility.

9

u/Hour-Ad-9508 2d ago

Yes, absolutely. Next question?

2

u/IllustriousHorsey 1d ago

Yes. Any other poor attempts at gotchas?

7

u/decrpt 2d ago

“The United States Senate is not a training ground for redemption,” Ms. McDonald said. “It is a place for proven leaders with moral clarity and integrity.”

His wife and him worked through it in counseling. The person who leaked this is very explicitly purity testing.

0

u/Pretend-Culture-4138 2d ago

What are you talking about? The dude makes terrible decisions and has awful morals. This is the exact type of thing we should be getting candidates for before choosing them in the primary.

Platner has basically gotten to the point of "I could shoot one of my supporters on 5th Avenue" and he wouldn't lose any support from redditors.

4

u/Teganfff Centrist Democrat 2d ago

Are you willing to give up the Senate for it??

That’s where we’re at. We can win elections or we can wait around for perfect people to come along.

1

u/domusvita 2d ago

It’s convenient to whomever is in the minority. It’s not a “left” thing.