I suppose you can’t criticize them for not avoiding the truth because they know Maine’s Graham Platner has baggage, but wow—what an academic and detached way of putting it.
Platner is expected to be the Democrat trying to unseat incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins. There’s the Nazi tattoo, the training with groups similar to Antifa, and a range of disturbing Reddit posts that were reportedly homophobic, with some mocking PTSD. I’m sure you’ve read Amy’s wild post about Platner by now: the man admitted to using a network compromised by the Taliban for phone sex during his deployment in Afghanistan in 2010-11. And how does his political team explain this behavior?
Well, he’s a real guy, and that’s what voters want.
Graham Platner's advisor—who wanted to put his penis in a children's book—defends Platner proudly bragging about m*sturbating in public restrooms.
— Nick Puglia (@nickpuglia) May 19, 2026
“When real people run for office, that embodies the good parts of it. It also embodies the realities that people live real lives.” pic.twitter.com/lKu37SKq4N
“When real people run for office, that embodies the good parts of it. It also embodies the realities that people live real lives,” said top advisor Morris Katz on Katy Tur’s program on MS Now.
Yeah, Katz man, more often than not, that’s led voters to reject the candidate you described. Also, the Democratic Party isn’t the working class party. It’s comprised of rich, smug, and overeducated white college kids.
We understand the need for authenticity. That doesn’t mean the people of Maine have to vote for someone who masturbates in porta Johns (via Fox News):
Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, who is already facing criticism over past Reddit posts, made graphic sexual comments on his now-deleted account about masturbating in portable toilets and explicit graffiti found in military restrooms.
In one March 2017 post on Reddit’s r/Military forum, Platner responded to a discussion about nostalgic military smells by writing: "I still have to jerk off every time I sit in a portas----er… that blue water smell conditioned me."
Again, this is a problem because Graham Cracker posted about it. There are rumors that this is just the beginning, with Mark Halperin pointing out that the opposition research uncovered is so severe that Platner might have to consider leaving the state.