How US Imperialism Shaped the Iran We See Today

Journalist Rida Ali charts the history of US intervention in Iran from 1953 to the current attack in this video explainer.

Rida Ali and Team Zeteo
Mar 21, 2026

Journalist Rida Ali charts the history of US intervention in Iran from 1953 to the current attack in this video explainer. Watch video and Read on Substack

On February 28, the political landscape of the Middle East shifted dramatically following a reported US airstrike that killed Ayatollah Khamenei. But 2026 is far from the first time the US has been involved in Iranian politics.

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Many of the sentiments and strategies we see today echo actions from over 70 years ago in 1953, when a democratically elected leader was overthrown after attempting to nationalize Iran’s oil. For many Iranians, this moment feels like part of a much longer pattern of Western intervention shaping the country’s trajectory. If you think you know the story, let’s take a closer look at how the past and present are deeply connected.

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Getting ready for ‘No Kings’ Day

Here’s what you can do to get ready: 

 Register for one of the 3,000 No Kings events happening across the country and around the worldCan’t find an event within 30 minutes of your area? Consider hosting your own! The deadline to register an event is Wednesday, March 25 11:59PM ET.

 Then, invite three of your friends to join you. We need your help bringing new folks into the movement! Forward this email to three friends or use our social media toolkit to spread the word. 

 Finally, check out the new No Kings online merch store!* This is the best way to find gear for next Saturday! Indivisible does not operate the store, so we can’t guarantee all items will arrive to all parts of the country by next Saturday, but there’s a good chance items ordered today will arrive in time.

Together, we’re going to make sure March 28 is massive, peaceful, joyful, and historic. We’ll remind the regime and its enablers that the real power resides with the people. We’ll give hope and courage to our fellow Americans who are still looking for ways to turn their anger and disapproval into active resistance. 

March 28 will be the biggest day of mass protest our country has seen yet, but it can only happen if each of us does our part. Find your nearest No Kings event, invite your friends and neighbors, and we’ll see you out there next Saturday. 

In solidarity,
Indivisible Team

* All the items in the No Kings merch store are offered at cost. The No Kings coalition does not profit from the sales.

Johnny Cash – The Ballad of Ira Hayes

Johnny Cash Aug 29, 2019 Official video for “The Ballad of Ira Hayes” by Johnny Cash Listen to Johnny Cash: https://JohnnyCash.lnk.to/listenYD Subscribe to the official Johnny Cash YouTube channel: https://JohnnyCash.lnk.to/subscribeYD Johnny Cash was a legendary country music singer, songwriter and musician. Born on February 26, 1932 in Kingsland, Arkansas, Johnny made his way up to be one of the most influential artists of all time. His genre-spanning music embraced country, rock and roll, rockabilly, blues, folk, and gospel sounds with top hits such as “Ring of Fire,” “Walk the Line,” and “Folsom Prison Blues.” Honored with multiple Grammy awards throughout his lifetime, Johnny was also inducted into both the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame. He often collaborated with other popular music icons, such as Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson, to name a few. Throughout his storied career, Johnny received numerous accolades and left an indelible impact on the genre of country music. He is revered and remembered to this day as an incomparable legend of the music industry. Watch more of Johnny Cash’s music videos: https://JohnnyCash.lnk.to/listenYC Follow Johnny Cash: Facebook: https://JohnnyCash.lnk.to/_followFI Instagram: https://JohnnyCash.lnk.to/_followII Twitter: https://JohnnyCash.lnk.to/_followTI Website: https://JohnnyCash.lnk.to/_followWI Spotify: https://JohnnyCash.lnk.to/_followSI YouTube: https://JohnnyCash.lnk.to/subscribeYD#JohnnyCash#TheBalladofIraHayes#officialvideo [Chorus:] Ira Hayes Ira Hayes Call him drunken Ira Hayes He won’t answer anymore Not the whiskey drinking Indian Or the marine that went to war

Poll Blows Up GOP’s Central SAVE America Act Claim

Voting, ballot box, backlit
A person submitting their vote in a ballot box. Photo credit: michael_swan / Flickr (CC BY-ND DEED)

Elections

Klaus Marre 03/20/26 (whowhatwhy.org)

Republicans claim that Americans support legislation that, under the guise of addressing the non-existent problem of noncitizens voting, would make voting more difficult for millions of lawful voters. A new poll now shows that this claim is false.

