Why would you not use every opportunity to gain power, electoral or otherwise? The more left populist gains are made, the more popular and viable they clearly become nationwide. Electoral politics is only one avenue of organization, and one the DSA has been getting much better at. Where was the other viable candidate in Maine? Grassroots support is critical for viability.

Refusing to participate in elections, is conceding to the opposition in advance. Revolution doesn’t occur with is a single line of attack, class war is a multi-front war. Politicians are not friends, they are tools that are only as useful as what they will vote for.

Without electoral politics we don’t get Bernie, AOC, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Talib, Mamdani, Adam Hamaway, Adbul el-Sayed, Summer Lee, ect.

Maine proves the bar for candidates with left populist politics is incredibly low, clearly far lower for white men, and that progressive candidates can have widespread viability. Regardless of your personal view of veterans, it’s a pro when it comes to the average voter. And on top of that he’s an anti-war, anti-zionist, anti-genocide veteran who’s got a bunch of popular progressive policies. And in addition to that he’s also up against the pro-war Pro-Israel Republican fascist Susan Collins, who’s far worse on literally every single issue. He’s not head-to-head with another progressive in the primary. The choice is clear.

I don’t disagree, other than I’m an advocate for restorative justice, and he’s by far the only path for a left Maine given the current conditions

Funny enough, it’s the same tactic Republicans use. They only cynically use attacks from a left-framework in order to attack left candidates. They do this all the time. Whether it’s false antisemitism slander or smear campaigns of shit a decade ago. In fact, the tactic goes as far as attacking liberation movements for not being sufficiently pro-LGBT, as Israel does against Hamas to western audiences. It’s all cynical, and all to prevent any left movement in it’s respective context.

A Zionist Israeli step-brother who Graham is very close with.

Again you can’t attack his policies or the reality of the smeer campaign so instead you try to imply he’s secretly a Zionist. Do you have any idea how many anti-zionists that have Jewish Zionist family could say the same?

Meaning his wife is likely Israeli dual-citizen as well.

Great facts and logic here, just making shit up

Combined with him not calling for a full weapons embargo on Israel and taking all the J-Street positions

Again, what happened to your facts and logic? That’s demonstrably false. AIPAC Tracker includes J Street and all other israel lobbies, in case you didn’t check that.

Platner said his own views on Israel do not exactly align with J Street’s: “I do not let organizations dictate my opinions or politics to me. But I’m happy to work with folks who I think broadly, very much, share similar values and a similar outlook on the future.”

Asked to elaborate, he responded, “In order for the future to be one of safety and justice and decency, I firmly believe that everyone in the region, everyone who’s currently existing within, I would say, the security boundaries of what is currently the State of Israel — to include the occupied territories because I think that, at this point, it’s hard to say there isn’t any Israeli power in those areas — I think absolutely everyone needs to be given the exact same rights and freedoms.”

• https://www.jta.org/2026/03/31/politics/graham-platner-to-host-maine-passover-seder-as-polarizing-senate-candidate-expands-jewish-outreach

All very different from the J Street position.

Him being an unrepentant mass murderer (of brown people which you don’t care about of course) frequent liar and cheater on his wife. It’s a red flag minefield.

Oh so because I don’t think all veterans are Nazis, because I think people have the capacity to grow, because I know how critical anti-imperialist veterans have been in anti-war movements in this and other countries, because I hold politicians like Platners opposition who VOTED for these wars more accountable than the individual soldiers, many of which took the fucking poverty draft, and especially ones that came out of the experience being anti-war, I’M the one who actually hates brown people? What a fucking brain-dead take.

Go ahead, support Susan Collins, you’re already doing everything you can to help her. Surely she must align more with your views than Platner, because you clearly want her to win instead.

No clear consideration of the actual policies in play, or the opposition and their policies, or the ground game and grassroots support, or who’s launching the attack ads, or how critical Maine is as a senete seat, or really any aspect of the reality of moving electoral politics left in America. What is this? You call this activism? You call this productive?

I used to have you tagged as an ally, now you’re just a Bad Empanada Stan and I don’t get why because he’s accomplished literally nothing. At least Mike from PA has produced actual progress in his own state. Both Mike and Hasan also promote and donate to viable left flank candidates. By why consider listening to people who are actually putting in the work to grow the left movement in America when you could instead listen to an Australian in Argentina who’s made it clear that he’s only making his content for the money (which he did without question when he and Hasan were both on Noah Samson’s live-stream.)

Are aware of what the term viable means?

You’re certainly dead set on helping throw the Maine race to the actual Zionist Republican candidate

The best you got is that he has a Zionist step-brother? So Platner must be also secretly Zionist?

So his listed positions must be fake, actually.

The smeer campaign, backed by actual Zionist money, must also be fake. And yet also secretly 4-D chess, since Platner’s secretly a Zionist. Despite being the only candidate with zero AIPAC money in the race. Great work, detective. Case solved.

No he didn’t. Lol, what crazy history rewrite are you on about Bernie was getting outflanked by milkquetoast centrists. The only reason he caved was because his position as a liberal zionist was getting completely unholdable.

He’s continued to endorse and prop up viable anti-zionist candidates with his popularity. You’re an idiot if you’re trying to discredit how much he’s helped grow socialist movements in the US.

As for Nazi Platner, I’m not sure how the guy endorsed by Chuck “my job is to keep the left pro-Israel” Schumer is going to fight Israel but you’re doing apologism for Bernie’s Zionism so I won’t bother asking.

Are you genuinely unaware of how critical Maine is for the Senate? Schumer can get away with not endorsing a Mayor, not a Dem in an incredibly important senete seat. Your the one getting duped by a grifter like Bad Empanada into supporting a Zionist smeer campaign.

They can never answer what alternative Mainers should vote for, they keep hitting these same notes without ever acknowledging the much worse opposition or platner’s actual policy platform

After the incumbent Dem dropped out you mean, how is that surprising

Buying what, his policy platform? As opposed to who? Who would you rather people vote for in the Maine race, the Republican?

He’s the only option with progressive policies. He’s running to be a public servant, so what matters is what he will vote for/against.

Edit: ok dude, just downvote instead of discuss. Very productive.

Platner is literally the only anti-zionist candidate on the Maine ballot

Back the Zionist candidate if you want, just like AIPAC and the Republicans. If there was literally any other candidate in Maine that also had progressive policies, no shit they would be preferred. But there isn’t.

India is run by hindutva fascists, modi loves this Israeli shit

Which of his policies are Nazi policies?

Politicians are only as useful as their policies, which other candidate has better policies?

it wasn’t a coincidence the media waited till a new chair was sat until criticizing what Biden’s DNC did.

That doesn’t apply to The Intercept, or other independent media like Drop Site, Democracy Now, ect

Equating a settler colonialist fascist state with a resistance group born out of resisting that ethnic cleansing is actually insane

The only POC that Gavin cares about are People of Capital

I’m not sure that exact poll has been done, not to my knowledge

There’s dozens of polls that show how the Dems position on Israel/Palestine cost them votes

“This was a preventable disaster,” Cook said, “but Harris and the Democratic Party leadership prioritized the agendas of corporate donors and gambled on a centrist path, while largely abandoning working-class, young, and progressive voters.”

We know what the autopsy is about, and why they won’t release it.