This feels like a pattern with anyone who challenges the establishment. This pattern happens over and over again. So, as much as I believe all victims should be heard, I have a very hard time believing this.
Whether this is true or not, the power establishments must be reduced to a rubble before I'll be able to not see this as a pattern again.
If Platner had been properly vetted, we would not be in this situation. It's not just one woman and it is not part of a distant past. Shame on the Democratic Party for failing to do their job and shame on Graham Platner for running.
The Democratic party has a history of not doing it's job, particularly where helping voters is concerned. The only thing they have ant efficiency with it fighting their left flank, and generally with allegations like this when possible. EDIT: That said, this is incredibly serious - and on seeing closer detail, while the timing makes me sick, I ultimately agree with you.
If Platner did do this, and if there reallyis a history of it, lock him up and throw away the key. I won't give him a second thought. But you know very well what I mean when I say lucky, and it has to do with the party, not what happened.
I'll say again for the people who want to twist words: there is no room in the party for perpetrators of assault. Period. But the timing is incredibly suspect, which means a careful examination of the facts. If he's guilty, that's that, he's done.
Wanted to come back here after seeing more details, and I have two thoughts. First, Platner is toast. He's not coming back from it, even if he fights the charges, which (after seeing more) I'm not sure he will. I like Troy Jackson from what I've seen so far, and I hope he gets to move forward in Platner's place, but that should be up to Maine voters. Second, as Becky said, no more "rush vetting" of candidates. The establishment's power needs to be removed entirely because they're utterly worthless to the voting populace, but the movement needs to do a better and more thorough job vetting so this *cannot* happen again.
Finally, this needs to go hand in hand with doing whatever is necessary to let victims feel comfortable coming forward publicly fully *early* so candidates with these kinds of issues are removed before we get to this point - and also so that, if allegations happen to be false, candidates have a chance to fight it before it's too late (not saying that's the case here, just giving all possible scenarios for a potential future instance). Creating a culture where coming forward is seen as a public service, if that's somehow possible, would be helpful to both victims and voters, and even (potentially) candidates, too.
At the risk of alienating "my sisters", I am suspect about this info coming out now. He has been campaigning for a while now. There is a very fishy smell to news like this being presented just a week before the deadline. I am not a rabid supporter of Mr Platner but the voters should decide.
Agreed. She wasn't raped yesterday and it is a week before the election. Plus the guy was drunk according to her. Have you ever seen a drunk get it up and be able to rape anyone? Or a drunk you could not knock down or shove out the door? I have dealt with many drunks in my youth and found them pretty easy to get rid of.
I too have been sexually assaulted. But this is suspicious, and I’m not willing to ruin someone’s life and career without due process, especially when he denies it and there were no witnesses or police records.
My first rapist denied it. There were no witnesses. I didn't report it to the police because things were even worse for a 15-year-old in 1980. IT STILL HAPPENED.
It’s a shame if he did, but doesn’t change anything for me. We have a whole government full of Republican miscreants for whom sexual peccadillos are taken for granted. I don’t need my representatives in government to be perfect, just really good at government. Time for the Democratic Party to stop throwing away good people who do something wrong. I’ll take more Al Franken’s and Graham Platners, hold the Kirsten Sinema’s, Fetterman’s and Manchin’s (who only appeared to be desirable for a time)..
In my experience, which is substantial and I am now 83 years old, a totally drunk man can't get it up anyway. It's easy to push him out the door. He just falls and you lock it behind him. So he is not a threat to any woman he approaches. Further, no one is getting the pedophile pervert out of the the number one office or other rich and powerful men who raped and imprisoned girls and women so why should be care about what Platner did when he was drunk. Any woman who does not know how to get rid of a drunk is an idiot. Funny they are coming up with these accounts now.
While I agree that the timing is false... I don't think we fight rapists with more rapists.
I'd like to see more circumstantial evidence or more than just, "Well I was torn but now I want to speak up." Does she have any receipts or anything to back her claim? Because I legitimately think we should believe women who claim to be raped, but most of them come forward with some shred of evidence to validate their claims.
Rapists should not be tolerated. I hope Platner isn't one of them and this is just a smear.
