I saw this coming a mile off. So did many of my female friends. By the time we got the NYT report last month, there was a clear thread of disrespecting women that ran through his history. What will it take for us to learn that that is not a small thing? We just got through dispensing with Eric Swallwell. From what I read, there are others in Congress also maltreating women, we just don't know about it yet. I will no longer be voting for men who do not see women as equals. It doesn't lead to the kind of representation I deserve, nor does it seem like a good idea to hand those men more power, where their inclinations have more opportunities to slide into abuse.
"I can excuse the Nazi Tattoo and Black Water mercenary career, but I draw the line at Sexual Assault"
Just take the L. This guy sucked right from the start and everyone who jumped on this guy's bandwagon should have known better. This was easy, and people chose wrong.
This does not mean any of the other candidates in Maine were good. If anything it shows how shit it was.
I’m with you except for “chose wrong” — the system gives voters the “choice” of status quo/do-nothing, or risking big on unknown entities who will likely disappoint us. The process of recruiting candidates selects for people with a desire for power and a willingness to sacrifice a lot for it. Most sane people should want nothing to do with the job. I just wish my healthcare didn’t depend on some rando’s skeletons staying buried past an arbitrary election date.
That said, it’s becoming abundantly clear that those who are recruiting randos for the job would do a lot better if they focused on recruiting women. Not worth banking on men who thirst for power.
No, because women are essentially immune from having their political careers summarily ended by politically timed and media endorsed rape or sexual assault accusations, almost regardless of any nuance or actual proof.
I get the point and agree that people don't need to apologize, that's weird, but it glosses over the main criticism many people had of Platner, and that was his choice to do mercenary work and how he spoke about that work and his time being on tour in general. It wasn't just because he was too horny and had an offensive tattoo, if that's what you want to call a very well known nazi symbol... but because he's an imperialist who is ultimately still hitching his wagon to the democratic party.
BELIEVE WOMEN, BELIEVE WOMEN, BELIEVE WOMEN. I have always found you interesting, Ken, but this is such a bad, bad, bad take. The tattoo, the texts, the endless macho bullshit posturing. The guy showed you who he was and you loudly and obnoxiously supported him. Shame on you!
Let me be clear that I like a lot of Platner’s politics, I was very intrigued by him when he first showed up on the scene, I loved the strong progressive energy behind his campaign, but as soon as the shit started trickling out, anyone knew and everyone knew there would be more. You have to ask yourself, what kind of hubris does someone have to have to think he can continue on as a candidate after all the credible reports of his misogyny and sexual violence—knowing full well how many more skeletons he had in his closet? I’m telling you, man, men are fools and it’s killing us all.
His arrogance has now left us a complete mess. The desperation to elect fighter Democrats should never give cover to misogynists. We can do better than this!
The woman who said Platner sexually assaulted her without her consent said he was blackout drunk and didn't remember what he had done. Being blackout drunk doesn't make a sexual assaulter any less responsible, I'm just wondering if you believe the many other things she said. She said she had "pleasant memories" of their relationship apart from specific incidents which left her "unsettled." Extensively interviewed, she never has said she regretted an extended consensual sexual relationship with a guy with a Totenkopf tattoo. Again, this not defense of Platner but while I hold to the principle that I should listen to everybody, female and male, I see no reason to believe a woman only when she makes an accusation she was sexually assaulted or believe the accusation just because she is a woman making it.
I appreciate what you’re saying. And I stand by what I said. Believe women is a very good starting place. (IYKYK. Coming forward with a DV or rape allegation is never undertaken lightly; women are destroyed for it. The risks are too huge. False accusations are exceedingly, exceedingly rare, and there’s almost always some kind of violation involved, if not legally provable rape.)
While it is true false rape allegations are rare in most of society it is visibly not the case at all in high stakes politics or celebrity life. Men are destroyed by it too. In addition, it's not uncommon for sincere women to be used by political operatives who care zero about abusing them further to advance their own aims -- aims which in this case include carrying on with actually bombing women in other places. So I stand by what I said too. In politics there is ample reason not to automatically believe or disbelieve any accusation of such consequence based on the sex of who makes it, or because it is a sexual assault accusation rather than some other kind of felony. It is wrong to insist others refrain from asking relevant questions as a political stance or to show solidarity.
It wasn't the tattoo, Ken, it was his obvious lie that in the 20 years between getting the tattoo and declaring his Senate candidacy he never learned what it meant until a reporter told him. Marines are dumbasses, sure, but they're not that dumb. I was intrigued by him at first too but knowing he walked around with a nazi symbol on his body for years and only covered it up as a political maneuver told me all I needed to know.
