That's the headline at the London Times, a question that assumes a proposition I don't accept as true. Democrats didn't ignore red flags. They saw them and went forward anyway.
The question should be why did they do that, and we know why. It's not hard to figure out. I don't for one minute believe that Democrats are deeply contemplating why they backed Platner despite what they knew. They wanted to win the Senate seat, and they imagined he was their best hope. Now, they are trying to act as though they were blindsided by this rape accusation, and it suddenly disqualifies Platner in a new way.
By the way, what's Platner's motivation to withdraw? He won the primary. It's his nomination. What's good is there for him in withdrawing? If he hangs on for a few more days, past the July 13th deadline for replacing him as the candidate, won't the heat die down? He will have weathered the storm, and he can present himself as a rebellious survivor.
Yes, he may lose, and that loss may be the one Senate seat that denies Democrats the majority they covet, but so what? I mean: "So what?" from his point of view. Should he shrink back into oyster-ridden obscurity because of a rape he says he did not commit? Because of a tattoo everyone knew about when he won the primary?
పోస్ట్లు
97 కామెంట్లు:
Pull the other one…
I wonder prof… Has it occurred to you that the feminist rape panic that has been going on your entire life was a mistake? Have you noticed that just about every political actor is now accusing its opponents of rape? This is now a 60 year long Puritan reaction against the Summer of Love. What’s the point of continuing to feed this moral panic?
“Democrats didn't ignore red flags. They saw them and went forward anyway.”
…that’s the definition of ignore I’ve used for over fifty years. Color me confused…
…this may turn out to be the way he gets to leftie criminal Valhalla. Vetted, challenged, he refuses to resign and enough Maineiacs vote him in anyways…
You can always vote in a socialist, but once they are in, good luck getting them out.
Sexual assault accusations are re-imaginings by a not-too-tightly-wrapped women. Unless there's a contemporaneous police report, which limits re-imagining time.
Don't believe any of them, on either side.
The question posed "What's in it for Platner?" occurred to me last week.
It's almost never in the interest of a similarly-situated candidate to withdraw, so the Party has to find a way to "convince" him.
Either reward him or punish him. The easy way or the hard way.
Democrats made this calculation between the forced resignation of Republican Senator Bob Packwood (1992 to 1995) and the Party's reaction to Clinton's affairs/actions (1992) through Monica Lewinsky (1998). See the "Bimbo Eruptions" bullying and aggressive message control of that era. Note that NBC sat on the Lewinsky story and The Drudge Report became famous for publishing it.
So, 1998 marked the clear end of Democrat control over the content and channels of communication. Democrats have alternated between turning a blind eye to internal Party offenders and ejection ever since. See the Franken and Weinstein cases. See the emplacement of Sam Brinton despite 1,000,000 points of obvious evidence that he was a bad hire. See Biden's emplacement of numerous other DEI hires, to include Kamala, KJP, KBJ, etc. -- only the Party and symbolism mattered.
In parallel, TDS took the hypocrisy and incoherence to another planet. But that was cross-party and involved apparent mass psychosis so it's indeed different.
Platner is waiting for the DNC to come up with an acceptable $ number before he withdraws. He wants the same deal Sanders got.
"Why did we ignore 'red flags'? . . . It's not hard to figure out." Correct, they considered the rapy manly-man their best shot. He was a man, he was to the left of Mills, and he had "political charisma," as Michelle Goldberg assures us. The main previous accusation came from a nonliberal woman, easily vilified in the customary prog-MSM manner. It wasn't rape-rape, you know. Plus they can reasonably assume regular Dem voters don't care. They still venerate JFK, considered Teddy a lion of the Senate, and supporterd Bill Clinton. But Maine is still purple enough for some flags to be reddish, and when liberal women pile on, the party recalculates quickly. Ask Swallwell, or for that matter Al Franken.
They didn't ignore them because they kept trying to explain, excuse, and distract from them. They were fine with the red flags. (It was like May Day every day!)
"Democrats didn't ignore red flags. They saw them and went forward anyway."
