{"id":44687,"date":"2025-10-23T13:04:30","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T20:04:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=44687"},"modified":"2025-10-23T13:04:31","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T20:04:31","slug":"allies-challenge-corporate-media-onslaught-against-working-class-champion-graham-platner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/10\/23\/allies-challenge-corporate-media-onslaught-against-working-class-champion-graham-platner\/","title":{"rendered":"Allies Challenge Corporate Media Onslaught Against Working-Class Champion Graham Platner"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"US<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

US Senate candidate Graham Platner is pictured during a campaign stop in Maine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0(Photo: Graham for Maine\/Facebook)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe reason anyone pretends to care about Platner\u2019s tattoo and Reddit posts is because they think he\u2019s coming after the rich. That\u2019s it. That\u2019s all it\u2019s about.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jake Johnson<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 22, 2025 (CommonDreams.org)<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

US Sen. Bernie Sanders<\/a> was among the progressives<\/a> voicing continued support for working-class Senate candidate Graham Platner as he faces a relentless onslaught of negative corporate media<\/a> attention over his past online posts and a tattoo he says was a drunken mistake that has now been covered with fresh ink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe went through a dark period,\u201d Sanders (I-Vt.), Platner\u2019s most prominent supporter, said<\/a> Tuesday. \u201cHe\u2019s not the only one in America who has gone through a dark period. People go through that, he has apologized for the stupid remarks, the hurtful remarks that he made, and I\u2019m confident that he\u2019s going to run a great campaign and that he\u2019s going to win.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RECOMMENDED…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Graham<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018He\u2019s the Real Deal\u2019: UAW Endorses Graham Platner in Maine Senate Race<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Maine<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018The Establishment Is Spooked\u2019: Poll Shows Platner With Big Lead Over Mills in Maine Democratic Primary<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The firestorm began last week, when CNN<\/em> published a story featuring<\/a> deleted Reddit posts in which Platner\u2014who is running to unseat Sen. Susan Collins<\/a> (R-Maine)\u2014called himself a \u201ccommunist,\u201d castigated police<\/a>, downplayed sexual assault<\/a> in the military, and asked, \u201cWhy don\u2019t black people tip?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Platner, who launched<\/a> his campaign in August with a fiery anti-oligarchy message, has addressed the resurfaced posts head-on, saying they reflect a period of his life in which he was angry, depressed, less knowledgeable, and disillusioned from eight years of service in the US military<\/a>. Platner said he has since evolved personally and politically, recognizing today that many of his past comments were abhorrent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want people to judge me off the dumbest thing I said on the Internet 12 years ago,\u201d the Senate hopeful, now 41, said in a statement regarding the Reddit posts, which he deleted ahead of his campaign launch. \u201cI would like people to engage with who I am today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allies of Platner, including US Rep. Ro Khanna<\/a> (D-Calif.), came to his defense, accusing<\/a> the Democratic Party<\/a> establishment of trying to undermine him for the benefit of its preferred candidate in the race, Maine<\/a> Gov. Janet Mills\u2014who announced<\/a> her bid for Collins\u2019 Senate seat a day before the CNN<\/em> story broke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI respect Platner\u2019s journey and the man he is today. I reject the politics of personal destruction,\u201d Khanna wrote on\u00a0social media<\/a>. \u201cI stand by my endorsement. I won\u2019t cower to the establishment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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pic.twitter.com\/fPnFgpD54T<\/a><\/p>— Graham Platner for Senate (@grahamformaine) October 17, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote>