Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) is facing an increasingly bizarre line of attack from presumptive Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner, who now claims she personally sent him to war in Iraq and is somehow responsible for his own repeated decisions to enlist and deploy
According to RedState, Platner has been making the charge for weeks, first floating it in a New York Times interview earlier this month. The anger that I feel is for the people that sent me, who are frankly still the same people who are sending people off right now to be in harms way so we can have this stupid war with Iran. Susan Collins voted to send me to Iraq," he declared, attempting to turn his military record into a political cudgel against the Maine Republican.
Pressed on the accusation, Collins responded by calmly laying out the facts of Platners service record, which undercut his narrative. She noted that Platner first enlisted after the Iraq War was already underway, then chose to enlist again several years later, and later still signed on as a contractor with the controversial private security firm Blackwater.
Those choices, Collins camp emphasized, were made by an adult who repeatedly and voluntarily sought out combat roles, not by a helpless pawn drafted against his will. In other words, Graham Platner was not a victim of Susan Collins 2002 vote to authorize the use of military force in Iraq, but an eager participant who kept going back.
The broader record surrounding Platner only reinforces that point and raises serious questions about his fitness for high office. Platner has repeatedly disparaged fellow veterans, at one point saying that some wounded in combat didn't deserve to live, and has openly admitted that he signed up in part because he wanted to kill some people, as RedState has also reported.
Despite this disturbing history, Platner has been embraced by prominent Democrats who seem determined to rehabilitate him as a party standard-bearer. This Democrat icon, who some critics have likened to a degenerate human being, is now being defended by Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), a close ally of disgraced former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), which many conservatives see as fitting company.
Gallego, who has built his own brand around his military service, has leaned into Platners crude persona rather than distancing himself from it. A little over a week after Gallego wrote with a straight face that Platner talking about self-pleasuring in porta-potties would make him sound more relatable to other veterans, the Arizona senator shifted to attacking Collins on Platners behalf with a familiar, if dishonest, talking point.
It was Collins decision to vote and support the Iraq War. Not understanding the difference between the power of a Senator to send our men and women to war and teenagers signing up to serve their country is disqualifying, Gallego posted on X, attempting to frame Platner as a nave youth and Collins as the true culprit. The argument glosses over the reality that Platner was not some confused teenager swept up in events once, but a man who repeatedly sought out combat and then chose to work for Blackwater as a grown adult.
Collins campaign quickly highlighted that contradiction, pointing to Platners own words about his enthusiasm for war. Apparently you havent heard this, Senator. Wartime is still one hell of an awesome experience... I did love winning and that required killing the campaign noted, underscoring that Platners rhetoric sounds less like reluctant service and more like someone reveling in violence.
Platners record shows he did not merely serve once and move on; he reenlisted into his early thirties and then joined Blackwater, long after any youthful confusion could plausibly be blamed. Platner did it more than once, into his early thirties. And worked for Blackwater. As a grown adult. Openly admitted he loved the macho feel of it all. None of this is helping, people, one critic observed, capturing the disconnect between his current victim narrative and his past bravado.
Layered on top of that is the matter of Platners Nazi tattoo, which would be disqualifying in virtually any serious political context. It was Graham Platner's own bright idea to adorn himself with a Nazi tattoo. A man who does not understand why a Nazi tattoo disqualifies him is, by that very ignorance, disqualified twice over, one commentator noted, highlighting a moral blindness that goes far beyond partisan disagreement.
Yet Gallego and Platner, both of whom have cultivated reputations for shamelessness, have chosen to double down rather than show contrition. That lack of remorse was on full display when Platner tried to spin Collins factual rebuttal of his claims into an attack on all veterans, even though he is the one on record demeaning wounded servicemembers.
One of our nations most precious resources is the willingness of young men & women to put on the uniform and lay down their lives for our country. It must never be abused. Susan Collins clearly has no respect for it, though. She blames us for serving in the wars she sent us to, Platner asserted, attempting to wrap himself in the flag while ignoring his own history of contemptuous remarks about fellow soldiers. The rhetorical sleight of hand is obvious: he is trying to turn legitimate scrutiny of his conduct into a broader indictment of a Republican senator with a long record of supporting the military.
The strategy from Platners camp and his Democratic allies appears to be to smear Collins as anti-veteran and hope voters ignore the extensive paper trail he has left behind. You said a wounded vet was a dumb MFer who didnt deserve to live. Are you going to apologize? one critic asked pointedly, resurfacing a comment that should give any fair-minded observer pause.
One would expect that a politician like Gallego, who frequently touts his own service, would recognize how toxic and dishonorable such statements are, especially coming from someone seeking a Senate seat. But this is the same Gallego who insists he had no idea his longtime friend and roommate Eric Swalwell was an alleged creepy repeat-sexual harasser and alleged rapist, so his sudden blindness to Platners Nazi tattoo, his boasts about wanting to kill some people, and his insults toward wounded veterans is, sadly, consistent with a broader pattern of selective outrage on the left.
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