Don't go away mad, just go away.
He certainly could have handled this with more class, but at least the way is now clear for a replacement which doesn't have this sort of cloud over their head. Hopefully, the convention process the State Democrat Party uses is done with enough transparency and openness to keep the replacement from being seen as a complete shill. But, that will remain to be seen. Democrats in Maine really need to unseat Collins, if there is to be any chance of flipping the Senate. Even with her gone, I'm not sure I'd put money on Democratic control of the Senate. But if Collins manages to hold on, I'd think the chances drop to something between zero and nil.
this post was submitted on 09 Jul 2026
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In what universe does the Democrat party transparently handle last minute opportunities to shoehorn in a candidate?
not this one, anyway. They would rather lose than run a populist
Instead of taking accountability for his own actions, those of the rapes and the other controversies that led to the rapes being way too believable, he’s doubling down on blaming others and stoking conspiracy theories.
But the end of Platner’s campaign was a massive relief to Democrats who saw their tough road to retake control of the Senate crumbling if he continued on against Collins in one of the most critical races on the map.
Nothing that's been done by anyone in Maine in the last week has given this Democrat any relief. I was 1000 times more optimistic with the Kamala switch than this train wreck.
This article is very establishment-biased and presents things like the adults are back in charge and any problems are because Platner was being antagonistic to the party leaders rather than the leaders themselves lobbing accusations through the press and putting personal desires over party unity. The accusations that took him down may not be the conspiracy, but the Maine Democratic party leadership is definitely conspiring to maximize their personal power over what's good for the state and party.
They built a nominating process where insiders get to pick all the voters while showing zero interest in engaging the campaign that won an overwhelming primary victory. He was right not to trust them!
Graham Platner has a Blackwater problem | Opinion
The Senate candidate’s previous association with the private military contractor that committed various war crimes in Iraq cannot be overlooked.
Posted November 28, 2025
Sad anti fascist noises
This is why Democrats lose and they're going to keep losing.
Dig deeper into it, this doesn't seem like a hit job.
I respect that suggestion. I'm wondering how any guy grows out of being a dick and gets a chance to demonstrate growth in the party of Democrats.
Genuine remorse and honest self reflection, which would inevitably lead to "As someone who has committed rape it is irresponsible for me to ever ask anyone to vote for me to have political power ever again, but there are other ways for me to participate in and give back to my community that don't involve me having power over someone else. Perhaps I will go phone bank for a candidate that shares my values or volunteer to pick up trash in my local park."
"I'm really truly sorry, now can we please move on without actually changing anything" doesn't work.
Is there any evidence whatsoever that Platner had grown beyond this incident which was pretty recent anyway?
I don't think so, but the victim thought he was blackout drunk, so the only reliable choice available to his unimpaired mind would be never to get that drunk again. But he'd made posts (in 2013) about how no one should drink so much they regret their choices, so if it were as simple as thinking responsible people shouldn't drink to that point it never would have happened.
You don't rape someone because you got too drunk. That only happens if you think rape is OK but you've been holding yourself back from it. Most of us have been drunk plenty of times without hurting anyone. So I don't find that argument too convincing.
Plus I think this was after 2013 so maybe he should have taken his own advice and this wouldn't have happened. If you know you lose control when drunk then ultimately I think you do have a responsibility to stop doing it.
By definition, if you're holding yourself back from doing something you don't think it's ok. It doesn't change that you're responsible for harm you cause by putting yourself in a position where your sober mind is no longer holding yourself back, but following this logic leads to things like saying drunk women can consent because they're just holding their true selves back when sober.
I disagree. You may also be afraid of the consequences. I don't think a normal person with a healthy concept of consent is going to rape someone no matter how drunk they are. It's people who are close to doing that already that are going to be pushed over the edge by a lack of inhibitions.
As far as drunken consent it's obviously a bit hazy but I personally think the idea that any amount of alcohol negates consent is a bit silly. When we're talking about alcohol negating consent we're talking about people who are impaired to the extent that they either don't know what's going on or can't clearly express their preferences. If you are physically and mentally capable of rape you are obviously not this impaired. In fact I think the muddying of the waters that some people have done here is a bit dangerous as it gives cover for people to behave badly when drunk and claim that they're no responsible for their actions, which again, I think is nonsense.
