Unfortunately, news media were quick to report negative stories about Mr. Graham Platner, but somebody must speak to his friends too.

‘They don’t know Maine’

Democratic US Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks at his Primary Election event on Tuesday in Blue Hill, Maine.

Maine Writer opinion: Regardless of how voters will respond to Mr. Graham Platner as a US senate candidate from Maine, the facts about how his wife's friend went to The Wall Street Journal to betray a confidence shared by Amy Gertner, who is Mr. Platner's wife, was a terrible betrayal. The informant had no business invading the couple's privacy with her "probably a paid for" interview.  Of course, The New York Times was not to be outdone, so somehow the editors decided to interview a few girls who said they dated Mr. Platner when he was single, but they did not provide proof about the unusual behavior they reported in the Times. Meanwhile, of course, Donald Trump sits and sleeps in the White House as a 34 times convicted felon, a philanderer, an enabler of child sex trafficking with Jeffrey Epstein and as a military draft dodger who claimed to have "bone spurs" during the Vietnam war.  

Mr. Graham Platner/A friends view published on social media

by Larry Hayden 

This is updated, I posted a while ago - which I just sent via email to the two women who wrote the hit piece, I mean the article about the ex-girlfriends of Graham Platner in the New York Times - one of whom, Fifield, may or may not have been an old girlfriend of Graham, but does seem to have been an old Republican operative for a while. It is strange how that seems to have been overlooked…
Subject: My friend Graham. Regarding your recent piece on my friend: “This is nonsense…”- to the New York Times

My friend Graham a year ago was sitting on his dive boat about to fix my mooring chain. He may not walk on water but he can walk and work under water - so there is that ability he has, which is considerably more useful around here than what most of the politicians, pundits, and journalists can do that I know of.
I am a School Board Director in RSU24, which recently voted to violate the Maine Human Rights Act and to require the staff, teachers, nurses, counselors etc, to discriminate against gay & trans students. As a result of this and subsequent votes, my school district is now being sued by the State of Maine for violating the laws of this state.
I voted against these measures, with the numerical majority. As it was a weighted vote, based on the population of each the nine towns in the district, a weighted minority could outvote the numerical majority on the Board and they did.

Anyway, a year ago last May, Mr. Platner, who is from Sullivan, ME, one of the towns in our district, came to the School Board meeting on May 6th 2025, when the anti-trans/anti-gay policy was first proposed by a School Board Director. During the public comment time Graham spoke out strongly against the anti-LGBTQ policy that members of the Board were proposing.

“This is nonsense,” he began in his gruff voice.

He went on to point out to the Board and to the public in attendance that we had no trans athletes in our sports program, that the kind of discrimination the Board was considering was in violation of State and Federal law and that Executive Orders are not in fact law, that this proposal was not about protecting girls but about persecuting gay and trans kids.

There were many in the audience that strongly disagreed with him but he made it clear where he stood on this matter. His point was that instituting this policy would hurt all children, regardless of their gender identity.

This was months before he declared his campaign for Senate. He has continued to defend communities of color, women, trans and gay kids, and stand up for old and young people of this state during literally hundreds of public meetings he has attended. His candor about his past and his own failings is simply uncompromising.

Mr. Graham Platner is my neighbor and my friend. I know his mother who runs a local restaurant. His father was my lawyer and represented many of my neighbors until he retired, handling our title searches, divorces, bankruptcies, and wills. He was the closest thing to Atticus Finch we had in Ellsworth.

When I needed new top chain on my mooring last spring Graham simply said “No problem.” He drove his dive boat over from Sullivan to our harbor, suited up, dove down fixed things up
for me. That is the kind of neighbor he is.

We in Maine know a good man when we meet him. Thousands have now had that honor, although Mr. Graham would insist that the honor his, to be able to meet, to speak with, and listen to so many good people in these troubled times.

As for Graham’s friends old and new, we will stay the course we have embarked on. We will hold fast & do our best to elect this good man to do his best for all of us.

Oh yes, I saw that tattoo when he put on his wet suit - I saw a crude cartoon skull and bones. I saw a pirate tattoo. It looked nothing like the SS Nazi Totenkopf. The skull and bones is a symbol that appears on grave stones in every old graveyard in New England, often with “Momento Mori” written below it, or “Remember Death,” - not a bad thing for a soldier, or any of us, to remember.

