More on Graham Platner: a moron or an evil genius?

So who is Democrat presumptive candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, Graham Platner? We know he's running in the 2026 primary as a heavy favorite with rival Gov. Janet Mills dropping out, and will face lifer incumbent Sen. Susan Collins this November.

Let's look at some of his history.

As a wrestler previously at Hotchkiss School, a private boarding school in CT, he was expelled due to behavioral issues and refusal to attend class.

He then attended John Baptist Memorial HS in Bangor, Maine in 2003 where he was voted in the yearbook, "most likely to start a revolution."

His military service began with the USMC 2004 to 2008, and later Maryland National Guard from about 2009/2010 to 2011.

In 2005 he was deployed in Iraq's Al-Anbar Province to east Fallujah, then the following year he was deployed to Ramadi as a machine gun section leader at the Government Center. In 2007 after voluntarily extending his service, was a machine gun section leader with Kilo Co. 3/8.

He was honorably discharged from active duty on April 29, 2008 and was awarded with Combat Action Ribbon, Iraq Campaign Medal, GWOT Expeditionary Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (with gold star) and a Good Conduct Medal, which most Marines get unless they shoot another Marine. 

His Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) was 0331 Machine Gunner.

He enrolled at George Washington University (GWU) in Washington, D.C., after his initial Marine Corps service, using GI Bill benefits. His attendance in class was sporadic and while a student he worked the same job as AOC, a bartender. 

Evidently, Platner's brain was full and he withdrew from GWU without graduating. He had been majoring in History and it's highly likely his professors were socialists or at least, progressives.

He has no bachelor's degree or higher formal education. His background is often described in contrast to his family's more privileged/educated roots (e.g., father is a Dartmouth-educated lawyer), as he chose military service over college right after high school. 

Return and final period (2011–2016): He resumed classes while bartending at spots like the Tune Inn on Capitol Hill (popular with congressional staffers). He alternated between academics, military-related obligations, and personal struggles with PTSD, heavy drinking, and disillusionment. 

He was exposed to Edward Said’s Orientalism, which shaped his developing anti-imperial and anti-colonial views. [Moron that later.]

A class on the history of Indochina (Vietnam-era conflicts), which led him to draw parallels with U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, viewing them through a lens of colonial-style justifications and violence.
Initial goals: He planned to study Arabic with the aim of working overseas for the U.S. State Department. 

Platner has described inconsistent performance (“I either got As, or I had dropped classes”) amid PTSD, depression, and alcohol abuse. He left in summer 2016 to return to Maine for treatment and recovery. He has cited this period as one of deep personal struggle, during which many of his controversial Reddit posts (under “P-Hustle”) were made. 

[Democrats love victims, so this explains a lot about how he got to where he's at.]

Platner got his Nazi tattoo known as Totenkopf or 'death's head' in 2007 in Croatia (specifically mentioned as Split in one account), while serving in the Marine Corps [pronounced 'corpse' by Barack Hussein Obama].

In a June 2019 Reddit post (under the now-deleted account "P-Hustle," which Platner admitted owning), he commented on a helmet-cam video of U.S. Army Pfc. Ted Daniels (a Purple Heart recipient) being shot four times by Taliban fighters in Afghanistan in 2012. 

Platner wrote: “This video never gets old. Dumb motherf----r didn't deserve to live. At least his stupidity and fat ass wheezing are available for all future infantrymen to witness and hold in contempt. Poor marksmanship on the Taliban’s part is the only reason this mouthbreather made it home...”

What an American thing to say. What a guy this Platner is.

He has faced significant backlash for this disgusting anti-American comment, especially from us veterans. When confronted by Fox News, Platner did not apologize and instead pointed to his own service record (multiple combat tours), as if that gives him 'asshole immunity' for calling accusations of disrespecting veterans "slanderous and offensive." 

Platner has attributed some of his past online rhetoric to post-combat trauma/PTSD from his Marine Corps and Army National Guard service, and he has apologized for other old Reddit posts, but this specific incident has been highlighted in recent coverage of his U.S. Senate campaign in Maine.

So now he blames his PTSD, which seems to make him kind of wishy-washy.

Platner's anti-imperial views stem primarily from his combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, combined with intellectual influences during his time at George Washington University. 

He frames U.S. post-9/11 wars as "pointless," wasteful, colonial-style adventures that benefit defense contractors and elites while harming American service members, working-class communities, and people in the targeted countries. 

During his intermittent studies (history major, ~2008–2016), Platner encountered Edward Said’s Orientalism, which provided an anti-colonial and anti-imperial critique. A class on the history of Indochina (Vietnam era) was pivotal: he drew direct parallels between the justifications, violence, and patterns of those conflicts and U.S. actions in Iraq/Afghanistan. 

Evidently, Platner is easily influenced in the leftist direction.

Critique of Hegemony and Elites: Platner describes U.S. militarism as a mechanism to transfer taxpayer money to private interests “on the backs of working-class men and women, and on the backs of the people living in societies that we took the wars to.” He has referred to Washington as an “imperial capital.”

Fight the olagahkee, like Comrade Bernie suggests.

Bernie has been fighting the oligarchy since 1993--that's all he's got

Personal Radicalization: “My time in America’s imperial wars definitely radicalized me further.” He expresses ambivalence—pride in comrades and service, but bitterness toward politicians, brass, and the wars themselves.

Is Platner a socialist? 

Not in the sense of advocating for socialism as a system. He once self-identified that way online but currently distances himself and operates within the Democratic Party’s progressive/populist lane, in order to have a political chance of ever getting into office.

Critics who pay attention, still label him a communist/socialist based on the old posts to attack his campaign. Platner’s politics are best described as anti-oligarchy economic populism rooted in his veteran and working-class background, not orthodox communism or socialism.

Thank you for following Brain Flushings. Please take time to simply check out the sponsors on this page--it's one way to support my work and you don't need to purchase anything to do so. Of course, you can Buy Me A Coffee if you want to support me directly. And finally, don't be afraid to subscribe if you enjoy the blog--it's free, and worth the cost.

Tweet