This WSJ Video confirms:
The Strategist Behind Platner’s Rise Explains His Vetting Process | WSJ
"oyster-ridden obscurity" !!!
A shell game?
Democrats voted in Jay Jones in Virginia. Why would Maine democrats be any different?
…he’s a guy that stuck his neck out and contributed his dark arts to the cause, they need a foil to the ever vulnerable Susan, he’s kinda from Maine, they still believe they have some control over media narratives. Recent internal polls say they failed big time. There’s still time to dave this, or so they think…
"…that’s the definition of ignore I’ve used for over fifty years. Color me confused…"
Good point.
7/8/26, 7:16 AM
yeah - the rape card is really old and busted. Almost as over used as the "you're a racist" card.
The dems use it non stop.
This time - however - it does add up to Graham Platner is a female/ abusing hating pig. the left don't seem to care.
The local oyster farmers say Platner is a fraud in that arena, too.
The dems like him because he can give a pretty good speech.
They over-looked his massive shadowy cabinet full of character flaws - and vile behavior.
Superficial beats substance on team communist.
btw - Platner and his groupies gathered at a building in Maine that is 100% built and paid for by Soros.
But - you know - must fight the " Billionaire Oligarchy!"
@shouting Thomas, 10000%: “ This is now a 60 year long Puritan reaction against the Summer of Love.”
There's more stories coming from the time Oyster Nazi was in elite prep-school.
It's not who rapes that matters but who counts the rapes.
Graham Platner is a good looking sexual abuser with a drinking problem. So why hasn’t Trump given him a cabinet position?
Platner is so bad, not even Trump would have him.
That's the best Democrats can do.
**By the way, what's Platner's motivation to withdraw? He won the primary. It's his nomination.**
Platner is in the cat-bird seat. With the senate hanging in the balance, he can demand anything he wants and the Party will have no choice but to give it to him. Best bet: lots of money and a weekly slot on CNN or MSNOW.
I am not sure why they are so hot to get RINO Collins out of there. She's been as good a friend to the Democrats as possible. And Platner is a self-described Communist who may not bend to the whims of his Corporate Dem masters.
It's a leverage game a la DEIsm, redistributive change schemes, CAIR, CAGW, Rainbows and butterflies, etc.
#MeTooD thought they could abort the fetus, cannibalize her profitable parts, sequester her carbon pollutants, and have her, too. Maybe, baby, not.
I think the demonstrable, undeniable facts of Platner's life, show that he makes impulsive decisions and that those decisions are frequently wrong. There's no reason to believe that whatever decision he now makes will be different from his past decisions. He will decide whatever is in the best interests of Platner in the next ten minutes..... He has a rich, supportive mother..People talk a lot about freedom, but only people with rich, supportive mothers truly know what it is to be truly free.
I'm more interested into what the Lefty base thinks of this. The Dem pols and talking heads seemed to have all coalesced around the idea that Platner has to go, but to me it feels like the Lefty base wants a fighter. And Platner, compared to the alternatives and most other Democratic politicians, is a fighter. If Platner pulls out will there be any excitement or drive to vote for his replacement? Will it become like Kamala's 2024 run for the White House where the Lefty Media tries to gaslight people into thinking lots of people are excited for whoever would replace him? Are Democratic strategists aware of this and just conceding Maine because they are worried Platner would be a national drag on turnout and fundraising during the 2026 election?
Prongo's Choice: A Parabolic of Our Time
The story so far. "Prongo" Plasner overcame his Nazi past and became a Communist. He raped.a progressive woman who lay back and thought about Lenin. The story got out which may have damaged his chances to win a Senate seat in the state of GraniteBeaches. He has received a 10 million dollar offer for his clam farm if he will retire from the Senate race in time for the party to insert a inknown cackling woman who runs a progressive hen farm. As a US Senator, Prongo could make a great deal more than any one-time payoff, and the Dems need to win the GraniteBeach seat. Can Prongo win the state of GraniteBeach, with Dem support in the counting of votes if he runs? Or will that discredit the rising Prog party too much? In short, should Prongo take the sure thing, the one-time paymment or go for the big money - a US Senate seat? Prongo's of the Progs: His Choice. TBA.