Agreed but the allegation is not for now. This event took place some time back and is only being reported now which just so happens to be 1 week before the voting. I find that suspicious. Plus she did say the man was drunk. As a woman, I know how to protect myself from a drunk. A drunken man is powerless. Put that all together and it raises questions.
Please no vistim blaming. There's a wide range of drunk between falling down and just somewhat out of control - if it's true, he could easily have been pretty drunk but still strong enough to overpower a smaller woman.
But the timing is pretty suspicious, and it feels like dirty tricks. I feel sick about all this. Can't just dismiss it, if we do we're as bad as they are, and can't take it at face value, if we do we're pathetic dupes.
This is not blaming the victim. This is casting suspicion over the motives of the reporters. I would string up everyone of the Epstein dudes who enslaved the girls and vulnerable women. Including the top man.
just as there are conservatives i like that I would never elect because of their politics, there are leftists i would never elect because of their character.
Graham, you've got to go. And others like you. I believe in redemption and second chances, but not for elected officials. Stay an oyster farmer, stay (become?) a good citizen, and live your life in peace. But you are unfit for office.
What about your Pedo / Rapist President? He advertises the misuse of his dick as a badge of honor, a "point of pride" AND A LOT OF MEN ADMIRE HIM, apparently. I simply don't trust the timing of this allegation, AT ALL.
Christopher Seay: You are quick to jump to certainty. Why is that? And what does his juvenile peccadilloes have to do with his ability to work in office for a better country than Susan Collins would?
Not proven that he's a rapist - weird how all the people who want to make the Epstein class pay their taxes get accused of sexual misconduct, and yet the Epstein Class goes uninvestigated.
Obviously, committing repeated crimes against humanity isn't a deal breaker either.
Just trying to make rich people pay taxes.
And if you voted for Clinton and/or Biden, you certainly didn't let accusations of sexual assault stop you then, did you?
How do you feel about two of the last two of the last five presidents are documented sexual assaulters, Clinton and Trump and lots of sexual assault allegations against Biden!
The sick thing is he's still far better than your average congressional Dem. But when you have to weigh the mass murder of children against rape, nobody wins. It's a race to the bottom between despicable people, none of whom should be in power.
Don’t you love how chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand jumped on the damn Graham bandwagon. Gillibrand who got Al Franken thrown out of the senate in a record 48 hours wrote an op ed in NYT endorsing Cuomo, who had to resign for sexual assault, she was so scared of Mandami. I declare myself a democratic socialist. I’m done with the DNC.
Unsure what the best path forward here is. He can drop out and Janet mills will lose to Susan Collins, or he can continue the campaign and try to win. Once he wins we can focus on who can replace him once his term ends.
I think at this point he needs to keep going. Him dropping out does no one good.
Edit: following everything. He needs to drop out and if the DNC has half a brain they’d nominate someone with a similar policy
“I just wanted the truth out there.. now.. as he’s getting close to being elected.” As you can see, Zionism is a threat to very real situations, like SA victims, because of the nonsense that they resort to just to get pro-Israeli voices in the government.
Hope this isn’t true and my assessment of the situation is wrong.
Zain: Even if one woman really did suffer, we need people in Senate who will be working on stopping bombing and genocide and corruption. Keep an eye on the prize.
If she was assaulted, I wouldn’t want to compromise my integrity by forgoing her suffering. The timing of it all indicates something more sinister at hand so again I’m hoping this is a lie.
Ultimately though, we do want the genocide to end and the senseless killing to stop.
I’m sorry but anyone taking this on its face is just either blind or ignorant. The New York Times article that dug as deep into his life as possible, to the point where multiple writers came out to say that the reporting was under their standards and felt grimy. Where the ONLY accusation of anything violent was from the co-founder of “Ladies for Kavanaugh”, not digging this up and making it the headline smells fishy to me. I’m sorry, but this feels like an extension of the smear campaign and not some honest and fair accusation levied on him by a credible victim.
Er, this was referenced in the NYT piece. There was a woman who spoke of a disturbing encounter but didn't give further details. This was pretty clearly this woman. And the evidence is pretty damning.
