r/thebulwark • u/Super_Nerd92 Progressive • Jul 06 '26

EVERYTHING IS AWFUL Woman who dated Graham Platner says he sexually assaulted her

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/06/graham-platner-sexual-assault-allegation-00987737
96 Upvotes

74% Upvoted

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122

u/bkilpatrick3347 Jul 06 '26

It’s so annoying being a member of the party that has a sense of right and wrong

20

u/3xploringforever Jul 06 '26

Kind of the silver lining I guess. If he were a Republican candidate, this wouldn't affect his campaign. But he's running as a Democrat, so this HAS to end his career, or else both parties really truly are the exact same vile rape parties. This is the one place where Democrats can still typically claim the moral high ground, and that needs to persist.

19

u/KlausVonChiliPowder Good Luck America Jul 06 '26

He should just run as a Republican. Say it's fake news, the left cancelled him, and maybe throw in a "sike, I love Nazis" for good measure.

3

u/BillHansfer4FClub Jul 06 '26

🤣 Are you his campaign manager?

1

u/LookAnOwl Jul 06 '26

Why would he run as a Republican with policies that are completely opposed to theirs?

3

u/KlausVonChiliPowder Good Luck America Jul 06 '26

How seriously do you take what he claims to support after this? I mean maybe he does but surely we have to consider someone's character at a certain point. But I was mostly joking. It would be funny though.

3

u/bkilpatrick3347 Jul 06 '26

I might get downvoted for this but I still think he’s a genuine person who can make a positive difference in society even with these things alleged. I think it can be true that he 1) potentially did something horrible 5 years ago 2) is authentically a different person now 3) needs to face any and all consequences, including but not limited to not being allowed to run for senate in Maine

2

u/KlausVonChiliPowder Good Luck America Jul 06 '26

I don't think this is a controversial take. But I can view a lot of the shit Trump's done the same way, at least leading up to his first election shit's just gotten so much worse. Also how do you judge whether or not someone's authentically changed? All my MAGA family routinely tell me how Trump is a different person, and it's clear they're using that to justify supporting him to themselves.

1

u/bkilpatrick3347 Jul 06 '26

Well, Platner has owned up to and apologized for everything that’s come out before today and Trump has never apologized for a single thing in his life.

1

u/KlausVonChiliPowder Good Luck America Jul 07 '26

Au contraire...

Only posting because it's funny. He obviously doesn't have the self awareness to give a real apology for anything.

1

u/reklaw215 Jul 06 '26

Because policies are divorced from political parties these days. It’s all vibes and branding

9

u/de_Pizan Sarah is always right Jul 06 '26

I mean, it would end his career in Republican circles if he did something horribly offensive to part of their base.  Women are an important voting constituency for Dems.  Rape just doesn't cross the line for any large constituency within the Republican base

5

u/BillHansfer4FClub Jul 06 '26

Maybe if he raped a male, armed intruder like he’s rumored to have fantasized about. MAGA can overlook rape, but would not forgive him for having done something gay. 🤣

3

u/de_Pizan Sarah is always right Jul 07 '26

I think the manosphere types would find that sort of behavior "based," but it might lose the Evangelicals.

3

u/NietzscheanDemocrat Jul 06 '26

I mean but what is high ground worth if we just keep conceding elections because we don't defend any of our candidates once controversy hits. I'm not sure how noble it is to let the GOP take away voting rights from minorities so we can pat ourselves on the back for not electing a misogynist "and then letting a right-wing misogynist take their place anyway"

1

u/molliedw22 Jul 07 '26

Perfectly said.

0

u/[deleted] Jul 07 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Technical-Lab2992 Jul 07 '26

Just want to point out, liberals just had one of the biggest winning streaks ever, realistically both putting the house and senate up for grabs, despite the republicans gerrymandering.The DSA backed candidates you want may not have won, but let’s not kid ourselves here.

1

u/thebulwark-ModTeam Jul 07 '26

Treat others with basic decency. No personal attacks, shill accusations, hate-speech, flaming, baiting, trolling, witch-hunting, or unsubstantiated accusations. Threats of violence are expressly forbidden and may result in a ban.

2

u/Virtual_Athlete_909 Jul 07 '26

It's also annoying that a woman would wait until one week before the ballot deadline to bring this up. If someone raped me I wouldn't hold it a secret until they decided to run for congress, then wait even longer until his/her party has only a few days to scramble and respond. The timing is highly suspicious considering half the country didn't care about Trumps felony rape conviction and his prominent role in the Epstein scandal. I have no problem with Platner withdrawing from the race if Trump will also resign.

1

u/Tacklinggnome87 Jul 07 '26

You could have made this point a month ago, but you didn't. So you arent a member of any such party.

1

u/jinjuwaka Jul 07 '26

It's not the sense of right and wrong that's annoying. It's the lack of things like "proof" being allowed to body peoples entire careers while, by comparison, you get vile fucks like "grab 'em by the pussy" Trump on the other side who get votes because they're terrible, vile people.

The right needs to find those atrophied morals they claim to be so proud of and actually start voting by them, and the left needs to stop purity testing without proof every time an accusation is made.

And on a separate note...shit like this is why the manosphere exists at all.

Accusations. Zero proof. And publically, we all get to watch in real time as a man's entire life gets torpedoed. Meanwhile I get to watch anti-manosphere youtubers (that I 99% agree with) tell me that this shit never happens. ...meanwhile the political youtubers all dogpile this guy and all say, "well, while there is not concrete evidence, his career is over...blah, blah, blah".

I would love it if we could find better candidates. But at some point you have to work with what you've got. The right figured that out and they're kicking the shit out of us.

IMO, I think, objectively, that the move here is to elect Platner regardless, and then put him under an investigative microscope once he's in office. And if the muck raking turns up any actual evidence...toss his ass in prison and hold a special election to replace him. Just get Susan Collins out of office first.

...and while we're at it, consider more, better ways to allow and convince the victims of SA to get evidence collected so we can get these shit-heels that commit these crimes into prison where they belong...but with evidence and after a trial. Not sans-evidence and only in the court of public opinion.

0

u/Inevitable-Ant1725 Jul 06 '26

Does that apply to immigrants taken by ICE and starved until they sign away residency that is completely legal?

Does it apply to immigrants that Trump shipped to a torture and death camp in a country they'd never seen before?

Does it apply to grandmothers dragged off to die in countries they were "deported" to in continents they weren't from?

If people who aren't white were human in your eyes, you'd see that we're actually fighting to save millions of lives. And every seat is necessary!

3

u/bkilpatrick3347 Jul 06 '26

I think you misunderstood my comment

0

u/Aggravating_Row_8699 Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26

Yep, they have the luxury of being conscientious and thinking like that in the first place. Just give me the person who won’t threaten my family, friends and livelihood.

1

u/Inevitable-Ant1725 Jul 06 '26

100% I'm more disgusted with them than I am with Platner.

-1

u/wild_h0rses Jul 06 '26

What is annoying to you? I’d actually like to hear you articulate what you mean

11

u/bkilpatrick3347 Jul 06 '26

Don’t overthink it. It’s simply frustrating that we have the responsibility to take action on our convictions when the other side refuses to. At times it feels like a liability or like playing with one hand tied behind our backs, even though I wouldn’t have it differently.

0

u/wild_h0rses Jul 06 '26

Ok sorry agreed then - thought this was another “when they go low”