They didn't ignore the red flags. They navigated around them. The NYT cooperated and wrote their stories to eliminate the most dangerous witnesses from consideration.
The handlers identified the problem presented by the credible rape allegations, and constructed a strategy to deal with them. They didn't ignore them at all - but they were hoping their voting block would.
I'd say the hero in this story is the woman who refused to have her credible allegations sidelined in such a cynical way, having been duped into providing other witnesses that were selected for the weakness of their respective cases.
On July 12th he'll become a millionaire.
They had to ignore Platner’s background, Biden’s mental incompetence, dozens of things in Mamdani’s communist agenda, Muslim rapes of hundreds if not thousands British girls …
To paraphrase David Mamet- to be a progressive you have to pretend not to know a lot of things.
Platner should stay in and severe ties with the DNC if he wins and become INdependent. Bernie needs to coach him. BTW, where is Bernie in all this?
This DSA problem is just so vexing! Why does this keep happening to the poor little lying cheating democrats?
I see what Althouse means by “extra line breaks” now. That is distracting.
They didn’t “ignore his background,” they examined it and found him worthy. That’s what “Severe vocal fry guy” from the DSA says in the video included in yesterday’s post. He knew and was not concerned because he expressly wants to “blow up the DNC primary system” and Platner was his vehicle.
A system is defined by what it produces.
"Democrats didn't ignore red flags. They saw them and went forward anyway."
That's what ignore means.
This is a nice diversion to help you people forget about the Iran war debacle.
They performed a large scale assembly and decoding of attributes and constructed a model that was indeed appealing to a Democratic consensus and the definition of intelligence.
Has he got a chance?
Democrats didn't ignore the red flags. They turned a blind eye. They looked the other way. They disregarded or overlooked them. They brushed over them.
"..They wanted to win the Senate seat, and they imagined he was their best hope.."
and WHY are they forcing him out NOW?
because of low poll numbers, and (more importantly) not bringing in the big $dollars they thought he would.
There are ONLY two things the Democrats care about:
winning elections, and (more importantly) bringing in the big $dollars
@Althouse, Caitlin Flanagan answers you succinctly over at the Free Press:
“With Graham Platner, Democrats thought they had finally—finally!—made contact with the white working class. So they ignored all manner of red flags.”
My own take is that the Democrats never did give a good goddam about the rapes — internal poll numbers showing Collins winning in a walkover are what really count.
I lived in or around DC from early 1969 until the summer of 2016. I come by my cynicism honestly.
here's a fun thought!
imagine a mirror image of Platner
Rich famous grandfather..
Rich parents..
went to a rich prep school, where GOD Knows What happened..
got "bored" and signed up with the Marines to be a baby killer..
LOVED it SO MUCH, that he reenlisted for MORE baby killing..
wanted to show off the baby killing, so got a nazi tattoo..
still LOVED it, signed up to be a private merc for MORE baby killing..
then pretended to have PTSD (from all the baby killing)..
now on 100% MENTAL disability, because he's a crazy baby killer..
some rich guy lets him "oyster farm" for free on rich man's land..
rich momma's restaurant is the ONLY place that buys the oysters..
writes about fantasizing about rape (and babykilling)
RAPES and/or assaults numerous women..
and NOW, the mirror part..
decides to run for office as a RIGHT WING REPUBLICAN
so,
in my hypothetical mirror world; how far does this "oyster farmer" go?
i'm guessing NOT far, i kinda doubt that the press would LOVE it
If voters didn't want me, why did they let me get to third base? ~ Graham Platner
@Howard: "help you people forget about the Iran war debacle."
We'll never forget Jimmy Carter's widespread failures, nor the decades of issues he caused. I'm glad that you appreciate it too.
I'm saying they didn't ignore the red flags. They looked right at them. They knew. And they consciously, cynically went ahead anyway.