Why would being blackout drunk reveal your true desire to rape and not your true desire to consent? Or are you saying that being blackout drunk is not impaired enough to negate consent?
This sounds like you think non-consent from alcohol only occurs when you're practically incapable of standing or speaking coherently (and thus would be incapable of rape). Basically a step away from just being unconscious. That's a very expansive view on what qualifies as healthy consent, which is weird to pair with a concern about muddying the waters.
I'm not saying it's healthy consent, but it's a form of consent insofar as you are in control of your faculties. Obviously we as individuals should aim higher than that but as far as a legal or moral standard for where you can have responsibility for your actions, I think that's where the line is. And yeah blurring the line by saying two drunk people having otherwise consensual sex is mutual rape or silly things like that is eroding people's responsibility for their own actions, as here.
Like if Platner killed a guy in the same condition would you be saying these things? Like oh how could he have prevented it when he was so drunk... I just don't think that argument has any merit. We are ultimately accountable for our own actions unless we're so impaired that they can't be said to be actions.
I've said he's responsible for his harms to others while drunk because even if impairment removes his self-control, drinking caused that to happen. But that's not because I think raping (or murdering) is someone's true self and they're basically just stuck being a fundamentally bad person. They should pay for the consequences of their actions, dedicate themselves consciously to never reoffending, and then never get drunk enough to lose control, because that's a consequence of drinking.
I don't think most people exhibit personal growth (at least initially) by actually changing their fundamental impulses but by dedicating themselves to controlling those that are harmful. And maintaining that control is part of being committed to it. Maybe over time that changes the impulses themselves, but it's curbing the impact to others that matters morally.
You certainly haven’t show any.
Because they pick rapists? Yeah, that’s a serious problem.
Seems like they did an acceptable job of responding to it at least, certainly better than the Republicans ever do
That’s for sure, but I would not be happy if “better than the republicans” is the standard.
Also, we really owe a debt of gratitude to the women that came forward, at great personal cost. It shouldn’t have come that far.
It shouldn't have come this far. It should have been revealed as soon as he became a leading candidate. We don't owe gratitude for putting things off until it would throw the fate of the whole country into chaos rather than just be "oh well, obviously he shouldn't be chosen". No one handled this well and now we're all going to suffer for it.
And just to make it clear, this is Platner's fault first and foremost and his selfishness is leagues worse than anyone else, but fuck, people are dying because of votes Susan Collins made and everyone involved in this fiasco treated it with the seriousness of a small town drama.
We don’t owe gratitude for putting things off until it would throw the fate of the whole country into chaos rather than just be “oh well, obviously he shouldn’t be chosen”. No one handled this well and now we’re all going to suffer for it.
We all ignored the warning signs. Everyone chose to disbelieve the first woman that came forward. Please stop pretending this was the first hint of inappropriate behavior on Platner's part.
And the Nazi tattoo, and the sexting multiple women...
But the Kyle Kulinski's of the world swept so hard for this guy and now here we are.
Drop Site has also lost a lot of respect from me. Ryan Grim and their social media manager victim blaming all over online is gross.
Hasan Piker, etc. Basically all the anti-Dem Leftists.
Which is why you now predicably see the narrative shifting to blame the Dems.
While I'm disappointed in how Hasan covered Platner from the beginning, he's not at the same level as Ryan Grim or Kyle Kulinski with their reaction to this. I haven't seen him trying to push that because she texted about needing a massage that she was asking to be raped.
You're right though, instead of taking ownership and moving forward, they're blaming the Dems and Israel and this woman and anyone and anything else besides that they picked a bad candidate, didn't vet him properly, and ignored huge warning signs.
I love how none of the Lefties that pushed this guy despite the increasingly worse things coming out now take now responsibility whatsoever and are right back to blaming the Dems.
Right? Platner is cooked, he's got no chance moving forward at this point. Instead of talking about best chances moving forward, they're indulging in conspiracy theories and victim blaming.
Wow. I missed that trial completely.