sounds a bit like myself...

And then deployed to Iraq in 2005?
And then joined the Nat. Guard with a further tour in Afghanistan?
And then in 2018 got a job at Blackwater (Constellis)?

He learned. The wars changed him. Sometimes it takes a hard experience like that to make you truly understand.

He protested when the war was up for discussion, using (presumably) whatever means he could to stop it, then when the decision was made despite his protests to go in, he ceased protesting and did his part to contribute to the policy's success, even though he thought it was the wrong decision. There's no inconsistency here, just a mindset that does not pick up its toys and go home when the game goes against him.

Presumably (there's that word again) his protest against Iraq/Afghanistan were not based on irreconcilable moral disapproval, which may mean he did not (at that time) pass the moral purity test so many Democrats seem to think is necessary to earn their vote.

-- Mal

I had a lot of students join the military because they thought it was the only way to get money for college.

I wish he had a track record...but even with fetterman's track record that looked pretty good before he went to the Senate , hard to predict what he has become.

Not my state (either Fetterman or Platner), but hopefully he will get rid of Collins and vote reliably with the Dems against the fascist moves of the (R) party

he thought he'd end the war singlehandedly from the inside.


Good luck to him, though.

I'm skeptical of Platner in terms of having not seen much in the way of actions that support his words and this provides some actions. I'm still not okay with things like using retarded as a slur or that tattoo, but this is good stuff on his part.

But I also lived in Rockland for a year and know firsthand that Mainers are a different breed, oyster farmers even moreso.

I have a lot of respect for stewards of the sea, sealife and those who contribute to our food supply.


This quote from the article got my attention.

I was (still am) an admirer of Janet Mills. She was a good governor, she's feisty, and I think she would have made a fine senator, despite her age. I gave money to her campaign -- a LOT of money. I watched Platner's support grow, shook my head at his old Reddit posts and the tattoo thing, and I assumed he would implode.

Meanwhile, my anti-war son encouraged me to read up on Platner and watch his interviews. My son went to school with Platner's wife, so he knows the family. A Jewish friend here in Maine, a lifelong Dem who's deeply embedded and influential in politics, told me he spent hours one-on-one with Platner, probing every aspect of his life. My friend wanted to make sure he knew the man before he gave his support. He came away convinced Platner is authentic, committed, and just the candidate we need. He has no concern whatsoever about the tattoo and he threw a fundraiser for him.

Mainers are behind this guy. The unions are behind him. The Maine People's Alliance is behind him. Now I'm behind him. Every so often, a great candidate seems to come out of nowhere. This particular candidate sprang from a little town in Maine, went to war and back, and became that candidate.

The powerful are afraid of him.

The full weight of the GOP machine will try to destroy him. They'll try to divide Dems by calling him a Nazi and make us afraid of that stupid tattoo.