As the Senate is considering the Republican voter suppression bill that is Donald Trump’s top legislative priority, GOP lawmakers keep claiming that Americans support the measure. However, a new poll shows that this is categorically false.

While it is true that a large majority of Americans want voters to present a photo ID before casting their ballot, a mere 28 percent of them say they favor passage of the deceptively named “SAVE America Act.” Thirty-one percent of them oppose it and the rest are not sure.

You wouldn’t know that from listening to Trump or any other Republican.

“THE SAVE AMERICA ACT is by far the most popular Bill of its kind ever put before Congress!” the president wrote last week.

It’s a statement that the GOP proponents of the legislation have repeated in some form for months. However, as the poll shows, it’s simply not true.

And not only that. The 80-20 support for voter ID does not reflect what’s in the bill. That’s because the measure requires voters to present identification that shows they are US citizens, which is something two-thirds of respondents approve of.

While it is true that 90 percent of respondents felt that a passport, which only about half of them own, would be an acceptable form of ID, even more of them (95 percent) believe that a driver’s license or other state-issued type of identification should be sufficient.

However, if the SAVE America Act were to be signed into law, most driver’s licenses would not qualify because they do not show whether the holder is an American citizen.

That’s not all. Trump wants to use the bill as a vehicle for banning most types of voting by mail. However, about half of all Americans think this option to cast their ballots should be available to everybody while another 39 percent believe it should only be available to people who are away or physically unable to vote.

In addition to showing that Republicans are misrepresenting their bill and how much public support it has, the poll also reveals some very troubling trends.

Trump’s Big Lie and his efforts to undermine faith in US democracy are having an effect.

Even though the president or the Republicans who are parroting him have never presented evidence supporting their lies, almost one-third of Americans (and more than half of GOP voters) believe that there is “widespread voter fraud and irregularities” in US elections.

And, although even conservative groups like the Heritage Foundation have found that it is exceedingly rare for noncitizens to vote, 23 percent of respondents (and nearly half of Trump supporters) think this happens “a lot.”

What is also troubling is that Democrats didn’t commission a poll like this a long time ago since it was clear what it would show: It would have countered a main (and incorrect) talking point that Republicans have been trotting out for months.

In addition, Democrats could (and should) have been more proactive in rolling out their own version of an election integrity bill – one that protects the elections while eliminating the many barriers Republicans are trying to put up that make voting more difficult.

For example, the poll shows that two-thirds of Americans support a proof of citizenship requirement. That is sensible. However, to work, it must be easy to provide that proof so as not to disenfranchise eligible voters. People realize that this is a concern. Twenty-nine percent of them stated that such a requirement would prevent eligible US citizens from voting.

The easiest way to address that problem would be to automatically register Americans at birth or as part of their naturalization process.

This is something that should be broadly popular and eliminate concerns about noncitizens voting. It would also demonstrate that Republicans oppose such a measure because they have been coming up with various ways for years to pick who gets to vote.

As it is, Democrats are not doing enough to fight back. While it is easier to spread a lie than to combat it, they have to do more to restore faith in democracy and counteract Trump’s efforts to rig the midterms.

  • Klaus MarreKlaus Marre, a former congressional reporter, is a senior editor for US politics at WhoWhatWhy. He writes regularly here, and you can also follow him on Bluesky and Substack.

NO KINGS San Francisco

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NO KINGS San Francisco

Visibility Event · Volunteer organized

NO KINGS San Francisco organized by No Kings

Time

Saturday, March 28

11:30am – 3pm PDT

Location

Embarcadero Plaza

Steuart St San Francisco, CA 94105


About this event

We have the power and are claiming it together. No Thrones. No Crowns. No Kings.

Join Indivisible San Francisco, 50501SF, and many local organizers for No Kings San Francisco!

For all up-to-date information on our march, as well as to volunteer, please visit our website at https://indivisiblesf.org/no-kings-3.

We will gather at 11:30 AM at Embarcadero Plaza, with overflow to Sue Bierman Park.

At 12:00 noon, we will march up Market St. and McAllister St. to Civic Center Plaza.

At 2 PM, the rally at Civic Center Plaza will start. There will also be a resistance tabling fair at the neighboring Fulton Plaza.

Please join us and spread the word so that we can have the biggest, most powerful march yet.

Join us for a March from Embarcadero Plaza to Civic Center Plaza, with a rally and resistance fair to follow. We will come together to promote ways to stand strong against the Trump and MAGA regime, protect our communities from ICE, and get ready for a Blue Wave in 2026.

