But maybe I was wrong not knowing how our tabs should go, but I wasn't wrong in knowing how our links would grow ...
A reminder that a bunch of Senate Democrats have declined to endorse Platner and several said there might be a path to a Senate majority without Maine if he's the nominee https://t.co/8oa16Tx92D
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) July 6, 2026
Ed: A bunch of House and Senate Democrats did endorse and campaign for Platner, though, including Bernie Sanders, Liz Warren, Ro Khanna, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. They have a lot of questions to answer now, and so does the Democratic Socialists of America, who put Platner on this pedestal in the first place.
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Bangor Daily News: Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner said Monday he is “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward,” stopping short of committing to stay in the race after Politico reported a sexual assault allegation against him. ...
“Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful of the political reality it will inflict, we are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward,” Platner said.
He closed by thanking supporters and pledging not to “turn my back” on them, without specifying next steps or a timeline for a decision.
Ed: Oh, the timeline is very obvious. Democrats have a week left to get Platner off the ballot, according to Maine election laws. Platner has to voluntarily withdraw, but that seems like a pretty sure thing at this point (as of 4:15 pm ET when writing this entry). The point of this reveal is to accelerate that process before Platner is locked onto the ballot and the GOP can start opening up its own research into Platner's life.
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You mean to tell me that a man with a NAZI TATTOO has a putrid history? TOTES SHOCKED. pic.twitter.com/yzpkXyLXuf
— 🐻 Mary Elizabeth ⚾️ #FlyTheW (@marychastain) July 6, 2026
Ed: That was my favorite part of this entire spectacle. Platner was a walking red-flag parade, and yet all of these Democrats kept insisting that (a) Platner had changed and (b) nothing more would emerge. The way in which these idiots all jumped on board Der Oysterführer's bandwagon should discredit them from leadership in the Democrat Party and from public office entirely.
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Mediaite: MS NOW panelists Molly Jong-Fast and Ayman Mohyeldin fumed over Monday’s revelations that Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner (D) allegedly sexually assaulted a woman he once dated. ...
“Remember, there was an earlier group of women, and now this is yet another tranche of allegations,” Jong-Fast said. “And I think that, you know, when you look at the polling on this, I just was looking at a poll that said 75% of people said that if there were more allegations, he should drop out.”
“Look, I’m baffled on the vetting process for this candidate!” Jong-Fast continued. She added, “I mean…the fact that there are just constant allegations, I think really is a sign that there just was not proper vetting here. And, you may, again, align with him politically, but the truth is, this is not a candidate who is ready for prime time in on any stretch of the imagination.”
Jong-Fast added, “The other the other thing I would say is, in the text messages, [Racicot] is so protective of him! You know, she says, ‘Well, he’s clearly got this PTSD,’ which reminds me so much of how women will just, you know, the way the culture protects men, right? I mean, she’s saying, ‘Well, he’s got this PTSD and it’s not exactly consensual.’ I mean, my God! This should not be how it is. This is so upsetting!”
Ed: Oh, please. M-SNOW gave Platner tongue baths, especially Chris Hayes, after the NYT article came out at the end of May. Complaining about "vetting" now on this channel has all of the earmarks of a Captain Louis Renault Award. These people were defending Platner until today, even with a mountain of evidence about his low character and lack of any redeeming qualities whatsoever.
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So, to believe Platner, you have to believe that he accidentally got a Nazi tattoo, AND didn't notice for 18 years, AND his political director made up a story about him warning her of a controversial tattoo, AND no one he sexted on Kik was underage, AND a bunch of his exes are… pic.twitter.com/EeqnTsHDno
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) July 6, 2026
Ed: Or you have to be a mindless revolutionary who only cares about the embarrassment of these allegations going public. That describes Sanders, AOC, Warren, Khanna, et al.
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Newsweek: The controversy lands at a critical moment for Democrats, who view Maine as one of their best opportunities to flip a Republican-held Senate seat. Platner, a Marine veteran and oyster farmer, won last month’s Democratic primary and has remained competitive against six-term Republican Senator Susan Collins in public polling.