To ignore is to experience something as if you do not know, even when you should know, and in some vague way, you do know. You're alienated from your own knowledge, and you don't take into account what is there to be seen and given proper regard.
I don't think that's what they did. I think, because they disrespect the voters, they completely knew and were conscious and they brazenly went ahead, believing it would work political magic for them.
As usual, the prof has nailed it. Dems are scum, interested in power at all costs.
If Platner doesn’t withdraw soon, may have to out-source this to Hillary.
@Althouse: " they completely knew and were conscious and they brazenly went ahead, believing it would work political magic for them."
This is evidence of both: (1) Dark Triad predatory psychopathy among Party leadership -- plenty of evidence of that from Adam Schiff and the fradulent TDS Impeach-o-Rama era, and (2) magical thinking by 3rd generation DEI beneficiaries who literally do not understand cause-and-effect processes.
"...Good times create weak men. Weak men create hard times."
@gilbar You are a genius
Think of the people you have worked with over the years. "Doug" was a mid-level department head at your last job. Not a flashy guy, but he and his department are reliable, make their deadlines and work well together. He served ten years in the military - some deployed - and used his VA benefits to upgrade to a Masters Degree in his field. His wife, "Deborah", also had a college degree but currently stays at home with the 2 kids and free lances as possible. Both sets of grandparents are regular church goers (different faiths) but "Doug" and "Deborah" are hit-and-miss on attendance. They vote regularly, keep their property maintained, and show up to help with community fund-raisers several times a year.
Why is Graham Platner chosen as a candidate instead of "Doug" or "Deborah" or the many other people in this world who make it a better place by just living the best life they can for their families and communities? People like Platner and Mandani have virtually no name recognition but vault to the head of line over people who have working for years. I have no sympathy for those who picked them when it blows up in their faces.
And all of this to unseat Susan Collins, of all people.
His play now is to hold on until the last minute to pluck the biggest pearl from the desperate Democrats.
$100 on Polymarket to bet that Platner makes it to November will yield almost $3000 if he does.
Because we always ignore these things until we absolutely, positively have to acknowledge it. Remember Swalwell? Diane Feinstein's Chinese spy driver? Nancy Pelosi's incredible record of stock picks? (wait...we haven't actually acknowledged that yet). Remember how Joe Biden was the sharpest Biden yet?
The strategy is to pretend the problem doesn't exist until they drop the problem on your head.
"Why is Graham Platner chosen as a candidate instead of "Doug" or "Deborah" or the many other people in this world who make it a better place by just living the best life they can for their families and communities?"
Damn good question. I don't know the answer.
"what's Platner's motivation to withdraw?" Without some kind of payoff, none. He can just ride it out.
I'm reminded of the 2020 Nebraska Senate race. After winning the primary, text from a group chat surfaced where the Democratic nominee made grossly inappropriate comments involving a female staff member on the chat. The party dropped its support, but he would not drop out. So the Democratic party launched a write-in campaign for their preferred candidate.
The Democratic candidate received 24% of the vote, the write-in candidate received 6% of the vote, and the Republican received 63% of the vote.
So if Platner does not drop out, will Democrats try something similar, or rally round Platner?
The tattoo is unseamly. The rape allegation is just that. His ensemble of behaviors and achievements are a point of contention to judge fitness for office.
Not to quibble here, but they could've ignored the signs because they just didn't care. As you stated, and I agree. I would think "missed" the signs is what the NYT wants us to believe. Missed the signs despite this being one of the biggest political stories of the last 6 months or so.
“This is a nice diversion to help you people forget about the Iran war debacle.”
Howard posts to help him forget about his “shortcomings”.
Even Steven King deleted his social media defense of Platner:
In part: "Tell you what–if you knew the whole truth about everyone in the Senate and House of Reps, those chambers would be dead empty. Jesus said, ‘Let him without sin cast the first stone."
https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/5959161-stephen-king-graham-platner-maine/
n.n.:
The word is 'unseemly', not 'unseamly'. An unseemly tattoo would be one like "I WILL MAKE YOU HURT", which is allegedly what John Fetterman had tattooed on his forearm before he covered it up with a black rectangle. Vaguely threatening, but not genocidal. A Nazi death-camp-guard tattoo is way beyond unseemly, well into the territory of 'disgusting' and 'disqualifying'.