It's horrible because even with this, he's still far better than your average congressional Dem. And party leader (Schumer) is an open traitor. But when you have to weigh rape against the mass murder of children & treason, nobody wins. It's a race to the bottom between some of the worst of our species, none of whom should be in power.
It not evidence. Evidence gets presented in court and with a chance to be discredited or rebutted by the defense. It’s her version of events, and it may or may not be true. Someone could call your boss and accuse you of rape. Should you be fired before trial?
This isn't a court of law and nobody's trying to send him to prison, including the accuser. But let's be real, the whole "IT DOESN'T MATCH LEGAL STANDARDS FOR COURT" defense has always been the refuge of scumbags in the face of accusations like this. There's a significantly lower burden of proof when judging credibility of accusations for non-criminal purposes. This accusation looks very, very, very credible. There are records going back years before he was in politics.
I would be thrilled if there were a last-minute plot twist exonerating him. But gambling on that would be deeply immoral and irresponsible.
You know, one of Biden’s accusers said he threw her against a wall and forcibly assaulted her. Turns out, after some lengthy investigation, she had falsely presented herself as an expert witness in many cases for the prosecution. In CA, I believe, they had to go to the expense of re-trying over 80 cases due to her false representations. Is this woman similarly false? I don’t know. Investigations take time and usually require court for certainty. I not willing to throw somebody under the bus based solely on her version of events. She can and could’ve taken it to court, presented medical records, filed a police report, etc. She didn’t. Let her do so now — nothing is stopping her if she has any evidence besides her words.
I mean, that's my ideal candidate. But I'm 99% certain they're going to anoint Janet Mills, a genocide-waffling pro-data-center extremist who'll be in her mid-80s when her term is up. Someone who categorically should not be allowed in the race, a walking insult to America.
This really, really upsets me. I generally tend to believe women, but the timing of this seems very suspicious. She had plenty of time to come forward before now. I have to wonder if someone got to her, because I know Republicans will do anything to taking a promising Dem down, whatever it takes. And money can be very persuasive. I say let him stay in the race.
Female voter in Maine here. I don’t know that the accuser was paid. Our local right-wing press (The Maine Wire) has been looking for women who dated or knew Platner, and something was bound to turn up, true-ish or not. I’m guessing someone manipulated her into making this statement, maybe her therapist or a close family member who is not a Platner fan. I haven’t read the Politico article yet but supposedly the accuser still supports him as a candidate.
Check this woman's bank account for a very large, recent and unexplainable deposit.
She was probably paid via an anonymous Bitcoin wallet.
I can see why "gutter" in part of your name. It's where the filth lives.
Oh wow, that hurt.
So you support rape? Calling women liars doesn't change the facts. You're why we choose the bear.
This feels like a pattern with anyone who challenges the establishment. This pattern happens over and over again. So, as much as I believe all victims should be heard, I have a very hard time believing this.
Whether this is true or not, the power establishments must be reduced to a rubble before I'll be able to not see this as a pattern again.
If Platner had been properly vetted, we would not be in this situation. It's not just one woman and it is not part of a distant past. Shame on the Democratic Party for failing to do their job and shame on Graham Platner for running.
The Democratic party has a history of not doing it's job, particularly where helping voters is concerned. The only thing they have ant efficiency with it fighting their left flank, and generally with allegations like this when possible. EDIT: That said, this is incredibly serious - and on seeing closer detail, while the timing makes me sick, I ultimately agree with you.
"Lucky" and "sexual assault." Really? They belong together?
If Platner did do this, and if there reallyis a history of it, lock him up and throw away the key. I won't give him a second thought. But you know very well what I mean when I say lucky, and it has to do with the party, not what happened.
I'll say again for the people who want to twist words: there is no room in the party for perpetrators of assault. Period. But the timing is incredibly suspect, which means a careful examination of the facts. If he's guilty, that's that, he's done.
You should have stopped at “but.” Your words are offensive to survivors, not a political flex.
And this is NOT a time to talk about the Party. It's time to demand accountability from a man who flourishes in rape culture.
Bull. We can hold him *and* the party accountable.
