I would love to see support for the Second Amendment once again become a bipartisan thing in politics. As recently as 2010, a quarter of Democrats in Congress were rated "A" by the National Rifle Association, and it wasn't hard to find Democratic voters who were staunch supporters of the Second Amendment, particularly in rural areas.
Those days are long gone, but Democrat Graham Platner, who's running for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate next year, could become one of the few candidates on the left who's expressed support for the Second Amendment. Unfortunately, Platner comes with a lot of other baggage, as a Politico story published this week has revealed.
Graham Platner, who is running as an insurgent Democratic candidate for Senate in Maine, once suggested in online posts that violence is a necessary means to achieving social change — comments now drawing scrutiny in an era of increased political violence. If people “expect to fight fascism without a good semi-automatic rifle, they ought to do some reading of history,” he wrote in one since-deleted post. In another, he said that “an armed working class is a requirement for economic justice."
CNN first reported Thursday on Platner’s participation on the subreddit r/SocialistRA, alongside other Reddit forums where he called himself a “communist” and said that “all” police are bastards. All of the posts have been deleted.
The posts, which were removed three months ago shortly before Platner launched his Senate bid, were obtained by POLITICO and verified using an archive of deleted Reddit comments and by cross-checking other posts by the same user that mentioned biographical details consistent with the candidate’s life.
Politico says Platner there are "dozens [of] instances of Platner engaging with posts on the subreddit r/SocialistRA, which is self-described as the 'Socialist Redditor Rifle Association.'"
I don't have a problem with that, though my guess is many Democrats and virtually every gun control group does. Support for and exercising our Second Amendment rights has been a nonpartisan practice throughout our nation's history, so Platner's left-wing embrace of the right to keep and bear arms fits easily within that tradition.
But I do take issue with other comments by Platner; comments he now brushes off as " dumb jokes" and the work of a "retired ****poster."
Graham Platner, a Marine veteran turned oyster farmer who is now a rising Democratic Senate candidate in Maine, once called himself a “communist,” dismissed “all” police as bastards, and said rural White Americans “actually are” racist and stupid, according to deleted social media posts reviewed by CNN’s KFile.
Most of the posts were made five years ago under Platner’s then-Reddit handle P-Hustle. They were deleted ahead of his campaign launch in August. The posts in some ways underscore Platner’s reputation as an anti-establishment outsider with unapologetically left-wing views. But the labels and tone used in his writings could also prove costly in a state known for electing political moderates.
In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Platner disavowed his posts, saying they came from a time when he felt disillusioned and angry and expressed those emotions online. He said his criticisms of rural White Americans and the police, and his political comments, do not reflect who he is and what he stands for today.
“That was very much me f**king around the internet,” he told CNN. “I don’t want people to see me for who I was in my worst Internet comment – or even frankly who I was in my best Internet comment … I don’t think any of that is indicative of who I am today, really.”
These posts are four to five years old, which isn't all that long ago. And while Platner says he's no longer "in a dark place" and isn't as disillusioned and angry as he was back then, he has yet to explain what led to his supposed change of heart. He also hasn't said whether his views on the Second Amendment have changed to fall more in line with Democratic orthodoxy.
Platner's campaign website is silent on both the Second Amendment and gun control, though there's a lengthy list of positions from "stop the mass deportation machine" to "Defend the Post Office and establish postal banking". I'm curious to see if Platner leans in to the vocal support he's expressed for the Second Amendment in the past, or if he runs away from those positions going forward.
Platner's not the only Democratic Senate candidate in Maine who's expressed support for the right to keep and bear arms. Gov. Janet Mills, who recently announced her own candidacy, has vetoed several gun control bills and is a vocal opponent of the "red flag" referendum that will be on the ballot in Maine next month. Unfortunately, Mills has also allowed several gun control bills to become law without her signature, including a 72-hour waiting period for gun sales that's been put on hold thanks to an injunction by a federal judge.
Republican incumbent Susan Collins, meanwhile, had a "B" rating from the NRA back in 2022. Collins has been largely supportive of pro-2A legislation and opposed to most gun control bills, though she did vote in favor of the Bipartisan Community Safety Act three years ago.
The good news for gun owners in Maine is that they're likely going to be able to choose between two candidates who've expressed and demonstrated varying degrees of support for the Second Amendment. The bad news is that it looks like neither the Democrat or Republican candidates are going to be as solid on 2A issues as we'd like... and the guy who may very well be the most pro-2A candidate has expressed other positions that put him at odds with many of Maine's gun-owning voters.