What began in 2025 as a single day of defiance has become a sustained national resistance to tyranny, spreading from small towns to city centers and across every community determined to defend democracy. Our peaceful movement is bigger than ever.

When our families are under attack and costs are pushing people to the brink, silence is not an option. We will defend ourselves and our communities against this administration’s unjust and cruel acts of violence.

On March 28th, rise up, take to the streets, and say it loud: no thrones, no crowns, no kings. We’re not watching history happen—we’re making it. Join us.

A core principle behind all No Kings events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values and to act lawfully at these events. Weapons of any kind, including those legally permitted, should not be brought to events.Read more


Accessibility

This event meets ADA standards

Accessible restrooms

Mainly flat ground

No stairs or steps

ASL interpretation

Wheelchair ramp

Have accessibility questions? Reply to your registration email to confirm your requirements or request more information.


“NO KINGS” Human Banner-SF Ocean Beach

Rally · Volunteer organized

NO KINGS [Human Banner-SF Ocean Beach] organized by No Kings

Time

Saturday, March 28

11am – 12:30pm PDT

Location

1000 Great Hwy

Ocean Beach – Stairwell 17 San Francisco, CA 94121


About this event

We have the power and are claiming it together. No Thrones. No Crowns. No Kings.

What began in 2025 as a single day of defiance has become a sustained national resistance to tyranny, spreading from small towns to city centers and across every community determined to defend democracy. Our peaceful movement is bigger than ever.

When our families are under attack and costs are pushing people to the brink, silence is not an option. We will defend ourselves and our communities against this administration’s unjust and cruel acts of violence.

On March 28th, rise up, take to the streets, and say it loud: no thrones, no crowns, no kings. We’re not watching history happen—we’re making it. Join us.

A core principle behind all No Kings events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values and to act lawfully at these events. Weapons of any kind, including those legally permitted, should not be brought to events.

Join peaceful people from San Francisco Bay communities and all walks of life for a family-friendly, inclusive and peaceful event on March 28th where we will create a new work of human art together on Ocean Beach. We have more power than we know!

The exact design for this banner is still being developed, and the message’s theme (always subject to last-minute changes) will be announced closer to the event.

When: Saturday, March 28th – Arrive by 11:30 am Location: Ocean Beach, SF – Stairwell 17

Directly across from the Beach Chalet — 1000 Great Highway, SF, CA, 94121 — closest intersection is Fulton and Great Highway.

Please Plan to Arrive at the Beach by 11:30 am – This will ensure we are all in place for photography by our drone crews at NOON SHARP. The event will wrap up by about 1:00 pm.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO REGISTER – Knowing how many people will attend really helps us with the banner design calculations. THANK YOU!

Sign up here: https://www.mobilize.us/nokings/event/901829/


Accessibility

Accessible restrooms

Have accessibility questions? Reply to your registration email to confirm your requirements or request more information.

A $30 minimum wage for Oakland?

Labor and community organizers are aiming high. Some business groups are expected to campaign against a wage hike. Voter approval would be required in November.

White man with long hair in a bun, around age 30, stands with his arms crossed. by Eli Wolfe March 20, 2026 (Oaklandside.org)

Zach Norris, co-executive director of the Black Organizing Project, said Oakland’s minimum wage needs to increase to help working families. Credit: Eli Wolfe/The Oaklandside.

With the cost of living continuing to soar across the Bay Area, a coalition in Alameda County is trying to persuade residents to mandate higher wages for the workers who struggle most. 

The Living Wage for All campaign announced Thursday at Understory Oakland in Fruitvale that they are collecting signatures to put two measures on the ballot in Oakland and Alameda County in November.  

The measures would require businesses with more than 100 employees and more than $1 million in revenue to increase the minimum wage to $30 by 2030. Smaller businesses would have until 2035 and 2037 to apply those wages. The county initiative would apply to unincorporated parts of the county.

Never miss a story. Sign up for The Oaklandside’s free daily newsletter.Email

Oakland voters established a citywide minimum wage in 2014 by passing Measure FF, which also required employers to provide workers with sick leave. Under Measure FF, the city’s minimum was is currently $17.34, although there are certain exceptions to this rule: some hotel workers in the city make a slightly higher wage, thanks to Measure Z, and state law now requires some fast food workers to make $20 an hour. Oakland voters established the hotel minimum wage law in 2018, which also led to the creation of the city’s Department of Workplace and Employment Standards. 