Contrary to what others have said here, Hegseth's five-fold Jerusalem cross is of course not even unseemly: it's the same symbol displayed on the floor of the National Cathedral, on the cover of the program of Jimmy Carter's funeral, and on the flag of the nation of Georgia.
Iran is hardly a debacle. Its a shit show - because the Insane theocratic Islamists are not willing to f off. The people of Iran deserve freedom and rational normal leadership.
Wanted to bold this for the lying moron leftists here:
""Contrary to what others have said here, Hegseth's five-fold Jerusalem cross is of course not even unseemly: it's the same symbol displayed on the floor of the National Cathedral, on the cover of the program of Jimmy Carter's funeral, and on the flag of the nation of Georgia."
Thank you, Doctor.
There's one more reason why Platner will probably not withdraw. I posted it on one of the Platner threads last night, but it seems to have disappeared. Hope it stays up this time.
Susan Collins is 73. That's not all that old for an American politician these days, and she seems to be in good health. But there's a non-zero chance she could die or be disabled before Election Day, handing the Democratic nominee the election. Maybe no more than a 1-in-100 chance, but certainly way more than 1-in-1000. If Platner drops out and then Collins dies or drops out, he would feel REALLY stupid for having let someone else take 'his' job. If even a relatively normal person like myself has thought of this possibility, it's guaranteed a sociopath like Platner has.
Is this crass? I'm 73 myself, and in excellent health, but feeling mortal, not absolutely sure I'll still be alive and in good health on Election Day. I really need to sit down and write my will. And I already take the vote-early-at-the-Courthouse option, just in case.
P.S. Look up the case of Goodloe Byron, Jr., Democratic congressman from Maryland, who was so popular the Republicans didn't bother to nominate anyone to run against hm. A skid-row bum from Baltimore filed as a pauper to run against him, Byron died of a heart-attack while jogging after the deadline for nominations had passed, and the bum was the only one on the ballot. (Byron's widow won with a massive write-in campaign.) Seriously, look it up: lots more hilarious details.
Also, one reason I vote early at the Courthouse is it's 4 blocks away, while my polling place is 4 miles, and I'm a lazy, lazy man. But thoughts of mortality are a contributing factor.
"unseamly" is an incorrect autocorrect.
I think it likely that he drops out but the odds being offerred is a worthwhile bet against it. The Democrats will find his monetary price before Friday and he will probably accept it. If he does stay in and gives the DNC and the media the middle finger, I think he has at least a 1 in 3 chance of actually winning the election against Collins.
X - Fischer King
"The state of white men in the Democrat party:
Guy who dresses like a hobo recovering from a stroke tells a pretend socialist with multiple homes to stop promoting a rapey guy with a Nazi tattoo."
..after leftists meet in a Maine building built by BILLIONAIRE Oligarchist Soros.
We all know what won’t happen to Platner before Friday. Despite being a Nazi, no one will physically harm him. No one will “punch a Nazi” or discuss their chance to take out the next Hitler before he comes to office. Those acts are saved for people not-credibly accused of being Nazis.
Graham “Nazi on a Cracka” Platner…
There’s a lot of speculation here that the Maine Dems will pay off Plattner to get him to drop off the ballot. I’m no lawyer, but isn’t that a crime of bribery? I realize these things happen, but they usually are conducted in private. Not blatantly in the open.
“Iran is hardly a debacle. It’s a shit show - because the Insane theocratic Islamists are not willing to f off. The people of Iran deserve freedom and rational normal leadership.”
Well said, Peachy!
The Graham Platner fiasco proves that the Democrat Party is far too tolerant of sexual predators. ~ Matt Gaetz, Roy Moore, Pete Hegseth, Jim Jordan, Dennis Hastert, Blake Farenthold, Trent Franks, Herman Cain, Cory Mills, Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh, and Donald J. Trump
It's time to ban the liar.
