The Platner allegations appear to be an astro-turf campaign from Republican activists...

[AStern]

with ties to the Heritage Foundation, Ladies for Kavanaugh , and Susan Collins per Jeet Heer.

No links at the moment.

[CanonRay]

1. Killing off our most promising candidates

is a Republican tradition going back to Gary Hart and John Dean. Even earlier. The Ratfucker Playbook.

[Just_Vote_Dem]

2. The "Canuck Letter"

Pubs were afraid of Muskie so they did their dirty work

[MadameButterfly]

7. That's the first thing I thought of

I'm a fan of McGovern but he just shouldn't have been the candidate. He won the nomination because the Ratfuckers destroyed the frontrunner. In those days, a man crying over a slanderous letter about his wife was enough to ruin a whole campaign.

Man, look how long we've been falling for their scams, double standards, and superficial complaints having no bearing on the issues that matter.

[LisaL]

8. If that is our most promising candidate, I wouldn't want to see a least promising one.

NT

[Wounded Bear]

11. Perhaps he's the "most promising candidate" IN THAT RACE...

All politics are local, after all.

[LSparkle]

19. Did you mean Howard Dean?

[CanonRay]

21. Yup, I am in the middle of moving an dead tired

[DFW]

37. Ah, OK, now I get it.

Howard SHOULD have gotten the nomination in 2004, except that, by his own admission, "we didn't know what the hell we were doing." I first met him at the end of 2001, when I was introduced to him, being told "he was thinking of running for president." I had never heard of him, but after sitting down and talking with him, I thought, "yeah, he say all the things I have been thinking!" We have been friends ever since.

[DFW]

36. John Dean?

Help me out here.......

[CanonRay]

39. Brain fart due to overexertion moving

[DFW]

41. Understood.

I’m hardly immune myself.

[Emile]

3. The centrist lobbying group AIPAC has

has a big hand in it too.

[Mossfern]

27. Why do you say that?

Please back up that statement with facts - it would be greatly appreciated.

[Emile]

29. Google it

I personally don't want show links to centrist aipac.

[crud]

4. the media coverage is sickening

The apples to apples false equivalences.
The "does this negate the Dems campaigning on corruption?"
"Why is this a problem with both parties?"

If this were the reverse situation, faux propoganda would be blasting 24/7 the accuser as a Dem operative if they donated 10 bucks to Obama in 2008.

[hadEnuf]

5. This was obvious from the beginning.

n/t

[Akakoji]

6. Of course it is

[LisaL]

9. I personally think republican activists are waiting

until after the primary.

[EdmondDantes_]

10. Just so we're clear, 2 of the 3 women were Democrats

Is Jeet Heer's theory that Republicans are such devious masterminds that they planted these women ahead of time in case he ever ran for office? Or is Heet selling you a bullshit theory by only bringing up the one who was a Republican? One of those seems way more likely.

[Lancero]

13. As far as his defenders are concerned, they stopped being Democrats when they dared to speak up about domestic violence.

"It's politics!", "Why didn't they go to the cops!", "Why'd they wait so long!", "They're paid off!". All tried and true tactics that sexists use to attack women when they find the bravery to speak up about the abuse they suffer at the hands of men.

[Ziggy Beans]

15. What exactly did those women say about him?

[LisaL]

16. Basically, that he was a lousy cheating boyfriend, who

drank heavily.

[AloeVera]

30. That he never laid a hand on them.

Never hit or otherwise cause injury or bruises.

The GQP operative said he once grabbed her wrist to pull her out of a car and it hurt.

A Democrat said he showed up at her house drunk. It made her feel unsettled.

An anonymous Democrat said he made her FEEL like " collateral damage".

One of them said he was a "womanizer".

[Boo1]

20. They went back in time

And made him get a nazi tattoo.

[FakeNoose]

12. Look for more "swift boating" incidents before this midterm election is over

I believe Rick Wilson....

Just sayin'

[Nanjeanne]

14. All you have to do is read Fifield's Twitter feed. It's frightening to see her retweeting Stephen Miller, a true Nazi.

Oh and since she lives in VA Spanberger gets a lot of hate. Example - did you know Virginia Democrat gubernatorial nominee Spanberger worked at Saudi school known for Hamas links, jihadi grads

Oh and trans people shouldnt be allowed guns because of mental illness. Just trans people mind you because they are mentally ill.

[MorbidButterflyTat]

17. Did the Heritage Foundation or Ladies for Kavanaugh tattoo him?

They really are insidious!

[Nanjeanne]

18. I feel much better knowing that Mark Judge has come to Fifield's defense. He's the Kavanaugh pal that was also accused

Link to tweet

?s=20

Only considerate that he did since she worked hard on discrediting their accuser.

[BlueHurricane]

22. I don't get why the NY times interviewed

Platner’s ex- girlfriends. Is that something that they normally do with most Senate candidates? For instance have we heard from Ken Paxton’s soon to be divorced on “biblical grounds” wife or mistresses to see what he was like?

[krawhitham]

23. Did Jeet Heer provide proof?

[AStern]

35. He discusses here:

Not sure of the timestamp:

[krawhitham]

40. Someone giving their OPINION on youtube is not PROOF

When someone repeatedly says "i think" before commenting it's not PROOF

but this does remind me of recent MEET THE PRESS episode

KRISTEN WELKER:

There’s – What? Do you have evidence to support that?

