Command + F + Hitler
Added 2025-10-24 10:30:15 +0000 UTCThe theme of this rank punditry episode is Getting in Trouble on the Internet, and we begin with the frankly unsurprising story of the Young Republican Hitler group chats, then move on to a longer discussion about Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Maine, Graham Platner, and the revelations about controversial past posts on Reddit about guns and fighting fascism, rural white voters, his ideological allegiances, and more—all recorded before the news of his tattoo, now covered over, of a Nazi skull-and-bones insignia. Along the way we talk about what makes a change of mind and heart persuasive, how grace comes to us in our struggles, if Platner is Fetterman 2.0, and the class dimension of all these debates, and finally close with a relatively hopeful take on the "No Kings" protests last weekend.
Sources:
Jason Beeferman and Emily Ngo, "'I Love Hitler': Leaked Messages Expose Young Republicans' Racist Chat," Politico, Oct 14, 2025
Julianne McShane, “No One in the GOP Hitler Chat Was a ‘Kid’: We checked. Sorry, JD Vance," Mother Jones, Oct 15, 2025
Adam Wren, Erin Doherty & Jessica Piper, "Maine Senate Candidate Promoted Violent Political Action in Since-Deleted Online Posts," Politico, Oct 16, 2025
Lauren McCauley, "Unearthed Reddit Comments Present First Stumble in Platner’s Rise," Maine Morning Star, Oct 17, 2025
Kimberlee Kruesi & Patrick Whittle, "Maine Senate Candidate Platner Says Tattoo Recognized as Nazi Symbol Has Been Covered," Associated Press, Oct 23, 2025
Ben Terris, "The Hidden Struggle of John Fetterman," New York, May 2, 2025
Christian Wiman, My Bright Abyss: Meditation of a Modern Believer (2013)
Comments
If I were a Mainer, I would be trying to judge not just can he win, but what kind of legislator will he be. Curiously, he is a bit like Trump; it's exciting to jazz up a crowd by being rather outrageous. For this kind of personality, the tedium of serving in Congress might be too hard to take and such a person might revert to acting out for attention, rather than digging into the weeds of constructing better solutions to complex problems. I also sense that Platner is still figuring out what kind of person he is. Remember Kristin Sinema.
Gussie
2025-11-13 03:14:58 +0000 UTCI am honestly kind of floored by the suggestion that Platner is working class. He is a Hotchkiss graduate who owns a business, has a tattoo that only comes from spending time in Nazi adjacent circles, and served as a PMC. It seems he is much more likely to be a stereotypical downwardly mobile petit bourgeois, which has been the historic base for both American (2nd KKK) and German fascist mobilization. It is laughable to claim he lacks elite class conditioning, it seems he failed at it because he was committed to a politics of brashness and an opposition to finance capital. To call that working class feels somewhat insulting, honestly.
Gabriel Chang-Deutsch
2025-11-12 19:50:00 +0000 UTCAs an anti-lib leftist who adores your podcast, I fully agree with you about the No Kings protest. Net positive even if it wasn't my unicorn fantasy of a protest. Idk about that Totenkopf-having bastard though. As much as I love me a pro-gun leftist, can't we have bare minimums? Shitposting is one thing. Having a Nazi tattoo for years is quite another. Idk. Call me old fashioned. But my granddaddies were antifa, so what can I do? They brainwashed me with their bigoted stories of hating Nazis, and they taught me that "normal people" don't have Nazi tattoos.
Ethan
2025-11-04 07:10:50 +0000 UTC“Supporting the Palestinian cause” rings rather hollow from people who can’t recognize the state of Israel for what it is.
Axel Herrera
2025-11-02 20:57:23 +0000 UTCI get the impression from Sam that he doesn't know that there are people who support Israel but don't agree with the war but even so do not agree with calling it a genocide nor with calling Israel an apartheid state - if political action means adding, you are losing people like that who support the Palestinian cause but support the existence of the state of Israel even if not of its current government.
Nora Engel
2025-11-02 13:16:26 +0000 UTCFWIW I have two different skull tattoos. I like skulls. I’m fairly well educated and if I saw a totemkompf I would not immediately have recognized it as a nazi symbol, especially if I was drunk. His story seems completely plausible to me. That doesn’t mean he should be above scrutiny. But I don’t find Matt and Sam’s opinions nearly as scandalous as some of y’all
Tom Crumbs
2025-10-29 19:11:58 +0000 UTCI suspect that the difficult time some of us are having with the question of granting grace to Platner stems from the experiences we’ve had of questioning whether our backgrounds and commitments past and present are sufficient for membership in the cause. Many of us feel like we have the burden to prove our bona fides, and until that’s met our role must be as a spectator on the sidelines. Should Platner have to bear this burden too? I don’t know. My wish is for a left that embraces Pope Francis’s vision of “todos, todos, todos.” But is elevating Platner is a way of demonstrating that spirit? What are its limits? A follow up episode would be very welcome!
Nicholas Haggerty
2025-10-29 17:02:56 +0000 UTCBoys will be boys is when the behavior is revered b/c when it is meanest and most disconnected boys win. Not the best for society
diamondlil
2025-10-26 23:22:59 +0000 UTCGreat discussion of both Platner and the No Kings protests. I would also point out that the No Kings protests brought out a lot of new people who never have come to a protest before and even came out in large numbers not only in big cities but in many small towns . People working on local issues have a chance to connect with others and forge new connections in these movements as well.
Ellen Oxfeld
2025-10-26 15:33:49 +0000 UTC