However, wages in the Bay Area aren’t keeping up with the skyrocketing cost of living, said Zach Norris, co-executive director of the Black Organizing Project

“In that gap is human suffering,” Norris said at the press conference, citing examples of Black people being pushed out of the Bay Area, teachers sleeping in cars, women suffering through sexual harassment in restaurants to maintain an income. 

Miriam Medellín Myers, lead organizer for Trabajadores Unidos Workers United, which supports migrant low-wage workers, said the Oakland members of her group are paid the lowest minimum wage in the entire Bay Area, forcing many to work multiple jobs. 

“Our members are unhoused or housing insecure simply because the wages aren’t high enough,” she said. “$30 an hour does not fully meet the cost of living for our families, but we believe that it’s the start of a better future for working class families.” 

Who’s behind the campaign to raise Oakland’s minimum wage?

One of the organizations behind the campaign is One Fair Wage, a national group that previously fought to increase the minimum wage to $15. That hourly target has been eclipsed by years of rising inflation, which has led to an affordability crisis for many workers, according to Saru Jayaraman, the president of One Fair Wage. 

According to Jayaraman, one person in a two-parent two-child household in the Bay Area needs at least $44 an hour to support themselves and their family. Last year, her organization helped launch a campaign called “A Living Wage For All,” which effectively replaced the longstanding effort to increase the minimum wage to $15. The new campaign’s objective is to increase the minimum wage to $25 across the country, and $30 in areas like Oakland where the cost of living is especially high. Similar campaigns have been building in New York and Los Angeles

“Alameda County is not alone, but Alameda County is going to be the first to pass a living wage for all in the country,” Jayaraman said. 

To get employers on board, Jayaraman said organizers have been meeting with small businesses to learn what it would take to help them meet a new higher minimum wage. Some potential solutions have included tax credits, support with workers compensation, and help with technical issues. 

“It can be done without businesses closing,” she said. “We’re here to tell you, we’ve done the economic analysis, we’ve met with the small businesses, we’ve created the supports to make sure they can get there.” 

Organizers claim there is strong support for these initiatives. Jayaraman said polling done by Lake Research Partners shows that more than 70% of Alameda County voters support gradually raising the minimum wage to $30 an hour. 

Not everyone will be a fan of these initiatives. The pandemic hit Oakland businesses hard, and the city is struggling with a persistently high vacancy rate for commercial buildings. The City Council recently endorsed putting a measure on the ballot that would give small businesses a tax break

Kavitha Iyengar, a representative for United Auto Workers Region 6, said the campaign is preparing for a fight, noting that “businesses and forces from outside Oakland and Alameda County are going to unite to try to beat us.” 

Greg Hodge, president of the Brotherhood of Elders Network, noted that the push to increase minimum wages dates back to at least the Poor People’s Campaign, a 1968 effort organized by Martin Luther King Jr. to demand living wages for people, and was part of the Black Panther Party’s 10 point program

“This is for our children, this is for generations who are not yet born, because we know a living wage creates wealth,” Hodge said. “A living wage for all, if we do this properly, pushes back on the 1%, pushes back on the billionaire class.” 

Eli Wolfe

eli@oaklandside.org

Eli Wolfe reports on City Hall for The Oaklandside. He was previously a senior reporter for San José Spotlight, where he had a beat covering Santa Clara County’s government and transportation. He also worked as an investigative reporter for the Pasadena-based newsroom FairWarning, where he covered labor, consumer protection and transportation issues. He started his journalism career as a freelancer based out of Berkeley. Eli’s stories have appeared in The Atlantic, NBCNews.com, Salon, the San Francisco Chronicle, and elsewhere. Eli graduated from UC Santa Cruz and grew up in San Francisco.More by Eli Wolfe

Senate Dem Leaders Are Trying to Sink Graham Platner. Voters Aren’t Convinced.

Despite his high-profile controversies, Platner is still popular with Mainers. But leadership isn’t budging from its centrist pick.

