Graham Platner Went to Hell and Back. He Has a Simple Message for Democrats.
[img]
[/img]
By Ben Rhodes
Mr. Platner recalled this experience to me as he drove his truck through Maine, campaigning for the Democratic nomination for Senate. Last fall, his candidacy was rocked by revelations from his past. As a young Marine, he got a skull and bones tattoo on his chest that resembled a Nazi symbol (he denied knowing its meaning). His history on Reddit includes offensive comments that he attributes to a long process of dealing with the trauma of war. Yet while Democratic insiders in Washington were prepared to write him off, today he packs town halls, and polls show him leading Gov. Janet Mills of Maine by around 30 points. One reason for this success is that Mr. Platner sounds radically honest by the standards of American politics, including when he talks about his own service. “There’s this thing I often think about,” he said, recalling the incident near Falluja. “Those kids were killed because we were spending money to build this base that probably doesn’t exist anymore.” His voice slipped into the present tense as he put himself back into the moment when the mothers arrived to pick up the remains, his own life in front of him like a storm cloud. “How horrifically wasteful this is.”
…Visceral outrage over that reality infuses Mr. Platner’s opposition to the war in Iran. Sure, at campaign stops, he talks about high gas prices and the Trump administration’s incompetence. But the core of his message is an unflinching disgust for the forever war we have waged since 9/11. “Nobody is going to be able to convince me that what I did in Iraq and Afghanistan did anything for the people of Sullivan, Maine,” he told me, punctuating his point with an obscenity. “I don’t want other young Americans to go through what I’ve been through. And I don’t want to send other young Americans to inflict the horror that I had to inflict on people.”
…Some Democrats do express a sense of moral outrage and urgency over the war: Ro Khanna, Jason Crow and Yassamin Ansari in the House, or Chris Murphy, Chris Van Hollen or Tim Kaine in the Senate. But many others, including the party’s leadership in Congress, have shown less passion in opposing the war than they bring to fights over Obamacare subsidies. Turn on right-wing commentators like Tucker Carlson or Megyn Kelly and you hear a more aggressive stance. Mr. Platner has a particular scorn for this dynamic. He decried party leaders who focus on President Trump’s failure to seek congressional authorization: “There’s a big difference between saying the war shouldn’t be happening because it is bad and saying the war shouldn’t be happening because they didn’t ask permission.” He lamented the tendency to leaven statements against the war with lengthy condemnations of the Iranian regime that “lay the ideological and propaganda basis” for what Mr. Trump is doing. He also noted rightly that many Democrats have been longtime hawks on Iran, supporters of the Israeli government and allies with pro-war groups such as AIPAC.
All this undercuts Democrats’ ability to credibly argue for a fundamental shift in the nation’s priorities. The same dynamic applies to defense spending. For decades, Democrats joined Republicans in voting for an ever-growing Pentagon budget. Now, Mr. Trump has proposed an eye-popping $1.5 trillion in spending for his “Department of War” on top of the $200 billion the Pentagon has already requested for his war in Iran. Meanwhile, prices continue to rise, and cuts to health care, education and much else have left communities struggling to fill the gap.
More at https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/22/opinion/graham-platner-forever-war-trump.html?unlocked_article_code=1.c1A.aNIp.I-xkP0MB2Lw7&smid=nytcore-ios-share
= new reply since forum marked as read
Take a close look at his history and how he has repented for his past indiscretions. Dive in to the true history of the man and what he has done to keep himself busy. A close look seems bro clearly indicate he not only talks the talk about what is important to him. But he also walks the walk in his journey to somehow contribute to society,... in his very awkward and abrasive way.
Planner clearly has no respect or loyalty to the "Deep State" or the maintain the status quo political machine. He vehemently abhors and talks down to the old political ways of doing things and will likely cause tremors and shaking in Washington DC if he manages to get there.
Also note he is getting some heavy weight progressive Democratic Party endorsements. Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator he this Sanders full heartedly and full throatily endorse him and stand in his corner. The status quo,.. don't rock the boat - Den Party contingent is bound and determined to criticize and marginalize the man because he a danger to the entrenched political landscape establishments.
Take a peek at the background of Plantner,....
This info in the public domain and to my knowledge not copyrighted.
Sourced from Wikipedia:
Graham Platner
Article Talk
Language
Download PDF
Watch
Edit
Graham Cunningham Platner (born September 1, 1984) is an American oyster farmer and Marine Corps veteran who is a candidate for the Democratic nomination for US Senate in Maine, aiming to unseat incumbent Republican senator Susan Collins.