Skull and Bones is also the name of the most famous secret society at Yale, whose symbol is: a skull & bones. It is or was for sale in the gift shop embroidered on neck ties. I do not recall hearing talk about their members being Nazis, nor the Knights Templar, nor the Free Masons, nor the numerous college fraternities that use that symbol.
The powers that be want desperately to discredit my friend Graham. They will have to do a lot better. I am sure they will do their best or their worst but we who know him and his wife will hold fast, like the new mooring chain Graham fixed for me.

Written by Newbold Noyes in Sorrento, Maine

Americans must vote to remove maga cult insanity from government- Impeach Trump now and VOTE BLUE

Echo opinion letter published in Lancaster OnLine: 

Trump is a chronic liar and we must vote blue in November.

Liar, liar. 🤥❗After watching Donald Trump's recent Sunday disaster interview with NBC News’ Kristen Welker, I believe that millions of people saw just what an unhinged liar Trump is, and always has been❗

I’m sure that Trump's MAGA cult supporters will not care how much Trump is lacking in morals and values. Most likely, they will say that I have Trump Derangement Syndrome when the real truth is that members of MAGA have Democratic Derangement Syndrome.

Nevertheless, I am an independent voter who can clearly see a demented lying fool❗ 🤡In my view, Trump is not fit for any office. He falls asleep at meetings and events, and he lies, 🤥cheats and has no respect for anyone but himself. He has alienated our allies and made the United States a laughingstock. He has broken many laws and couldn’t care less about our Constitution. He frees convicted criminals who are his allies, and he wants to reward those people with our tax dollars. He has no respect for the law.

November's midterm elections are coming, and we will get a chance to change this daily chaos. The Democrats have their flaws. However, they are not insane and can make things better than they are now, without all the craziness and chaos❗ Trump and his MAGA cult criticized President Joe Biden’s economy daily, and they have now created one that’s much worse. They seemingly have no problem making the rich richer and the poor poorer. This needs to change. Please vote blue in November, or I believe you may wind up being ruled by a completely autocratic government!

From Denny Borrell in Lebanon, Pennsylvania

#ImpeachTrumpNOW

Donald Trump and maga cult Republicans must impeach Trump because he continues to break the law!

Trump is losing in courts, Congress, and the polls. Be more worried, not less. | Editorial Board published by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
(Kudos to the Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial Board❗ I wish the Baltimore Sun Editorial Board has the same anti-Trumpzi courage❗)

The courts and Congress are pushing back. But, the damage is mounting, and complacency may be the biggest threat of all.

Donald Trump continues to inflict historic damage on the United States through his corruption, incompetence, and cruelty. 

But, amid the daily chaos and nightly fury, Trump has suffered significant losses that should give citizens who support the Constitution and democracy a glimmer of hope.

In fact, he’s lost in Congress, the court of public opinion, and courtrooms across the country. Even the Iran war has turned into a no-win situation. (Has Iran surrendered yet❓)

Adding to the indignity, Trump was roundly booed in his hometown by Knicks fans when he made an appearance at an NBA Finals game at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Monday (June 8, 2026).

(Donald Trump was booed by the audience when he attended this basketball game, but he told reporters it was "mostly cheers"😲😦😕😉😵😏)

But, here’s the thing about Trump: He’s never more dangerous than when he’s losing. Trump continues to dismantle democracy even as the country prepares to celebrate 250 years since the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. And, unfortunately, Trump still wields immense power over his MAGA cult base.

But fissures abound.

Just look at the Congress. After largely serving as lapdogs, (some) Republicans who control the House and Senate have begun to push back.
The Senate shelved Trump’s brazen scheme to create a 💲1.8 billion slush fund to reward loyal lackeys prosecuted and convicted of crimes, including the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection — but passed on reining in his tax audit chicanery.
Senate Republicans also dropped 💲1 billion in security funding for Trump’s ballroom — an obscene waste of tax dollars that keeps growing in price and size as many Americans struggle to make ends meet.

In a rare rebuke, four GOP House members — including U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.) — joined with Democratic lawmakers to pass a war powers resolution that called for ending the conflict in Iran that is costing taxpayers 💲2 billion a day and sent oil prices soaring.

In defiance of Trump’s refusal to help Ukraine, 18 House Republicans joined Democrats to pass a measure to provide more than 💲1 billion in aid and impose new sanctions on Russia. (Recall how Trump repeatedly said he would end that war within 24 hours after returning to office.)