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

It’s-- all I have to do is look. All I have to do is look.

KRISTEN WELKER:

But that’s not evidence.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

And I listen. And I listen to people. And let’s see what happens.

KRISTEN WELKER:

But sir, that’s not evidence–

[AStern]

45. Oh well

nt

[PufPuf23]

24. Graham Platner's anti-Israel fixation in the Maine Senate race may be motivation too.

Graham Platner’s anti-Israel fixation in the Maine Senate race
Marc Rod; Jewish Insider; September 2, 2025

Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner is putting anti-AIPAC and anti-Israel messaging front-and-center in fundraising appeals he’s circulating on social media.

Platner is currently running a series of Facebook and Instagram advertisements soliciting donations for his campaign that highlight his opposition to AIPAC and accuse Israel of committing genocide. The pitches indicate that Platner is treating the issue as central to rallying support for his campaign.

“My opponent has already been endorsed by AIPAC — an endorsement I will never get. Because what is happening right now in Gaza is a genocide,” Platner says in one direct-to-camera video ad focused specifically on his opposition to AIPAC. “I need your help because we refuse to take money from AIPAC, and we refuse to take money from the billionaires who support it.”

Every one of the eight active ads that Platner is running on Facebook and Instagram, according to Meta’s political advertising library tool, includes a repudiation of AIPAC, and around half accuse Israel of genocide. In most of Platner’s other ads, that language comes alongside comments on a range of other issues.

More at: https://www.nrsc.org/uncategorized/jewish-insider-graham-platners-anti-israel-fixation-in-the-maine-senate-race-2025-09-03/

[Celerity]

25. Why are you literally posting links to an official NRSC (National Republican Senatorial Committee) hit piece on a Dem?

you posted:

Also, Jewish Insider is a RW site as well.

Meanwhile...........

The vast majority of Democrats:

1. No longer favour Israel over the Palestians.

https://news.gallup.com/poll/702440/israelis-no-longer-ahead-americans-middle-east-sympathies.aspx



2. They are anti-AIPAC.

https://www.semafor.com/article/06/01/2026/democratic-primaries-get-an-even-bigger-aipac-problem

3. Surveys consistently show that somewhere between 67% and 77% of Democratic voters believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

https://www.imeupolicyproject.org/polls/democrats-sanctions-israel

https://theintercept.com/2026/06/04/democrats-israel-voters/

More background:

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2026/04/09/democrats-clash-over-influence-of-pro-israel-lobby_6752272_4.html

[AloeVera]

26. I get the issue with the links, but I think the poster's point was...

That the astro-turfing dirty tricks attacks on Platner are tied to his strong anti-Israel, anti-genocide stance. Which the Jewish Insider, though RW and biased towards Israel, just happens to lay out "nicely"

Just my 2 cents, perhaps the poster can clarify soon.

[PufPuf23]

34. You understood my point. When I made response #33, did not see this post by you.

Even understood why I used the Jewish Insider that is RW and biased towards Israel.

Thought the Jewish Insider explained the thinking of many criticizing Platner here.

[PufPuf23]

31. Concur with items #1, #2 and #3.

Platner is in the crosshairs of pro-Israel Democrats every bit as much as the GOP. Look at DU and how much DU is talking about Platner.

Suggested to the OP that the Platner smears were because Platner concurs with #1, #2 and #3 and has said will not accept AIPAC or similar funding.

Posted that to shine light on the thoughts and motivations of anti-Platner voices among Democrats.

DU would not be discussing Platner so much nor would there be so many negative reports on the internet if Platner were expected to vote in favor of continued funding and unqualified support of contemporary Israel in actions toward their neighbors.

[ColoringFool]

44. Exactly What Are You Suggesting About DU Members?

[regnaD kciN]

33. "FiXaTiOn"

I would say taking huge contributions from AIPAC and then taking a hard pro-Likud line might qualify as a fixation for a U.S. Senator. Or is it only a fixation when it takes the form of supporting the “other guys?”

[dlk]

28. Republicans have successfully sabotaged too many Democrats

Why wouldn’t they keep it up?

[pat_k]

32. All the hallmarks of an orchestrated smear from the get go.

Start with a drip drip, then pile on everything you can possibly dig up without looking past the surface. Release in rapid succession so there's no time for individual reports to be scrutinized. Cue outrage at "nothing terrible in isolation, but look at the number of them!"

The goal is to incite a mob mentality. Cue the pitchforks and torches.

Should be very familiar to anyone who has read this:

New Yorker
The Case of Al Franken
Jane Mayer
July 22, 2019

https://web.archive.org/web/20190829044

[DFW]

38. Thanks!

You saved me the trouble!

[MineralMan]

42. Duh...

And far too many here on DU bought right into it. I'm sorry, but we need to be more cautious about such things on DU.

[ColoringFool]

43. IS THIS A PRIMARY, OR IS THIS NOT? WHO HAS ORDAINED PLATNER, THAT HE...

CANNOT BE CRITICIZED FOR VARIOUS AND SUNDRY REASONS?

MOREOVER, THE SMELL OF ANTI-SEMITISM IS WAFTING HERE.

[retread]

46. In case you didn't notice, your caps lock key is on!