Eoin Higgins

March 16 2026 (TheIntercept.com)

OGUNQUIT, MAINE - OCTOBER 22: U.S. senatorial candidate from Maine Graham Platner speaks at a town hall at the Leavitt Theater on October 22, 2025 in Ogunquit, Maine. Platner, a veteran of the U.S. Marines and an oyster farmer, is running for the seat held by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). (Photo by Sophie Park/Getty Images)
Maine senatorial candidate Graham Platner speaks at a town hall at the Leavitt Theater on Oct. 22, 2025, in Ogunquit, Maine. Photo: Sophie Park/Getty Images

Eoin Higgins is the author of “Owned: How Tech Billionaires on the Right Bought the Loudest Voice on the Left.”

Maine oysterman-turned-politician Graham Platner has been drawing consistently packed crowds across the rural state for months as he aims to take on longtime incumbent Republican Susan Collins in this year’s Senate race. He’s regularly outpolling his only other viable competitor for the Democratic nomination, Gov. Janet Mills. At 41, he could hold a seat for decades that Democrats have long had their eyes on. 

Since Mills joined the race last fall (Platner announced he was running that August), her support has stagnated and even slipped in some polls as Platner’s numbers continue to rise. Collins and Mills are in a statistical dead heat, with Collins having the edge, while Platner has a few points difference ahead of the incumbent. 

For Maine voters concerned with electability, those polls lend credibility to Platner’s campaign. He’s in position to take on an entrenched Republican whose feigned objections to Donald Trump’s excesses — usually expressed as “concern” — have long driven liberal Mainers insane. So why is he still facing resistance from Senate Democratic leadership?

Platner’s town hall tour of Maine is further raising his profile, even after a number of controversies, most notably a Nazi tattoo, threatened his campaign. The more voters get to know him, the more they like him; he’s gone from underdog to favorite in the race. And despite establishment antipathy, he’s finding some friends in other corners of the party. 

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Democratic candidates for Congress, State Sen. Laura Fine, center, speaks as Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, left, and Kat Abughazaleh listen to her during U.S. House 9th District primary debate, in Chicago, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Illinois Results: Daniel Biss Beats Kat Abughazaleh in Blow to Left and AIPAC Alike

Matt Sledge, Jessica Washington, Akela Lacy

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, at Dover Air Force Base, Del., to attend the casualty return for the six crew members of an Air Force refueling aircraft who died when their plane crashed in western Iraq while supporting operations against Iran.

U.S. Warmongering Hits Historic Level as Trump Attacks 3 Continents in 3 Days

Nick Turse

NEW YORK - DECEMBER 13: Three months after her husband was assassinated, Erika Kirk will open up about life, loss, the state of political discourse, and much more in A TOWN HALL WITH ERIKA KIRK, a one-hour town hall event moderated by Bari Weiss, CBS News' editor-in-chief. The special will be broadcast on Saturday, Dec. 13, at 8:00 PM ET/PT on the CBS Television Network and will stream later on Paramount+ and CBS News 24/7. (Photo by Michele Crowe/CBS News via Getty Images)

Air Force Academy Prepares Ideological Overhaul, With Erika Kirk Bringing “Bold Christian Faith”

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Three Democratic senators — Vermont’s Bernie Sanders, Arizona’s Ruben Gallego, and New Mexico’s Martin Heinrich — have endorsed Platner. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., is backing him, as are individual members of the progressive wing, like Robert Reich and David Hogg, and groups like Our Revolution and the Maine People’s Alliance. Platner also has the ear of the Pod Save America crew, a group of influential Democrats aligned with the Obama wing of the party. 

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Dem in Maine House Primary Funneled PAC Money to Republicans

But the Democratic establishment is trying to draw a line in the sand on the future of the party. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Kirsten Gillibrand, both Democrats from New York, are actively working to elect Mills. There is speculation that the governor, who has pledged to only serve one term in Washington, is Senate leadership’s preferred candidate because she would be a more pliable member of the delegation, while Platner is seen as more independent and willing to take populist, further left stands.

The race bears similarities to the 2016 Democratic primary for president, when Sanders went up against Hillary Clinton and offered a progressive alternative. As in this contest, the machine politician was pitched by the party’s establishment as the more deserving candidate, while the populist candidate to her left ran an insurgent campaign. 