The sudden turn against Trump by some GOP lawmakers is likely driven more by the looming midterm elections than any allegiance to their constitutional oath.

Trump’s poll numbers are sinking. There are even cracks among white working-class voters without a college degree who now disapprove of the president’s handling of the economy. They could tolerate Trump’s lies, corruption, and incompetence, but not 💲5-a-gallon gasoline.

At the same time, Trump — who has spent a lifetime litigating thousands of grievances — is losing in many courtrooms on issues big and small.

On Monday, a judge voided “in its entirety” Trump’s scheme to impose 💲100,000 fees on employers seeking visas for skilled foreign workers — one in a series of misguided moves by the administration to target immigrants, which hurts all Americans.
U.S. Rep. Don Bacon (R., Neb.) called Trump’s continued deference to Russian leader Vladimir Putin a “moral blindness” that “communicates weakness.”

Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Trump’s cockamamie plan to impose tariffs on countries in a way best described as willy-nilly. 

Beyond being fiscally stupid, the court found Trump’s signature economic policy was unconstitutional❗

The Supreme Court will soon rule on Trump’s signature immigration policy to end birthright citizenship for babies born in the U.S. to undocumented immigrants or those on temporary visas.

Most legal experts believe Trump will lose this case because birthright citizenship is guaranteed under the 14th Amendment. Even Trump predicted the court would “probably rule against me.” As it should, since the law is not on his side.

A federal judge ruled that Trump’s name must come off the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The judge said the law is “crystal clear,” and that only Congress can change the name.

After beating four criminal indictments, Trump is still subject to the law.

In fact, the Trump administration has lost 70％ of the more than 600 lawsuits it has faced over the past year or so. The record of futility underscores Trump’s overreach, since the federal government traditionally prevails in court.

Judges and grand juries have rejected many of the slapdash legal arguments from the Trump administration. The U.S. Department of Justice has parted ways with thousands of career prosecutors and is forfeiting its credibility with the bench.

The losses are real. And they matter. But, democracy doesn’t survive on court rulings and poll numbers alone — it survives because people keep showing up.

Trump’s losing streak obscures the harder truth that he continues to trample the rule of law, attack countries, install lackeys, line his pockets, and upend the economy — moves that systematically weaken the U.S. at home and abroad.

It is, after all, a reminder that the arc of the moral universe can bend toward justice — even in these “dark, disturbing, and dangerous times.” The bending, though, is up to us: follow the Constitution, hold wrongdoers accountable, and vote.

#ImpeachTrumpNOW❗

Graham Platner primary democrat senate win received more votes than all other democratic candidates combined!

Echo Maine Primary 2026, Graham Platner Democratic vote margin by Steve Mistler published b Maine Public 

Graham Platner gets more primary votes than any other Democratic Senate candidate in Maine history.

Graham Platner has already received more primary votes than any other Democratic U.S. Senate candidate in Maine history.

Platner has received more than 150,000 votes on primary Election Day so far, according to data compiled by the Associated Press. An analysis of state election data show that's more than any of his predecessors going back to 1918 — the first year Maine began electing U.S. Senators by popular vote.

His vote share was also significantly more than all eight of the Republican candidates running for governor combined as of Thursday, with more than 90% of the votes counted. The GOP gubernatorial primary turnout was the highest it's been since 2010.

An analysis of early absentee data also suggests the combat veteran and oyster farmer may have benefited from the state's second use of semi-open primaries, which allows unenrolled voters to participate in the parties' nomination contests.

More than 18,000 unenrolled voters cast absentee ballots as of Tuesday afternoon. Seventy-five percent of those voters voted in the Democratic primary.

So far, Platner has won every town in Maine except three, Hersey, Moose River and Weston, which went to Gov. Janet Mills.

Donald Trump was double cruel about Iran casualties minimized importance of veterans killed and created unrealistic correlations with other wars

As a Vietnam era draftee, I will always be focused on the avoidance by our country of unnecessary war. Donald Trump’s campaign included a commitment to avoid future wars. Well and good. 

Echo opinion letter published in the Las Vegas Journal-Review by Thomas B. Petersen in St George, Utah.