Wanted to come back here after seeing more details, and I have two thoughts. First, Platner is toast. He's not coming back from it, even if he fights the charges, which (after seeing more) I'm not sure he will. I like Troy Jackson from what I've seen so far, and I hope he gets to move forward in Platner's place, but that should be up to Maine voters. Second, as Becky said, no more "rush vetting" of candidates. The establishment's power needs to be removed entirely because they're utterly worthless to the voting populace, but the movement needs to do a better and more thorough job vetting so this *cannot* happen again.
Finally, this needs to go hand in hand with doing whatever is necessary to let victims feel comfortable coming forward publicly fully *early* so candidates with these kinds of issues are removed before we get to this point - and also so that, if allegations happen to be false, candidates have a chance to fight it before it's too late (not saying that's the case here, just giving all possible scenarios for a potential future instance). Creating a culture where coming forward is seen as a public service, if that's somehow possible, would be helpful to both victims and voters, and even (potentially) candidates, too.
At the risk of alienating "my sisters", I am suspect about this info coming out now. He has been campaigning for a while now. There is a very fishy smell to news like this being presented just a week before the deadline. I am not a rabid supporter of Mr Platner but the voters should decide.
Agreed. She wasn't raped yesterday and it is a week before the election. Plus the guy was drunk according to her. Have you ever seen a drunk get it up and be able to rape anyone? Or a drunk you could not knock down or shove out the door? I have dealt with many drunks in my youth and found them pretty easy to get rid of.
Yes, I have and I've been raped by one. Quit apologizing for him. You are an unsafe woman.
I too have been sexually assaulted. But this is suspicious, and I’m not willing to ruin someone’s life and career without due process, especially when he denies it and there were no witnesses or police records.
My first rapist denied it. There were no witnesses. I didn't report it to the police because things were even worse for a 15-year-old in 1980. IT STILL HAPPENED.
AMEN!
Consider me alienated. You're co-opted by the patriarchy.
Let me guess - there are no police records of this. We knew the establishment was gonna pull out all the stops…
I wish the Democratic leadership would spend as much time investigating Epstein as they do Platner.
It’s a shame if he did, but doesn’t change anything for me. We have a whole government full of Republican miscreants for whom sexual peccadillos are taken for granted. I don’t need my representatives in government to be perfect, just really good at government. Time for the Democratic Party to stop throwing away good people who do something wrong. I’ll take more Al Franken’s and Graham Platners, hold the Kirsten Sinema’s, Fetterman’s and Manchin’s (who only appeared to be desirable for a time)..
Exactly!! This woman seconds your proposal.
"We have a whole government full of miscreants for whom sexual peccadillos are taken for granted."
Fixed it for you.
In my experience, which is substantial and I am now 83 years old, a totally drunk man can't get it up anyway. It's easy to push him out the door. He just falls and you lock it behind him. So he is not a threat to any woman he approaches. Further, no one is getting the pedophile pervert out of the the number one office or other rich and powerful men who raped and imprisoned girls and women so why should be care about what Platner did when he was drunk. Any woman who does not know how to get rid of a drunk is an idiot. Funny they are coming up with these accounts now.
While I agree that the timing is false... I don't think we fight rapists with more rapists.
I'd like to see more circumstantial evidence or more than just, "Well I was torn but now I want to speak up." Does she have any receipts or anything to back her claim? Because I legitimately think we should believe women who claim to be raped, but most of them come forward with some shred of evidence to validate their claims.
Rapists should not be tolerated. I hope Platner isn't one of them and this is just a smear.
Agreed but the allegation is not for now. This event took place some time back and is only being reported now which just so happens to be 1 week before the voting. I find that suspicious. Plus she did say the man was drunk. As a woman, I know how to protect myself from a drunk. A drunken man is powerless. Put that all together and it raises questions.
Please no vistim blaming. There's a wide range of drunk between falling down and just somewhat out of control - if it's true, he could easily have been pretty drunk but still strong enough to overpower a smaller woman.
But the timing is pretty suspicious, and it feels like dirty tricks. I feel sick about all this. Can't just dismiss it, if we do we're as bad as they are, and can't take it at face value, if we do we're pathetic dupes.
