(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . I Want a Fighter, Not a Saint. [1] ['Chloris Creator', 'A Pagan In Arizona', 'Paul Frea', 'Angela Marx'] Date: 2026-06-06 I’ve wrestled a bit with writing this, as I’m pretty sure it is going to draw considerable heat, but we are in a national emergency. Fascism is here. We have a masked secret police terrorizing people. Oligarchs don’t even hide bribes anymore. The U.S. has become a pariah nation. We are going to be behind on science and technology for decades to come. Distraction wars are starting. Our reputation as a country is in the shitter. The economy is in trouble, and we’ve built a surveillance state. Plus, so many more horrible things. So I’m going to let my thoughts fly, and they can land where they land. I want FIGHTERS, not SAINTS! Chuck Schumer doesn’t have a lot of scandals that I’m aware of. No drunken rage posting at three in the morning. No volatile relationships. He has been happily married to the same woman he met at Harvard since 1980. He’s had a nice, steady career. Never caught having an affair. He has also, in my opinion, proven himself an ineffectual weakling in standing up to the evil that is Donald Trump. But yes, he is better than Donald Trump. It’s not enough. The system is broken. We can’t beat Donald Trump in an election (assuming that a normal election still happens) and go back to business as usual. Massive reform needs to happen. If we don’t get Democrats willing to nuke the filibuster, prosecute ICE for sending people to foreign torture prisons, if we have Democrats allowing blue slips to block progressive judges, if we don’t reform the Supreme Court or address the Elon Musks and Peter Thiels of this world, we are going to be right back here. Maybe with someone competent enough to get away with it all next time. So yes, I support Graham Platner for these reasons. His platform aligns with everything I just mentioned. He struck me as a fighter. He also has a shitload of baggage, which concerns a lot of people. I actually get that, even if I’m defending him. But he also understands what I see as the fundamental danger in this country—that the Ellison’s, Musks, Thiels, Zuckerbergs, and Bezoses of this world envision a country where they live in gated paradises guarded by machine guns, while the rest of us own nothing, living in poverty with subscription services for basic necessities. Call me crazy if you want, but I don’t see much commitment to the American middle class from these guys. An America where an incredibly corrupt and sleazy Musk gets to have ten trillion dollars (his stated goal) is not one I want to live in. I’m not sure it bothers the Schumer’s of the world all that much. And what are our options at this point? Voting Susan Collins—well, she is fine voting for secret police, foreign and domestic torture prisons, or concentration camps — SEEMS KIND OF NAZI TO ME! She put Kavanaugh on the bench after he was accused of assaulting women, and only votes against her party after she finds out Republicans have the votes without her. She is also corrupt, never met a donation from Elon she didn’t like. She wins Trump control of the Senate. Which means more Brett Kavanaughs all over the federal judiciary and no checks on gutting federal agencies. It means allowing ballrooms and foreign wars RFKs and endless corruption and democracy-curbing laws. I’m against that. Then there are a handful of other candidates doing write in campaigns. who don’t have the support or following Platner has, most can’t condemn genocide in Gaza and let’s face it, won’t win the nomination. Vote for them if you want. Publicize them whatever, they are not going to win. Which leaves Platner, who has baggage. let’s take a look. The one I don’t care about: SEXTING WITH OTHER WOMEN That is private and between he and his wife. I don’t give a shit. The Tattoo. Well, this one is worse. As a young Marine, he got a tattoo of a skull and crossbones in Croatia. He claims he and his fellow Marines just thought it was “badass looking, thing” a Marine thing to say. He claims he didn’t know it resembled a nazi symbol. The thing is, I actually find this credible. I say this because I wouldn’t have recognized that tattoo as a Nazi symbol myself. In fairness, I’m no scholar, but I am a history buff. I’ve read Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, loved reading about World War II as a kid, and have watched more than a few documentaries on it over the years. I would have missed it. So I assume it is reasonable he did too. and I know for a fact 98% of the U.S. population would have. The Big One. A woman recently accused Platner of grabbing her hard and yanking her wrist when they dated in 2013 to 2015. This is the big one. Was he violent with a woman? Pretty unacceptable if it’s true. Well, here is where the shit hits the fan, and I’m going to get in trouble. I’m suspicious of her. She is, as many of you now know, a Republican operative. But that alone is not why I’m skeptical. It’s the timeline that bothers me. She dated Platner in 2013–2015, The allegations of physical abuse during this time remain uncorroborated. Witnesses say their relationship was volatile, but no one saw anything physical. However, that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. Most women don’t get assaulted in public. So could it have happened? Absolutely. However even she says he never beat her up or hit her, According to her he grabbed her hard. Pretty bad if true, but there are levels to things. However, What I find most odd is that she was so bothered by the alleged assault that four years later she started Ladies for Kavanaugh group, and began attacking the women who say Kavanaugh sexually assaulted them. If she is telling the truth, you’d think her experience would make her more sympathetic to women claiming something happened in private. Nope. “In the wake of the baseless, 11th-hour accusations orchestrated to stop Kavanaugh’s confirmation, we couldn’t stay silent anymore,” Fifield So when it was Kavanaugh, it was a baseless accusation to stop his confirmation, but please liberals do stop Platner’s candidacy on my say-so… I have trouble accepting that. To the people people who are wondering why some of us are so in on Platner. I think it’s because his platform is incredibly progressive and he supports a theory of power than fights back against monied elite. Not a lot of “well we can’t do this because we have a filibuster.” shit. We don’t have many of those in congress. Platner certainly has flaws, he’s been in therapy for a decade. He’s apologized for many of those flaws. He seems to live a different life than his youth. Robert Byrd as many know, was in the KKK. That’s some serious baggage. He became a staunch supporter of civil rights. MLK cheated on his wife as did FDR and JFK. I wish they had been saints but as George Orwell said Saints should be judged guilty until proven innocent. Platner is flawed yes, but he is also one of the most effective communicators I’ve ever seen and his platform is as progressive as hell. And Susan Collins is a disgrace! So if he gets the nomination he gets my support it if is someone else I will back them. I’m voting Blue know matter who. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/6/6/800051243/community/i-want-a-fighter-not-a-saint/ Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/