Lewie Pollis

The campaign spokesman did not respond to my subsequent request for comment on how Platner's Jewish relatives (whose heritage the candidate has invoked amid his claims that he did not know what his tattoo was) feel about his retweeting Stew Peters and being a "longtime fan" of Nate Cornacchia.

It's Stir-Fryday! (hoorayyyy)

This is art

Isn't this the origin story for The 700 Club

Platner coming out of a staff meeting like:

Unfortunately, while this is well-intentioned, you’re part of the same problem. You have a leader who is increasingly beloved and is not an anti-semite and you’re calling him one. He isn’t one, you have no evidence that he is aside from a trip to a Croatian tattoo parlor with his unit (all anti-semites?) 18 years ago, for a symbol that I sure as shit wouldn’t have recognized (and that the vast majority of Jews who see it don’t recognize). I think you’re fully aware Platner has not “dabble[d] in Nazi ideology” or there would have been a cite other than a quote tweet of a C-Span video tweeted by a wrong guy -- obviously a campaign fuckup (do you think Graham Platner is picking out his own quote tweets??), albeit an unfortunate one. And in eight months, when he defeats Susan Collins, becomes even more of a national hero, and continues to not be an anti-Semite, the accusations that he is will continue to cheapen the word itself.

I am not a political journalist so I do not normally offer scoops or publish these kinds of statements, but I thought this was worth sharing, as it is revealing for how the campaign sees the concerns I (among many others) raised.

"do you think Graham Platner is picking out his own quote tweets??"

The campaign spokesman did not respond to my subsequent request for comment on how Platner's Jewish relatives (whose heritage the candidate has invoked amid his claims that he did not know what his tattoo was) feel about his retweeting Stew Peters and being a "longtime fan" of Nate Cornacchia.

You can read the full statement as well as the context surrounding it (I had not ask the campaign for a comment!) and my own brief reactions at the end of the original essay:

NEW: In a statement in response to this essay, a Platner aide wrote that "the accusations that he is [antisemitic] will continue to cheapen the word itself."

I have updated my post with the full unsolicited comments from the campaign staffer.

Platner coming out of a staff meeting like:

...and today I popped another new second digit on the scale that I haven't seen in easily a decade

“Platner isn’t an anti-Semite. He simply hires anti-Semites and does nothing when they tweet anti-Semitic things under his name” is not the defense they seem to think it is

Unfortunately, while this is well-intentioned, you’re part of the same problem. You have a leader who is increasingly beloved and is not an anti-semite and you’re calling him one. He isn’t one, you have no evidence that he is aside from a trip to a Croatian tattoo parlor with his unit (all anti-semites?) 18 years ago, for a symbol that I sure as shit wouldn’t have recognized (and that the vast majority of Jews who see it don’t recognize). I think you’re fully aware Platner has not “dabble[d] in Nazi ideology” or there would have been a cite other than a quote tweet of a C-Span video tweeted by a wrong guy -- obviously a campaign fuckup (do you think Graham Platner is picking out his own quote tweets??), albeit an unfortunate one. And in eight months, when he defeats Susan Collins, becomes even more of a national hero, and continues to not be an anti-Semite, the accusations that he is will continue to cheapen the word itself.

I am not a political journalist so I do not normally offer scoops or publish these kinds of statements, but I thought this was worth sharing, as it is revealing for how the campaign sees the concerns I (among many others) raised.

"do you think Graham Platner is picking out his own quote tweets??"

NEW: In a statement in response to this essay, a Platner aide wrote that "the accusations that he is [antisemitic] will continue to cheapen the word itself."

I have updated my post with the full unsolicited comments from the campaign staffer.

The Oysters Come Home to Roost What happens when voters learn to tune out accusations of antisemitism?

I wrote about Graham Platner, selective outrage, and the predictable consequences of the bipartisan belief that a keffiyeh is more antisemitic than a Totenkopf.

This is a great read, and this section is the fundamental thing for me. What we are seeing with Platner is the increased normalization of Nazism. We cannot have *both* major parties be places where Nazism is accepted.

I got an angry email from a Platner staffer for this so I guess I struck a nerve?

"History has a term for people who do not believe in white supremacy yet willfully associate themselves with Nazis. They are called 'Nazis.'”

Two hours ago you acknowledged that my point was fair. Now it's bullshit because I blocked an argumentative creep? Fuck off, weirdos

Can't endorse this enough, and it's also the consequences of everyone in power decided that acting in bad faith was completely okay. You need to be able to say "fuck you, that doesn't work anymore" to bad faith criticism, but also everyone's definition between good faith and bad faith is blurred

Some fun Lewie lore: We put this on the cocktail hour playlist for our wedding in Cleveland, which some friends then borrowed for their reception in New York. I beamed with pride hearing this song while looking out at the Manhattan skyline

Thank you!

You'd think a campaign that spends so much time talking about tattoos would have thicker skin

I got an angry email from a Platner staffer for this so I guess I struck a nerve?

I wrote this before I saw the Ryan Grim tweets but it explains why I have no interest in the uwu smol bean defense for Platner's SS tattoo

You don’t have to believe me but you must understand why I trust someone who actually knows the family over these rumors

Well someone forgot to tell Platner's family that, because I have confirmed this with someone who knows them.

There are so many good reasons to oppose a man who got an SS tattoo. Please don't cloud those out with such conspiracies

I don't know about his wife's specific beliefs but her family definitely is, and in light of the many recent perverse attempts to police who counts as Jewish based on their reaction to the Gaza war, I would respectfully suggest not going down this rabbit hole

The Oysters Come Home to Roost What happens when voters learn to tune out accusations of antisemitism?

There is no excuse for folks on the left embracing a man who got — and kept — an SS tattoo. But to understand Platner's rise, we must reckon with the ideological project to cheapen of the meaning of "antisemitism," and the nasty bedfellows both parties have sought in the name of Zionism.