This is not blaming the victim. This is casting suspicion over the motives of the reporters. I would string up everyone of the Epstein dudes who enslaved the girls and vulnerable women. Including the top man.
just as there are conservatives i like that I would never elect because of their politics, there are leftists i would never elect because of their character.
Graham, you've got to go. And others like you. I believe in redemption and second chances, but not for elected officials. Stay an oyster farmer, stay (become?) a good citizen, and live your life in peace. But you are unfit for office.
And how do you feel about every president in your life time actually being a war criminal?
Probably don't think twice about that, do you?
is your point ultimately that we should vote for rapists as long as we agree with their politics?
What about your Pedo / Rapist President? He advertises the misuse of his dick as a badge of honor, a "point of pride" AND A LOT OF MEN ADMIRE HIM, apparently. I simply don't trust the timing of this allegation, AT ALL.
No! We don't sink to their level. We don't admire rapists the way they do. No justifying it, if it's true.
But the timing is very suspect. And very hard to tell if it's true or not, and if it's rubbish, hard to comepletely disprove.
WHO IS THIS WOMAN? I can't find anything about HER on the internet. She's been "scrubbed clean."
Christopher Seay: You are quick to jump to certainty. Why is that? And what does his juvenile peccadilloes have to do with his ability to work in office for a better country than Susan Collins would?
I don't think Collins is fit for office either: corrupt AND incompetent.
Not proven that he's a rapist - weird how all the people who want to make the Epstein class pay their taxes get accused of sexual misconduct, and yet the Epstein Class goes uninvestigated.
Obviously, committing repeated crimes against humanity isn't a deal breaker either.
Just trying to make rich people pay taxes.
And if you voted for Clinton and/or Biden, you certainly didn't let accusations of sexual assault stop you then, did you?
How do you feel about two of the last two of the last five presidents are documented sexual assaulters, Clinton and Trump and lots of sexual assault allegations against Biden!
The hypocrisy is nauseating
Claiming I'm a hypocrite with no information beyond my being against allowing rapists to be elected is throwing me for a loop.
I don't want ANY rapists in office. I don't LIKE Biden or Clinton or any blue rapist. I am not for allowing politicians of poor character in office.
I was speaking about the hypocrisy of the Democratic Establishment.
So you wouldn't vote for Trump because he did this:
Sexual misconduct allegations and a civil jury finding in the E. Jean Carroll case, which are among the most serious personal accusations against him.
Attempts to overturn the 2020 election, including the fake electors effort and the events surrounding January 6.
wikipedia
Crowd at the US Capitol storming on January 6, 2021.
Classified documents issues and the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, which led to major federal legal scrutiny.
Family separation and hardline immigration policies, which were condemned by civil rights groups and many critics.
The Muslim travel ban and other policies critics argued were discriminatory.
Numerous false or misleading public statements, which became a recurring criticism throughout his career.
The Trump University and Trump Foundation cases, which fueled long-running accusations of fraud and misuse of charity or business influence.
That's not even including the Epstein Files or the 168 little girls he killed in Iran
there is no universe in which I'd vote for trump
It was both girls & boys killed in the Minab school bombing, BTW. As well as teachers, staff, parents & medics.
The sick thing is he's still far better than your average congressional Dem. But when you have to weigh the mass murder of children against rape, nobody wins. It's a race to the bottom between despicable people, none of whom should be in power.
I really hope this isn't true. I'm so excited for Platner. If it IS true, I'm really torn, because we NEED more senate power to take down MAGA. Ugh.
This reeks of Roger Stone.
Don’t you love how chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand jumped on the damn Graham bandwagon. Gillibrand who got Al Franken thrown out of the senate in a record 48 hours wrote an op ed in NYT endorsing Cuomo, who had to resign for sexual assault, she was so scared of Mandami. I declare myself a democratic socialist. I’m done with the DNC.
Never forget CNN is run by Bari Weiss.
Unsure what the best path forward here is. He can drop out and Janet mills will lose to Susan Collins, or he can continue the campaign and try to win. Once he wins we can focus on who can replace him once his term ends.
I think at this point he needs to keep going. Him dropping out does no one good.
Edit: following everything. He needs to drop out and if the DNC has half a brain they’d nominate someone with a similar policy
platform
“I just wanted the truth out there.. now.. as he’s getting close to being elected.” As you can see, Zionism is a threat to very real situations, like SA victims, because of the nonsense that they resort to just to get pro-Israeli voices in the government.
Hope this isn’t true and my assessment of the situation is wrong.
Zain: Even if one woman really did suffer, we need people in Senate who will be working on stopping bombing and genocide and corruption. Keep an eye on the prize.
If she was assaulted, I wouldn’t want to compromise my integrity by forgoing her suffering. The timing of it all indicates something more sinister at hand so again I’m hoping this is a lie.
Ultimately though, we do want the genocide to end and the senseless killing to stop.
I’m sorry but anyone taking this on its face is just either blind or ignorant. The New York Times article that dug as deep into his life as possible, to the point where multiple writers came out to say that the reporting was under their standards and felt grimy. Where the ONLY accusation of anything violent was from the co-founder of “Ladies for Kavanaugh”, not digging this up and making it the headline smells fishy to me. I’m sorry, but this feels like an extension of the smear campaign and not some honest and fair accusation levied on him by a credible victim.
Er, this was referenced in the NYT piece. There was a woman who spoke of a disturbing encounter but didn't give further details. This was pretty clearly this woman. And the evidence is pretty damning.
It's horrible because even with this, he's still far better than your average congressional Dem. And party leader (Schumer) is an open traitor. But when you have to weigh rape against the mass murder of children & treason, nobody wins. It's a race to the bottom between some of the worst of our species, none of whom should be in power.
It not evidence. Evidence gets presented in court and with a chance to be discredited or rebutted by the defense. It’s her version of events, and it may or may not be true. Someone could call your boss and accuse you of rape. Should you be fired before trial?
This isn't a court of law and nobody's trying to send him to prison, including the accuser. But let's be real, the whole "IT DOESN'T MATCH LEGAL STANDARDS FOR COURT" defense has always been the refuge of scumbags in the face of accusations like this. There's a significantly lower burden of proof when judging credibility of accusations for non-criminal purposes. This accusation looks very, very, very credible. There are records going back years before he was in politics.
I would be thrilled if there were a last-minute plot twist exonerating him. But gambling on that would be deeply immoral and irresponsible.
You know, one of Biden’s accusers said he threw her against a wall and forcibly assaulted her. Turns out, after some lengthy investigation, she had falsely presented herself as an expert witness in many cases for the prosecution. In CA, I believe, they had to go to the expense of re-trying over 80 cases due to her false representations. Is this woman similarly false? I don’t know. Investigations take time and usually require court for certainty. I not willing to throw somebody under the bus based solely on her version of events. She can and could’ve taken it to court, presented medical records, filed a police report, etc. She didn’t. Let her do so now — nothing is stopping her if she has any evidence besides her words.
FORTUNATELY WE DONT support Troy Johnson for senate! He just got the Maine DSA endorsement.
I mean, that's my ideal candidate. But I'm 99% certain they're going to anoint Janet Mills, a genocide-waffling pro-data-center extremist who'll be in her mid-80s when her term is up. Someone who categorically should not be allowed in the race, a walking insult to America.
Ironically much more pro sexual violence than platner or any other individual criminal ever could be.
Oh dear god I hope it's not true. If it is why did she wait so long? And if it isn't how can it be disproven?
Don’t “Al Franken” Platner! This is the same old playbook.
This really, really upsets me. I generally tend to believe women, but the timing of this seems very suspicious. She had plenty of time to come forward before now. I have to wonder if someone got to her, because I know Republicans will do anything to taking a promising Dem down, whatever it takes. And money can be very persuasive. I say let him stay in the race.
Female voter in Maine here. I don’t know that the accuser was paid. Our local right-wing press (The Maine Wire) has been looking for women who dated or knew Platner, and something was bound to turn up, true-ish or not. I’m guessing someone manipulated her into making this statement, maybe her therapist or a close family member who is not a Platner fan. I haven’t read the Politico article yet but supposedly the accuser still supports him as a candidate.