Kak-a-btich
& Vote for the Rapist. This time there is a real one.
Kak-a-bitch(D) goes full soviet with false and trumped up lie-filled allegations and hearsay. Sad.
TBF, Herman Cain is quite the get, considering....
"Ann Althouse said...
I'm saying they didn't ignore the red flags. They looked right at them. They knew. And they consciously, cynically went ahead anyway."
That's what ignore means.
To ignore is to experience something as if you do not know, even when you should know, and in some vague way, you do know."
It is not.
What difference does it make??
When a Clinton appointed judge helps an illegal alien break the law in her own courthouse and only gets fined, why bother with laws for Democrats.
We see it every single day.
Because it's politically expedient to ignore what's in plain view.
I think the Dem insiders knew about the rape claims and thought they could use them to control him. Just like with Swalwell.
The Graham Platner fiasco proves that the Democrat Party is far too tolerant of sexual predators. ~ Matt Gaetz, Roy Moore, Pete Hegseth, Jim Jordan, Dennis Hastert, Blake Farenthold, Trent Franks, Herman Cain, Cory Mills, Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh, and Donald J. Trump
Especially Kavanaugh! Di you know more than 2000 women called the FBI tip line to report that he had raped them? I don't know how he had time for anything else.
“This is a nice diversion to help you people forget about the Iran war debacle.”
Why would the Dems and the NYT want all of us mouthbreathers to forget about "the Iran war debacle?"*
There is not a Republican within miles of the Platner implosion.
*As the war drags on into its fifth month, crude oil prices skyrocket to slightly less than they were in January 2025!
If the Dems want Platner out they have to pay him more. He’s not taking less than $20 million
"Leland said...
We all know what won’t happen to Platner before Friday. Despite being a Nazi, no one will physically harm him. No one will “punch a Nazi” or discuss their chance to take out the next Hitler before he comes to office. Those acts are saved for people not-credibly accused of being Nazis."
Wishful thinking. I think this is closer to the reality: "HistoryDoc said...
If Platner doesn’t withdraw soon, may have to out-source this to Hillary."
Yancey Ward said...
If he does stay in and gives the DNC and the media the middle finger, I think he has at least a 1 in 3 chance of actually winning the election against Collins.
I believe his odds of winning are about zero, but I do think that if he stays in and gets 35-40% of the vote, he will be a new DSA hero. It's not the Dems who can bribe him - it's the DSA. His handler Morris Kurtz (same as Mandani's handler/guru) is apparently trying to talk him into bowing out
$100 on Polymarket to bet that Platner makes it to November will yield almost $3000 if he does.
I'd not seeing those odds on Polymarket. I'm not finding anything about Platner on Polymarket.
On Kalshi, it's now a 5% chance that Platner remains the nominee. These odds are shifting in real time. $100 bet is a $2,135 payout if you're right.
I smell a Book deal coming. Maybe something, also, with Netflix in plot development. That'll be worth 20 or 30 million. All completely legal.
What won't happen: him getting charged with anything.
Okay, I found it on Polymarket. Will Graham Platner drop out by November 2? $100 bet on No gets you $3500.
Suppose Platner doesn't drop out. Do the Dems who supported him before urging him to drop out go back to supporting him again? Or what?
Were there red flags to begin with? There would have been if Democrats and the media had looked into Platner's social media. Did they look at it? I'd say that it wasn't that they ignored red flags but that they didn't look for them.
To "Ignore" does mean that one saw and went ahead anyway. "Ignorer" in French means that one didn't know.
"Nazi Platner"? Say what you will about Platner, does he really adhere to the tenets of national socialism? Did he ever? Certainly, the Totenkopf tattoo is offensive and says something about Platner's character, but what happened to "When everybody is Hitler, then nobody is Hitler"?
"Ignorer" in French means that one didn't know.
Oh no.
Anyway…
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