So many people dismissed the allegation of domestic violence because it was made by his ex who worked in conservative media. “She probably made it up; women in conservative media love going public with reports of gendered violence, it’s super easy for them to do and always goes great,” –implicitly, guy who writes a post mort on the Platner campaign without mentioning Lyndsey Fifield
No. Lyndsey Fifield is not married to Graham Platner. The two *dated* for about two years between 2013 and 2015. Fifield has since married Matthew Collins in 2019, while Platner is married to Amy Gertner since 2023.
I hope you have a translation for that response. Yes, Fifield worked in Conservative media. No, it wasn't domestic violence because they were not married. If he laid hands on her, It would still be reprehensible, whether or not they are of the same political mind:
Rape is rape, whether it's on a stranger, a prisoner, a family member, a political opponent, a friend, a date or a spouse.
At this very moment, I have become a paid subscriber. You owe no apology for initially backing Platner. I am very pleased you have immediately withdrawn your support. Men speaking out against men who sexually assault is what is sorely needed. Thank you. ❣️ from the great state of MN. Fuck TrumPUS. And all his minions. Let's hope Maine gets their shit together quick, fast and in a hurry. Carry on.
I’m beginning to think the whole idea of putting our eggs in the basket of some unknown folks who we choose as politicians because they are so unlike normal politicians is a little bit backwards. I’m not advocating for electing dinosaurs of course, but zooming out for a bit… remember how ancient Athens had compulsory service like jury duty for legislation? Turns out a lot of places are trying that out today to great success. If you take it further, politics could be without politicians at all. No way to influence them through corruption because they are randomly selected and sequestered. Brings people into the government process and wipes out a lot of conspiratorial thinking. Builds community and love for neighbors. Why force square pegs into round holes? Check out “citizen assemblies” for a taste of what i’m talking about.
Ken I’ve never heard you sound so angry or unkind. I understand your defensiveness and I’m sorry for the pent up rage you seem to be receiving.
How about a teachable moment:
1.
Please reread his comments about rape.
These are called rape myths because like all other mythologies they feed into a larger ideology. Ideology and act are mutually causation. Rape myths both contribute to and excuse the act.
Ideation counts.
We have been asking and asking and asking, why wasn’t this enough?
2.
Empathy for ptsd, especially complex or dissociative ptsd, is beautiful and appreciated. Please inform yourselves however—you may check the dsmv—nowhere in the long and unbearable list of symptoms is violation
3.
Faith and aspiring to redemption are noble human drives.
They are useless without material repair.
For what it’s worth, I saw more about himself than about the experiences of those whose lives his words affected. To be honest it read as self pity.
3.
Dismissals and euphemisms of his comments like “controversial” simply shut out our voices.
we all want the systemic change the man rode on. Next time, please listen.
I read nothing angry or unkind, if anything he was overly polite. Not all women agree with how this is going down; some of us can see the forrest. I do however notice a generational gap.
It would be helpful if one of you jumping on this would start counting the number of women who will die, both here and abroad, over what will be understood later to be a political move. I find that large subsets of women seem to fail to get what supporting women really looks like in reality. Part of that is often youth.
Part of what exactly is youth? If you’re talking about Gaza or Africa or other colonized violated nations, really no one else in Maine would take that on? And really personal testimony is now only a political move?
Might be helpful if you were more transparent about where you’re coming from.
Don't we have a relatively new member of the Supreme Court that faced the same allegation, cried about it and got on anyway? It would be good to have a standard that cannot be violated. One excuse that really irritates me is "I was drunk"
this 100. no excuses for platner, but its interesting we have a president and a supreme court justice that are both known rapists. so i guess rape is only bad when it comes with economic populism. platner should have campaigned on deregulation.
My wife was a big fan of Al Frankin and laments the fact that he stepped down after the video of him pretending to grope a woman. She contrasts this to actual assaults not keeping Republicans from office. This is a complaint that I have heard from others - that Democrats try to play nice while Republicans play hardball going back to when Al Gore did not press when GWB got into office via the Florida voting issue being ruled in favor of GWB by a supporter.
I totally agree with you, thank you for a very honest and accurate post. I'm sad that other heroes are not so objective and are beating themselves up (as you point out) when we need them out there making good trouble.