But with the general election campaign intensifying, the latest allegation against the progressive candidate threatens to refocus attention on Platner’s personal conduct rather than the issues at the center of the race.
The new allegations come as a key deadline approaches under Maine election law. State statute allows a political party to replace a general-election nominee who withdraws after a primary, but only if the withdrawal occurs by 5 p.m. on the second Monday in July. In 2026, that deadline falls on July 13. If Platner were to step aside before then, Maine Democrats would retain the ability to select a replacement nominee for the November ballot.
Ed: "If"? That's the purpose of this push now. The GOP likely has a lot more in hand on Platner, but they have no reason to start unveiling it until after next Monday's deadline. These leaks are an attempt to salvage the Democrat position on the ballot before it's too late to change candidates. Newsweek headlined this by stating that the new claim would "test" voter support for Platner, but that's absurdly reductionist. It reveals that the DSA hoodwinked voters about Platner, along with lots of help from ...
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Here's a list of Democrats who have endorsed Platner, and have not rescinded that endorsement after being credibly accused by a fellow Democrat of sexual assault.
— Duane Patterson (@Radioblogger) July 6, 2026
Bernie Sanders
Chuck Schumer
Tina Smith (who allegedly is a Senator. Who knew?)
Martin Heinrich
Chris Murphy
Sheldon… https://t.co/zHvohHXxMr pic.twitter.com/pXZUMd7GOi
Sheldon Whitehouse
And Ro Khanna, who dearly wants to run for president in 2028.
Every one of them is now on the clock.
Ed: Name 'em and shame 'em. Call them the Totenkopf Brigade.
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CNN: Mallory McMorrow dropped out of the Democratic Senate primary in Michigan on Sunday, narrowing the field to two as the party faces a crucial choice next month in picking a nominee to defend a must-win seat.
That leaves Rep. Haley Stevens facing Abdul El-Sayed, a candidate running from the Bernie Sanders wing of the party who is trying to extend the momentum progressives have seen in recent primaries across the country.
McMorrow's exit ahead of the early August primary doesn't just reflect her own struggles, but also an emphasis among many Democrats to stop El-Sayed, out of fear he would be a weaker general election candidate against former Rep. Mike Rogers, a Republican.
Ed: Hmmm. Between this and what happened in Maine today, I'd say that Democrats are starting to panic about November while carrying Herr Totenkopf on one hand and a growing collection of anti-Israel Islamists on the other. Maybe the party has finally decided to fight back against the DSA. The beneficiary in Maine will likely be Janet Mills, while Stevens would allow Democrats to move to the center in the general election – if their primaries voters cooperate.
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Debbie Dingell on CNN sounds INSANE talking about the new allegations against Graham Platner:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 6, 2026
"I will always be concerned about domestic violence allegations, sexual assault allegations...but we got a man in the White House...people's lives are being impacted by this every… pic.twitter.com/LdjxkZUvYS
...but we got a man in the White House...people's lives are being impacted by this every single day!"
"It's a VERY complicated situation!"
"Ultimately, this is up to the people of Maine...They want someone who's gonna stand up to Donald Trump."
"The candidate is denying these charges...We don't know what the facts are..."
"It just gets complicated."
"He said he's taking a step back. That was a very powerful statement!"
"He understands the need for change."
"We NEED change...!"
Ed: So I guess the whole "believe all women" campaign on the Left has come to an end ... in order to benefit a violent Nazi-tatted Kik creeper with no other redeeming qualities other than he hates Donald Trump.
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As I write here, it’s not the moderates who are the most screwed by the rise of the DSA, it’s the cringe resistance libs who have been totally eclipsed by the socialist left as the main source of activist energy in the Democratic Party. https://t.co/kSl0y4RJTa https://t.co/tRr4OzzEFK
— Patrick Ruffini (@PatrickRuffini) July 6, 2026
Ed: Look who's getting pushed out in the DSA's primary challenges, too. It's the progressives in safe blue districts, where winning a primary practically guarantees a seat in Congress, and where the electorate has already been formed by the "cringy resistance libs." Dan Goldman and Adriano Espaillat come to mind.