OGUNQUIT, MAINE - OCTOBER 22: Leslie Harlow, the mother of U.S. senatorial candidate from Maine Graham Platner, applauds her son during a town hall at the Leavitt Theater on October 22, 2025 in Ogunquit, Maine. Platner, a veteran of the U.S. Marines and an oyster farmer, is running for the seat held by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). (Photo by Sophie Park/Getty Images)
Leslie Harlow, Graham Platner’s mother, applauds her son during a town hall at the Leavitt Theater on Oct. 22, 2025, in Ogunquit, Maine. Photo: Sophie Park/Getty Images

It’s another chapter in the intraparty civil war that has been simmering and often boiling over for decades. The Clinton wing, the Obama wing, the Sanders wing, and every other part of the sprawling political coalition that is the Democratic Party are all still vying for dominance. In 2008, the main dividing line was Iraq; in 2016, the failure of the Obama presidency; in 2020, Trump and Covid. 

In 2026, the party is still reeling from defeat at the ballot box just two years ago, one that was driven by a perception that the party was out of touch with voters on economic issues as well as, reportedly, its complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The latter issue has become a flashpoint for conflict between the base and the establishment, especially with Schumer — who has described one of his roles in leadership as ensuring Israel gets “all the aid” it needs from the U.S.

For centrist Democrats, Mills is their pick for Maine. Seniority means a lot to a certain kind of centrist Democrat. According to Platner, he was told in no uncertain terms that he was expected to stand down — “I was skipping the line,” he told Slate earlier this month — when he notified Democratic Senate leadership that he was considering running for the seat; the response he received came with a threat to turn his life inside out.

“They essentially said, if we do this, they’re going to come after me,” Platner said. “They’re going to rip my life apart.”

It’s not hard to see what’s off-putting about Platner to the moderate wing of the party. He’s running an anti-war, economically populist campaign with rhetoric aimed at the elites who fund the DSCC and the party’s corporatist wing. He’s come out forcefully for trans rights at a time when Democratic centrist think tanks, friendly to the party’s donor class, are all but arguing the party should throw marginalized groups under the bus. He’s also been forthright in calling Israel’s genocide in Gaza what it is

Unfortunately for the party establishment, the issues Platner is running on are popular with voters — especially the Democratic base. The party has been shifting left since Trump’s first term and Platner, like Sanders and members of the Squad, among others, is taking advantage of those rising tides of progressivism. 

Related

The Left Put Its Faith in Graham Platner. Will He Break Its Heart?

This isn’t to say that Platner doesn’t have his own significant challenges. His posts on Reddit, which span a decade, included some language seen as misogynistic, prejudicial, and insulting to Mainers, though clearly antifascist in general and anti-Nazi in particular. Most notably, a scandal last fall became a national news story over his tattoo of a Totenkopf — a skull-and-bones symbol commonly associated with the Nazis — which led him to publicly apologize and have it inked over. Platner has claimed he got the tattoo in a drunken haze while on leave in 2007 when he was a Marine and that he didn’t know its ties to the Nazis until last October.

The tattoo has dogged him ever since, with media outlets bringing it up whenever Platner makes the news, and the controversy hasn’t stopped there. Recently, Platner was criticized for appearing on a right-wing podcast hosted by a fellow veteran, Nate Cornacchia, who has endorsed conspiracy theories like far-right streamer Nick Shirley’s attacks on Somalis in Minnesota and tying Israel to the murder of Charlie Kirk. 

But the governor has her own baggage. Mills is already 78, and if elected, she would be 85 at the end of her six years in office. It’s a hard sell to Democrats in Maine, who, like their counterparts around the country, are still smarting from the humiliation of watching a visibly declining Joe Biden spend his presidency hidden from the public and the media and, when he did appear, fumbling answers onstage or staring off into space. 

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Plus, after more than 30 years in Maine politics, which also includes serving in the statehouse and as attorney general, Mills is compromised in this race in specific ways that Platner is not. As governor, Mills has had to work with Collins to get things done for the state. There’s nothing unique about that, but it has provided soundbites of Mills praising Collins — one of which, “I appreciate all that she is doing,” the incumbent already used in an ad last fall. 

Maine voters will make the final decision on who the Democratic nominee will be. Right now, that looks like Platner — so much so that local labor leaders are urging Schumer to withdraw his support for Mills. 

If he wins the primary, Democrats in leadership will have a simple decision to make: Do they want to flip the Senate with a left-leaning veteran whose message resonates, even if it’s not how they wanted to do it? Or do they want to ride out another six years of even more razor-thin margins in either direction in the chamber and bet on 2032? Let’s hope they don’t think another six years of Susan Collins is better than winning with a candidate that outran their candidate from the left.

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Eoin Higginseoinhiggins@gmail.com@EoinHiggins_on X

Race for Congress takes shape—even as Wiener ducks community groups he doesn’t like

Chakrabarti runs on the national left while supporting the local right; how will D2 and D4 supes races impact turnout?