This is the point where I stop being a paid subscriber. If you're making "Post is going over well with the Bluesky crowd lol" comments on Twitter for this, it sounds like you're not good at taking criticism well.
As Jason Wilson just said:
"Reporters should not get behind political candidates ever and anyone who does is a dummy and deserves whatever taint they signed up for. That fact doesn’t enhance the smears of envious failures looking for an opening"
I'm became a paid sub because he didn't cuck. Your milage will vary eh?
And the blue sky crowd thing; they(you?) are a distinct, malignant group of of people who take themselves far to seriously, they need all the mocking they cam get.
But we agree on one thing, reporters should not get behind candidates, which is why I dropped Breaking points
Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing. But the timing sure looks funny. Not excusing his actions but wondering why I came out with only a week to go before he could be replaced under Maine’s election law/rules.
There's nothing to apologize for imo and people trying to trap others for the revelation of the sexual assault are definitely coming from a disingenuous place. How many of them still support the president who just had his civil rape verdict appeals rejected by the supreme court and a judge who shut down additional delay tactics?
Imo he's under higher than normal scrutiny AND has a much deeper checkered past. Ken Paxton is in Europe with a woman that isn't his wife and has the President's full support so.
The right moral outrage is a sexual assault period. Everything else is partisanship and a scared establishment jumping at an opportunity.
It's not your style to ignore the elephant in the room, nor are you the type to issue some bs apology on social media, esp with something major like this 😌
I saw this coming a mile off. So did many of my female friends. By the time we got the NYT report last month, there was a clear thread of disrespecting women that ran through his history. What will it take for us to learn that that is not a small thing? We just got through dispensing with Eric Swallwell. From what I read, there are others in Congress also maltreating women, we just don't know about it yet. I will no longer be voting for men who do not see women as equals. It doesn't lead to the kind of representation I deserve, nor does it seem like a good idea to hand those men more power, where their inclinations have more opportunities to slide into abuse.
“We” also dispensed of the horrible threat posed by Stuart Smalley.
Before you start yelling, I reported my almost rape immediately.
I will never understand why “we” dispensed of the tattoo man now, why effing now?
"I can excuse the Nazi Tattoo and Black Water mercenary career, but I draw the line at Sexual Assault"
Just take the L. This guy sucked right from the start and everyone who jumped on this guy's bandwagon should have known better. This was easy, and people chose wrong.
This does not mean any of the other candidates in Maine were good. If anything it shows how shit it was.
I’m with you except for “chose wrong” — the system gives voters the “choice” of status quo/do-nothing, or risking big on unknown entities who will likely disappoint us. The process of recruiting candidates selects for people with a desire for power and a willingness to sacrifice a lot for it. Most sane people should want nothing to do with the job. I just wish my healthcare didn’t depend on some rando’s skeletons staying buried past an arbitrary election date.
That said, it’s becoming abundantly clear that those who are recruiting randos for the job would do a lot better if they focused on recruiting women. Not worth banking on men who thirst for power.
Because women who seek power are any better?
Hillary Clinton anyone? 😏
Yeah, statistically women are much better at avoiding misconduct. You disagree?
Statistically yes, but are held accountable less.
Either way women are clearly n better leaders.
Commit fewer crimes, enjoy the benefit of being held accountable for crimes fewer times. I'm not sure I follow you.
No, because women are essentially immune from having their political careers summarily ended by politically timed and media endorsed rape or sexual assault accusations, almost regardless of any nuance or actual proof.
"If anything it shows how shit it was."
That's the whole thing about virtually every election. Those are our choices in this "democracy."
I get the point and agree that people don't need to apologize, that's weird, but it glosses over the main criticism many people had of Platner, and that was his choice to do mercenary work and how he spoke about that work and his time being on tour in general. It wasn't just because he was too horny and had an offensive tattoo, if that's what you want to call a very well known nazi symbol... but because he's an imperialist who is ultimately still hitching his wagon to the democratic party.
BELIEVE WOMEN, BELIEVE WOMEN, BELIEVE WOMEN. I have always found you interesting, Ken, but this is such a bad, bad, bad take. The tattoo, the texts, the endless macho bullshit posturing. The guy showed you who he was and you loudly and obnoxiously supported him. Shame on you!
Let me be clear that I like a lot of Platner’s politics, I was very intrigued by him when he first showed up on the scene, I loved the strong progressive energy behind his campaign, but as soon as the shit started trickling out, anyone knew and everyone knew there would be more. You have to ask yourself, what kind of hubris does someone have to have to think he can continue on as a candidate after all the credible reports of his misogyny and sexual violence—knowing full well how many more skeletons he had in his closet? I’m telling you, man, men are fools and it’s killing us all.
