The poll shows that 58% of likely Democratic primary voters favor Platner. Janet Mills, Maine's two-term governor, who was recruited by national party leaders, was polling at just 24%. None of the other candidates in the crowded field received more than 1%.
Considering this is a day and age where people who are overtly fascist, who have been pretty open about being Nazi-adjacent if not straight out Nazis, are winning elections on that platform then I would think if he held those views he would just run on them. Why be a secret authoritarian and masquerade as a progressive when the extreme right is the majority in US government and persecution of minorities and violent rhetoric is in vogue? It just makes a lot more sense to me that either he didn’t know, or was in some toxic male circles at the time. Either way I don’t think that’s who or what he is in this moment.
I get what you’re saying in terms of “why hide it?” but I think someone with his background belongs in a prison, not in the Senate. And it’s not like fascists haven’t been trying to infiltrate any part of government they can for decades.
And I simply cannot accept that someone has a nazi logo on their chest for nearly 20 years without learning its origins. That’s absolutely absurd. There’s no way he only found out it was a Nazi symbol this week.
I can forgive Nazis who had a brush with that kind of interest in their teens. Adults with fully formed brains who engage with Nazi imagery and are willing to shoot civilians for their government are fundamentally not good people. I cannot trust that person doesn’t have something inside them that is inherently antisocial and anathema to just society. In my personal experience, Nazis never reform, they simply learn to be quieter. If it’s even possible to be a reformed Nazi, they certainly shouldn’t be in government.
It looks like he’ll win the primary regardless. My opinion is ultimately irrelevant.
No one is born a racist, and no one is born a Nazi. If it’s something someone chooses to be they can stop. There are a lot of stories of reformed white supremacists.
I genuinely don’t think he got there though, based on his posts on Reddit made from 2016-2021. He would have had plenty of opportunities to make toxic, racist or violent shit posts there but the worst they dredged up on him was antiquated homophobic bro-talk that is unfortunately common in the military. Won’t deny that that’s a bad look but it’s a far cry away from some of the things quoted from MAGAs currently in office.