I grew up in Maine. I have lots of family and friends there. I no longer live there and don’t vote there, however, I also donated to his campaign and have been openly promoting him as a candidate because I believe he is who the people of Maine, and the country, need.

Also, there’s a reason he remains popular in Maine. He is talking to EVERYONE in Maine, in person, on the ground. That’s the exact behavior that will attract people to him and bring in the Trump voters who can have their minds changed. Mainers don’t care if you made mistakes in your past, so long as you own up to it. They care about who you are now and what you say now. That’s why Platner is popular. He tells it like it is, and that’s the no-nonsense personality that attracts people in Maine, a state with a significant amount of people who are working class and don’t have time to beat around the bush. Campaigns aren’t run online, and nothing anyone says online is likely to sway people who simply don’t care because they’re not chronically online.

It’s important that we can accept a candidate’s flaws and past mistakes and move on from it. Our political system suffers so much from these purity tests and smear campaigns.

I actually will say it with my chest that I’d prefer a senator who is a social progressive, anti-billionare, who doesn’t take super PAC money, doesn’t take AIPAC money, loudly professes there is a genocide in Gaza, wants to improve US foreign policy, is actually working class, runs a grassroots campaign, and wants to improve the cost of living and affordability for Mainers and the rest of Americans. And yes, if he made a mistake and got a Nazi tattoo (Which he has fully owned up to and has since covered up) I would still prefer him.

If you think this is some sort of “gotcha” that somehow indicates something poor about my character, or that somehow I’m admitting that Platner is a Nazi, which he’s not, then there’s nothing more I have to say to you. You are wrongfully attempting to jump to an assumption of something that just isn’t true and lacks evidence. You’re providing further evidence to my point that your purity test mindset is keeping people divided.

The purity test mentality so many of the commenters here have is the exact kind of nonsense that will keep the US divided politically. People are capable of making honest mistakes. People can change. There needs to be room for some gray areas. I generally think such a mindset reeks of being chronically online and being immersed into an echo chamber.

His explanation that he was drunk with buddies on deployment in Croatia is perhaps the most believable circumstance in which someone would make that mistake. Yes, he had the tattoo for several years. I don’t recall how long he said he was aware of it being the Nazi symbol, but yes, in my opinion he should have gotten it removed or covered sooner once he did know. I certainly never would have known that the skull was a Nazi symbol without being explicitly told.

That said, no, I don’t think it sounds like he’s lying. He isn’t posturing either, and there’s plenty of evidence to back that up.

If you’re not capable of accepting that he made a mistake and addressed it appropriately, then I don’t see how you could ever be satisfied. If we want real people to run for office and not just establishment approved candidates, you need to open to the idea that people make mistakes, they change, and they may not have the squeaky-clean past you idealize.

I think you have unrealistic expectations, not just of people running for office, but for people in general. Your purity test is not only foolish, but will cause you to be deeply unsatisfied and let down by so much in the world.

He has already addressed this and got the tattoo covered up. Case closed.