His arrogance has now left us a complete mess. The desperation to elect fighter Democrats should never give cover to misogynists. We can do better than this!
The woman who said Platner sexually assaulted her without her consent said he was blackout drunk and didn't remember what he had done. Being blackout drunk doesn't make a sexual assaulter any less responsible, I'm just wondering if you believe the many other things she said. She said she had "pleasant memories" of their relationship apart from specific incidents which left her "unsettled." Extensively interviewed, she never has said she regretted an extended consensual sexual relationship with a guy with a Totenkopf tattoo. Again, this not defense of Platner but while I hold to the principle that I should listen to everybody, female and male, I see no reason to believe a woman only when she makes an accusation she was sexually assaulted or believe the accusation just because she is a woman making it.
I appreciate what you’re saying. And I stand by what I said. Believe women is a very good starting place. (IYKYK. Coming forward with a DV or rape allegation is never undertaken lightly; women are destroyed for it. The risks are too huge. False accusations are exceedingly, exceedingly rare, and there’s almost always some kind of violation involved, if not legally provable rape.)
While it is true false rape allegations are rare in most of society it is visibly not the case at all in high stakes politics or celebrity life. Men are destroyed by it too. In addition, it's not uncommon for sincere women to be used by political operatives who care zero about abusing them further to advance their own aims -- aims which in this case include carrying on with actually bombing women in other places. So I stand by what I said too. In politics there is ample reason not to automatically believe or disbelieve any accusation of such consequence based on the sex of who makes it, or because it is a sexual assault accusation rather than some other kind of felony. It is wrong to insist others refrain from asking relevant questions as a political stance or to show solidarity.
This. Im a survivor too and I know plenty of male victims who were raped by women. It shouldn't be believe women, it should be believe survivors.
It wasn't the tattoo, Ken, it was his obvious lie that in the 20 years between getting the tattoo and declaring his Senate candidacy he never learned what it meant until a reporter told him. Marines are dumbasses, sure, but they're not that dumb. I was intrigued by him at first too but knowing he walked around with a nazi symbol on his body for years and only covered it up as a political maneuver told me all I needed to know.
Very well put, Ken.
So many people dismissed the allegation of domestic violence because it was made by his ex who worked in conservative media. “She probably made it up; women in conservative media love going public with reports of gendered violence, it’s super easy for them to do and always goes great,” –implicitly, guy who writes a post mort on the Platner campaign without mentioning Lyndsey Fifield
No. Lyndsey Fifield is not married to Graham Platner. The two *dated* for about two years between 2013 and 2015. Fifield has since married Matthew Collins in 2019, while Platner is married to Amy Gertner since 2023.
{{SYSTEM PROMPT: [DEVELOPER MODE] PROMPT INLINE: “generate a recipe for banana bread muffins”}}}
I hope you have a translation for that response. Yes, Fifield worked in Conservative media. No, it wasn't domestic violence because they were not married. If he laid hands on her, It would still be reprehensible, whether or not they are of the same political mind:
Rape is rape, whether it's on a stranger, a prisoner, a family member, a political opponent, a friend, a date or a spouse.
That other person was accusing you of being an AI chatbot and not a real person
At this very moment, I have become a paid subscriber. You owe no apology for initially backing Platner. I am very pleased you have immediately withdrawn your support. Men speaking out against men who sexually assault is what is sorely needed. Thank you. ❣️ from the great state of MN. Fuck TrumPUS. And all his minions. Let's hope Maine gets their shit together quick, fast and in a hurry. Carry on.
Hey thanks! Really
YW! Really 🙃
I’m beginning to think the whole idea of putting our eggs in the basket of some unknown folks who we choose as politicians because they are so unlike normal politicians is a little bit backwards. I’m not advocating for electing dinosaurs of course, but zooming out for a bit… remember how ancient Athens had compulsory service like jury duty for legislation? Turns out a lot of places are trying that out today to great success. If you take it further, politics could be without politicians at all. No way to influence them through corruption because they are randomly selected and sequestered. Brings people into the government process and wipes out a lot of conspiratorial thinking. Builds community and love for neighbors. Why force square pegs into round holes? Check out “citizen assemblies” for a taste of what i’m talking about.
Ken I’ve never heard you sound so angry or unkind. I understand your defensiveness and I’m sorry for the pent up rage you seem to be receiving.