By Tim Redmond

March 18, 2026 (48hills.org)

State Sen. Scott Wiener didn’t show up to the Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council Congressional candidate forum, which is not a surprise: Wiener doesn’t like audiences or panels that challenge him, and in this campaign has refused to engage with groups that might not support him.

That doesn’t seem like a good sign for someone who wants to represent almost of San Francisco in Congress for the next few decades.

But the HANC forum, and the events of the past few weeks, have framed the non-Wiener candidates and where they stand not just on national but on local issues.

Will turnout in the D4 race help Sup. Connie Chan? Who will vote on the East Side, and how much will they be influences by local issues?

Saikat Chakrabarti, who promotes himself as an ally of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders, told HANC that he supported Daniel Lurie for mayor because he was “outside the political establishment.” Lurie was also, of course, a billionaire insider. Chakrabarti said he supported Bilal Mahmood for D5 supe because they had worked together on state climate legislation and he “preferred” Mahmood’s stance on housing.

Sup. Connie Chan said she supported Dean Preston for supe and Aaron Peskin for mayor.

Chakrabarti was supportive of Lurie’s (Rich) family Zoning Plan; Chan voted against it.

Chakrabarti has insisted that Mahmood is a progressive, and he “preferred” Mahmood’s policies on housing. The truth is that Preston initiated and supported far more housing, including affordable housing, than Mahmood has done.

Check out the numbers:

X post: https://x.com/KimChiSpicey/status/2033324977051828409?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2033324977051828409%7Ctwgr%5Ed9f787a966217301cd751ea266e34592a40edc2c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2F48hills.org%2F2026%2F03%2Frace-for-congress-takes-shape-even-as-wiener-ducks-community-groups-he-doesnt-like%2F

The lack of new housing starts has nothing to do with “red tape” and environmental review and everything to do with interest rates, costs, and the needs of speculative capital for high returns. Dean Preston backed the most important measures to tax the rich for affordable housing in decades; Mahmood wants to cut those taxes.

In fact, Mahmood is now working with the most conservative Democrat in the governor’s race, the anti-tax mayor of San Jose. Matt Mahan has endorsed Wiener.

So in a weird way, the candidate whose entire campaign is based on his association with the left wing of the national Democratic Party has allied himself with the right wing of the local Democratic Party. (At this point, neither Sanders nor AOC has endorsed in the San Francisco race. Neither has Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi).

Wiener and Chakrabarti are trading attack ads. Chakrabarti says (correctly) that Wiener’s campaign is paid for by big corporate money. Wiener says (correctly) that Chakrabarti’s self-funded campaign is made possible because of the wealth he accrued in the world of big corporate tech.

I’m not sure either attack is going to make much difference. Everybody who is at all clued into local politics and this race knows that Wiener has always been popular with Big Real Estate and Big Tech. Everybody knows, because Chakrabarti talks about it, that he got rich from his role as an early engineer at a fintech company, Stripe.

Neither is attacking Sup. Connie Chan, which may mean Chakrabarti thinks (correctly) that Wiener is ahead in the polls and will be one of the top two who go on to the November election, and Wiener thinks Chakrabarti has so much money he can buy his way into second place.

But there’s another important factor here: This is a mid-term primary, with no national or state races on the ballot. The main local races are for supes seats in D4 and D2.

Chan, a Chinese immigrant, is, of course, the only candidate who speaks Cantonese, and is popular in the heavily Chinese D4; if that race (which is all about closing the Great Highway) drives turnout, she will benefit. D2 is probably Wiener territory and likely a place where Chakrabarti and Chan will not do well.

Turnout on the more progressive East Side is going to be critical. If Chakrabarti convinces the progressives that he’s the next AOC, he’ll get a lot of votes. If those voters wonder about his support for the right-wing corporate slate that took over the local Democratic Party and his support for Mahmood over Dean Preston and his support for Lurie over Aaron Peskin, the picture gets a little different.

This primary is not going to be just about who gets what support; it’s also going to be about who votes, and how closely they pay attention to local, as well as national, politics.

Full disclosure: My daughter works for the Connie Chan for Congress campaign.

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Tim Redmond

Tim Redmond has been a political and investigative reporter in San Francisco for more than 30 years. He spent much of that time as executive editor of the Bay Guardian. He is the founder of 48hills.