Graham Platner
Platner in 2025
Personal details
Born
Graham Cunningham Platner
September 1, 1984 (age 41)
Blue Hill, Maine, US
Party
Democratic
Spouse
Amy Gertner 
m. 2024)
Relations
Warren Platner (grandfather)
Education
George Washington University (attended)
Occupation
Oyster farmerharbormaster
Website
Campaign website
Military service
Branch/service
United States Marine Corps
Maryland National Guard
Years of service
2003–2007
2010–2011[1]
Rank
Sergeant[2]
Battles/wars
Iraq War
War in Afghanistan
Graham Platner's voice
Duration: 30 seconds.0:30
Platner criticizing the Democratic Party's corporate donors and backers
Recorded December 20, 2025
Platner has been characterized as a populist and a progressive who is critical of the Democratic Party establishment. He has been endorsed by a range of political and cultural figures, most notably Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
Contents
Early life
edit
Platner was born on September 1, 1984, in Blue Hill, Maine.[3] He was raised in Sullivan, a coastal town near Acadia National Park, and in Ellsworth.[4] He is the elder of two sons born to restaurant owner Leslie Harlow and lawyer Bronson Platner.[4][5][6] His grandfather was the modernist architect Warren Platner.[7]
Platner attended the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut and John Bapst Memorial High School in Bangor, Maine.[8] He earned the "most likely to start a revolution" yearbook superlative as a senior at John Bapst in 2003, appearing in the photo with a sign declaring "Free Kosova, Chechnya, Kashmir, Palestine, Kurdistan, Tibet".[8][9] When he was 18, he was quoted in the Bangor Daily News after protesting President George W. Bush and the Iraq War at an appearance by Bush at Bangor International Airport.[8]
Career
edit
Military
edit
Platner enlisted in the Marine Corps shortly after graduating from high school in 2003.[1] He attended the Marine Corps School of Infantry, then deployed to Iraq in 2005.[6] He served a total of eight years in the military, including three combat tours in Iraq, in areas including Ramadi and Fallujah.[10] Asked why he served in the Iraq War after protesting it, Platner said, "I thought I could do some good. And I wanted to play soldier. I might have read too much Hemingway."[11]
After four years in the military, Platner enrolled at George Washington University, funded by the G.I. Bill.[1] Shortly after starting school, he enlisted in the Maryland Army National Guard and served an additional tour of duty in the war in Afghanistan.[12][13] He returned to Washington in 2011, resuming classes at GWU and working as a bartender at the Tune Inn on Capitol Hill.[14][15] From 2011 to 2016 he alternated between living in D.C. and military deployments, before withdrawing from GWU and returning to Maine in 2016 for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and other military-related injuries.[13][1][11][16]
In 2018, Platner returned to Kabul, Afghanistan, for about six months as a State Department security contractor with Constellis, the private military company formerly known as Blackwater, where he provided diplomatic security to the US ambassador to Afghanistan.[17][10][18][19] He returned to Maine the same year, saying he had quickly grown more disillusioned with the military and what he called fraudulent funneling of taxpayer money to private defense companies.[12][1]
Much more at the link below,..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Platner
But he's still not ready for primetime.
I'm not favorably impressed. He acts and sounds too much like a couple of duds we had HOPED would be good representatives and weren't after all.
Not voting for hope this time, I'm voting for experience, like the experience Gov. Mills has.
No vertical learning curves, thank you very much.
"Some Democrats do express a sense of moral outrage and urgency over the war... But many others, including the party’s leadership in Congress, have shown less passion in opposing the war than they bring to fights over Obamacare subsidies."
Damn those Dems getting passionate over healthcare! 
"Turn on right-wing commentators like Tucker Carlson or Megyn Kelly and you hear a more aggressive stance."
Yeah. Fuck that, MAGAt.
about Healthcare!
And not as "passionate about the war as Tucker Carlson & Meghan Kelly".
Do you actually hear yourself, Planter. 
Thanks for those quotes, MorbidButterflyTat
about Obamacare", but not as passionate as fascists about the war.
Dems are anti-war too.. whatever Platner's attacks are.
Of course, Fascists aren't going to give a shit about healthcare for Americans.
like Fetterman does. And, praising Tucker Carlson and Meghan Kelly.
That's why they are alike. 