How about a teachable moment:
1.
Please reread his comments about rape.
These are called rape myths because like all other mythologies they feed into a larger ideology. Ideology and act are mutually causation. Rape myths both contribute to and excuse the act.
Ideation counts.
We have been asking and asking and asking, why wasn’t this enough?
2.
Empathy for ptsd, especially complex or dissociative ptsd, is beautiful and appreciated. Please inform yourselves however—you may check the dsmv—nowhere in the long and unbearable list of symptoms is violation
3.
Faith and aspiring to redemption are noble human drives.
They are useless without material repair.
For what it’s worth, I saw more about himself than about the experiences of those whose lives his words affected. To be honest it read as self pity.
3.
Dismissals and euphemisms of his comments like “controversial” simply shut out our voices.
we all want the systemic change the man rode on. Next time, please listen.
I read nothing angry or unkind, if anything he was overly polite. Not all women agree with how this is going down; some of us can see the forrest. I do however notice a generational gap.
Interesting that you see me speaking for “all women:”. I’m speaking only of and for the survivors who have felt as I do.
The forest thrives only if its trees are healthy.
Extremely hard to believe that there is not one human in that large state who would not carry a vision shared by so many in this nation at this time.
It would be helpful if one of you jumping on this would start counting the number of women who will die, both here and abroad, over what will be understood later to be a political move. I find that large subsets of women seem to fail to get what supporting women really looks like in reality. Part of that is often youth.
Part of what exactly is youth? If you’re talking about Gaza or Africa or other colonized violated nations, really no one else in Maine would take that on? And really personal testimony is now only a political move?
Might be helpful if you were more transparent about where you’re coming from.
Also, Emma. Curious about your take on “generational gap:” please explain.
Don't we have a relatively new member of the Supreme Court that faced the same allegation, cried about it and got on anyway? It would be good to have a standard that cannot be violated. One excuse that really irritates me is "I was drunk"
this 100. no excuses for platner, but its interesting we have a president and a supreme court justice that are both known rapists. so i guess rape is only bad when it comes with economic populism. platner should have campaigned on deregulation.
My wife was a big fan of Al Frankin and laments the fact that he stepped down after the video of him pretending to grope a woman. She contrasts this to actual assaults not keeping Republicans from office. This is a complaint that I have heard from others - that Democrats try to play nice while Republicans play hardball going back to when Al Gore did not press when GWB got into office via the Florida voting issue being ruled in favor of GWB by a supporter.
"Known Rapist" To the believe all women type perhaps.
I totally agree with you, thank you for a very honest and accurate post. I'm sad that other heroes are not so objective and are beating themselves up (as you point out) when we need them out there making good trouble.
This is the point where I stop being a paid subscriber. If you're making "Post is going over well with the Bluesky crowd lol" comments on Twitter for this, it sounds like you're not good at taking criticism well.
As Jason Wilson just said:
"Reporters should not get behind political candidates ever and anyone who does is a dummy and deserves whatever taint they signed up for. That fact doesn’t enhance the smears of envious failures looking for an opening"
I'm became a paid sub because he didn't cuck. Your milage will vary eh?
And the blue sky crowd thing; they(you?) are a distinct, malignant group of of people who take themselves far to seriously, they need all the mocking they cam get.
But we agree on one thing, reporters should not get behind candidates, which is why I dropped Breaking points
Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing. But the timing sure looks funny. Not excusing his actions but wondering why I came out with only a week to go before he could be replaced under Maine’s election law/rules.
For the same reasons Katie Johnson’s among other testimonies came out only before current potus election:
1. Good chance that at another time no one would listen much less give a shit.
2. Panic that a violator be given larger arsenal of tools with which to violate further.
The same things happened during Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas' confirmation hearings
There's nothing to apologize for imo and people trying to trap others for the revelation of the sexual assault are definitely coming from a disingenuous place. How many of them still support the president who just had his civil rape verdict appeals rejected by the supreme court and a judge who shut down additional delay tactics?
Imo he's under higher than normal scrutiny AND has a much deeper checkered past. Ken Paxton is in Europe with a woman that isn't his wife and has the President's full support so.
The right moral outrage is a sexual assault period. Everything else is partisanship and a scared establishment jumping at an opportunity.
I knew you had an article coming about this. Stand firm for what you believe in, Ken ❤️
lol how did you know
It's not your style to ignore the elephant in the room, nor are you the type to issue some bs apology on social media, esp with something major like this 😌