But, during Donald Trump's disaster on Sunday's (June 7th,  “Meet The Press” interview with journalist Kristen Welker, it was (justifiably) pointed out that he had not made good on his campaign promise to avoid future wars, and that there seemed to be no end in sight to the U.S. attacks on Iran. 

Donald Trump's response was to draw comparisons to our involvement in World War II, Korea and Vietnam in regard to durations and casualties, making the specific case that 😕😢only 13 U.S. casualties in the current war and the current two-month duration to date paled compared to our losses in previous wars.

His justification for the Iran war as having cost us only 13 casualties versus more than 50,000 in Vietnam was especially offensive to me. His campaign promise to avoid future wars was not kept, and our war with Iran is not justified. 😡😒😞😧😠😭😢

Senator Susan Collins clutching her pearls in "concern" about Mr. Graham Platner but her voting record is dangerous maga

I must make a post about Mr. Graham Platner. Democrats are ☘lucky to have Mr. Platner in the Senate race running against maga Senator Susan Collins.

Echo Facebook essay by Joel Johnson: 

First of all, that stupid tattoo. I have made three films about the holocaust, looked at more than 5,000 still photographs of the Holocaust in the German national archive in Koblinz, spent two weeks in the photo archive at Yad Vashem in Israel looking at thousands of photographs, did a 90 minute PBS special about the French resistance against the Nazis, and I have an entire book about German military uniforms and I did not recognize his tattoo as an SS Totenkopf insignia when I first saw it. The actual Totenkopf insignias are small and silver, and when I saw the large black version on Platner’s chest I did not recognize it. I wish I had a dollar for every tattoo I ever saw that was a bad choice.

But really, and most important, what this guy is about is challenging the very foundations of American politics and economics, which favor the corporations and the rich and leave the working Americans behind. The same message as Bernie Sanders and AOC. This message is very threatening, not just to republicans, but to many main stream democrats as well. His genuine talent as a retail politician is truly remarkable and if American politics is going to change we need guys like this. People love him and Maine voters are going to make him their nominee, and he will probably beat Susan Collins.

As for the piece in the New York Times, whose shocking reveal is that ex-girlfriends are not always the best character references—especially if they are republican operatives—I just think it is shabby journalism. Not a word about his policies, which are the entire reason the guy is running and why Mainers are supporting him, no matter what bullshit is thrown at him. If you got about a thousand men together in a stadium somewhere and asked them “Have any of you ever been an asshole in your life?” I am afraid, everybody who was honest would say “yes”.

So let’s just keep our eye on the ball. If you are a liberal democrat, or better yet, a progressive democrat, you should be grateful that this guy and his long suffering wife are willing to stand out in the force 10 shitstorm being directed at them in order to make America a better place for working people.

And for all the “liberals” clutching their pearls in horror over this guy’s behavior or background, just ask yourself whether you want to have a democratic senator in Maine (and maybe a democratic senate) and a new force in American politics that is less worried about what Yale graduates think and more worried about what the majority of Americans thinks. We are lucky ☘to have this guy in the race.

Dark campaign money pouring into Maine to create relentless negative political ads against Democrat Mr. Graham Platner

Echo Facebook Essay by Former Maine State Senator Bonnie Titcomb Lewis, of Standish.  

FACTS surrounding this current Senate campaign race uncover that it is being powered by the “Pine Tree PAC”. It is an outside Maine political action committee that was created for one reason…to destroy Graham Platner in his battle against Susan Collins.

A lot of people do not like dark money in politics. They don’t like out of state millionaires and billionaires determining our elections and politics here in Maine. They do not like unlimited amounts of money throughout the election season that twist and turn political imaging. In fact, Maine tried to stop that, but to no avail. And that money is here being poured into destructive media ads.
Well, my friends, following is where the Pine Tree PAC and Senator Collin’s money is coming from, heavily funded by prominent conservative figures, dark-money networks, and corporate interests.

💲3 million (a dark-money nonprofit that does not disclose its underlying donors).
Stephen Schwarzman: 💲2 million (Blackstone CEO).
Paul Singer: 💲1 million (Hedge fund manager).
John Malone: 💲1 million (Liberty Media Chairman).
James Davis: 💲1 million (New Balance Chairman).
Lexington Fund: 💲1 million (a dark-money group tied to judicial activist, Leonard Leo).