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Jonathan Turley: Shapiro decided to deliver his defining moment on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” when he abandoned all principle and decided to join other Democratic establishment leaders in offering up the Supreme Court to the radical left. Shapiro used the common coded reference to court packing, calling for “radical reform of the Court.” The only “radical” reform being seriously discussed is packing the institution with an immediate liberal majority to reverse a series of recent decisions and to greenlight an equally radical agenda for changes to our political system.
What is so disappointing is that Shapiro could have truly been a contender, an alternative to the cringing, accommodating politicians who are yielding to the demands of the mob. Figures from Kamala Harris to Pete Buttigieg have recently embraced the scheme to show their bona fides to a rising socialist and radical movement in the Democratic Party.
Shapiro could have been different. He could have offered the country moderation and pushed back on the radical elements of his party. Shapiro was reportedly rejected as a vice presidential candidate due to being Jewish and is a member of a party that is careening toward open anti-Semitism. He could have been that mature voice in his party cautioning restraint before destroying one of our core institutions.
Instead, he chose to just be another bum in American politics.
Ed: A lot of masks are dropping these days. And a lot of bums are being exposed.
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Graham Platner assured us that he’d have no more skeletons on several occasions pic.twitter.com/Pmxp3zCPaq
— DSA Watch (@DSA_Watch) July 6, 2026
Ed: Anyone who bought this line from a Nazi-tatted Kik creeper richly deserves the humiliation they will receive.
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Noah Rothman at NRO: He singled out just one of the Democratic Socialist firebrands taking his party by storm, the activist Darializa Avila Chevalier. “I have profound differences from that particular candidate,” Shapiro said. “She’s not someone, you know, who, seemingly, I would agree with on many things or that we share similar values.”
It’s reasonable to expect that, at this point, Shapiro might have elaborated on the “values” that he believes Chevalier does not cherish quite like he does. But Shapiro did not do that. Rather, he managed only to inferentially accuse the socialist candidate of being a Democrat in name only – a reality that the DSA’s operatives barely bother to conceal, and one that does not seem to concern their voters.
That timidity is in keeping with Shapiro’s efforts to retain the good graces of the far-left wing of his party, à la his recent expressions of support for a “radical reform” of the Supreme Court.
Ed: Shapiro should be smarter than this. He's appeasing the radicals rather than fighting them. As Patrick Ruffini points out, appeasement doesn't immunize politicians from DSA challenges; in fact, it makes them more likely. The Democrat incumbents who lost primaries to DSA-backed challengers were all progressives who played footsie with radicals and the rabid anti-Trump activists, not to mention the anti-Semites that the Left is now mainstreaming through the DSA.
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In the Graham Platner sexual assault story, his campaign’s denial is interesting. Their statement cites two other allegations (Nazi/Communist) as untrue…but he has a Nazi tattoo on his chest, about which he has demonstrably lied, & has literally called himself a Communist. pic.twitter.com/mN9fFz4WSc
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) July 6, 2026
Ed: Platner lies. It's very simple. His character is exactly what one should expect from someone who had a Nazi SS symbol tattooed over his heart for 18 years before lying about it for a political campaign, as well as spending his post-military life mooching off his parents. Why would anyone find this surprising?
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So many people did this. And for what? https://t.co/JTrvTV19nM
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) July 6, 2026
Ed: It's the question of the day, the month, and maybe the year.
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Just to be clear, @RoKhanna is full of crap. @lyndseyfifield alleged violence in her relationship with Platner and Khanna rushed to excuse it, along with the Nazi tat, the Reddit posts blaming women for rape, and the sexting with women while married. https://t.co/TjVZrGCGJB
— Ed Morrissey (@EdMorrissey) July 6, 2026
Ed: The scumbags are running for the hills, but Khanna is the worst of them.
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Saturday night's lyric: "Battle Hymn of the Republic/Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory."
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