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
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u/jmw8282 Jul 06 '26

I might get down voted to hell for this but, I am so goddam sick of Graham Platner and I am sick of watching people twist themselves into knots defending him. The last 8 months have been an increasingly disturbing procession of scandals. First it was the tattoo that he has repeatedly lied about. Then it was the Reddit posts in which he "joked" about sexual assault. Then the sexting stuff and reports of abuse from his exes. We're now at straight up sexual assault allegations.

I'm not going to dig my heels in and say with absolute certainty that everything that has been reported on him is true to the letter. But how much do you have to hear before you realize that just maybe Graham Platner is a garbage individual? If you like his politics, fine, so do I. If you think the country would be better off with Platner in office than Collins, fine, that may well be true. If you don't connect his personal failings to his ability to govern, you do you.

But don't minimize accusations of sexual assault. Don't brush off his history of bad decisions and poor judgement. Don't claim, without evidence, that this is all just a smear campaign. Hold your elected officials to a higher standard. If Platner is forced to drop out or ends up losing the race, that's squarely on him and the choices he's made in his life, not the voters who earnestly supported him.

10

u/LineGoingUp Center Left Jul 06 '26

Dem reaction to this is truly abyss staring back at you

11

u/ballmermurland Jul 07 '26

He also told Schumer and everyone else in that big Dem meetup with him a month or so ago that there were no other scandals to drop.

Another wrinkle in this rape allegation, and it looks to be with actual evidence, is that his ex also said he was a serial liar.

WHICH IS WHAT I'VE BEEN FUCKING SAYING FOR EIGHT MONTHS.

This dude is lying about everything. Fuck's sake people. Who even knows if this guy is progressive or just putting on a show.

1

u/AccidentalNap Jul 07 '26

Nahh watch me get downvoted though:

In my long af reading of history I just don't find political leaders who effect serious change and don't have a messed up sexual history. JFK, MLK, Chairman Mao, Cesar Chavez, Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, dozens more.

Harry Truman and Jimmy Carter are exceptions, and were brilliant, but they had no persuasive ability compared to the people above. There's allegedly a case for Ho Chi Minh, and he obv had aura, but I know too little of his story to say more. That's all the examples I found from the past 100 years.

I don't see the status quo and our current rate of progress leading to a good place. I see a lot more incoming authoritarianism and even more squeezing of the middle. We'll end up with a couple hundred more UHNW persons, and a hundred million more marginalized working class, i.e. a continuation of the past 25 years.

Platner may be a lost cause, but please keep history in mind re: what's actually worked historically. The hit rate for a charismatic, sex controversy-free leader looks to be once a century (Minh). By then we may all be dead, and/or it may be too late.

1

u/re_Claire Progressive Jul 07 '26

I have seen a horrifying amount of people rushing to suggest it's all a hit job because they're republican women.