Then this outside our state PAC made national news for spending nearly 💲2 million on aggressive television and internet attack ads targeting Democrat Graham Platner, the frontrunner in the Democratic Senate primary.

Controversy: The PAC’s heavy reliance on "dark-money" (untraceable, non-disclosed donors via nonprofits or opaque corporations) has drawn significant scrutiny and formal complaints to the Federal Election Commission.

Although Maine voters passed a ballot initiative capping super PAC contributions at 💲5,000, federal courts struck down the law as a violation of free speech, allowing the Pine Tree Results PAC to accept unlimited sums from individuals and corporations.

Senator Susan Collins "concerned" about her opponent Mr. Graham Platner but says nothing about Epstein Files connection to Donald Trump

Manufactured outrage has become one of the defining features of the modern GOP Republican politics. #MainePolitics

A Facebook essay by Murry Evans. 

The latest example is unfolding in Maine, where Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner has come under scrutiny after reports revealed he sent explicit messages early in his marriage. 

Platner acknowledged the messages publicly, admitted he hurt people close to him, and said he and his wife entered counseling after she discovered them last year. (Mr. Platner never called the accusations a "hoax" and the interviews with The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times did not provide any evidence to support the reports.)

But, immediately, the outrage machine roared to life.

Hypocritical republicans and conservative media figures suddenly began presenting the race as a referendum on morality, character, and personal decency. 

Watching all of this unfold would almost be convincing if these were the same people who had spent the last decade holding their own political leaders to the same standards.

But, no, they didn’t❗
This is the same political movement that normalized Donald Trump despite years of affairs, sexual misconduct allegations, vulgar public behavior, hush money scandals, and the infamous Access Hollywood “grab them by the pussy” tape. 

Somehow, none of that disqualified him from the presidency in the eyes of the very people who now want voters to believe Platner’s failures represent some unique moral collapse.

That is why the outrage feels manufactured.

Not because personal character is irrelevant. It matters. Integrity matters. Yes, honesty matters. (Mr. Platner has been honest in his response to the news stories about him.)

But selective outrage is not morality. Instead, it is brutal politics.

And what makes this particular story more complicated is the contrast between the two figures at the center of it.
Susan Collins has spent decades carefully cultivating the image of a thoughtful, responsible moderate — a reassuring institutional figure standing above partisan chaos. Yet, again and again, when the most consequential moments arrived, she ultimately protected the political machinery surrounding Trump while publicly pretending discomfort with it afterward. Concern became performance. Moderation (or the fake news about it) became branding.

Platner, by contrast, does not project establishment polish. He comes across more like the rugged, imperfect, working-class outsider many Mainers recognize immediately — someone rooted in the realities of coastal communities, labor concerns, fisheries, wages, healthcare, and economic inequality rather than the insulated world of Washington power.

That contrast is precisely why this race matters.

One candidate represents institutional stability inside a political system many Americans increasingly distrust. The other represents frustration with that system itself, even while carrying very human flaws of his own.

And perhaps that is the deeper tension underneath all of this:
Americans often claim to want authenticity in politics, but authenticity becomes uncomfortable when it arrives attached to imperfection. 

Meanwhile, carefully managed political branding is repeatedly mistaken for integrity simply because it looks more polished.
The easiest thing in the world is to manufacture outrage around another person’s failures. Cable news thrives on it. Social media rewards it. Political operatives depend on it.

What is much harder is applying standards consistently.

If character matters, then it should matter universally. If morality matters, then it should not disappear whenever political convenience requires it to disappear.

And if outrage only emerges when it benefits one side politically, then what we are witnessing is not principle at all. It is performance.

That is the real story unfolding in Maine right now.

(Maine Writer:  But, the back story is the new progressive mantra: "You don't know the Maine voter❗)

This crucial Maine senate campaign is not simply about a populist flawed candidate. Not about another "ho-hum😒😩😴" political scandal. Rather, the campaign is about a political culture that selectively weaponizes morality, while excusing almost anything from the powerful people, like the convicted criminal Donald Trump, that it has already chosen to protect.

P.S. Where are the Epstein Files❓

#ManufacturedOutrage #GrahamPlatner #SusanCollins #MainePolitics #SelectiveOutrage #PoliticalHypocrisy #CharacterMatters #Trump #PoliticalDoubleStandards #HypocrisyInPlainSight #AmericanPolitics #Democracy #PoliticalCulture #Opinion