Skin Deep: Graham Platner is The Man of The Moment

The survival of a seemingly toxic candidate has baffled many, but makes perfect sense

I like to imagine Graham Platner came into existence around this time last year after someone wished for a Democrat that didn't have any credentials tainted by support for Zionism, after which, the finger on a monkey’s paw curled. You don’t need me to tell you that the man running in Maine’s Democratic primary has been marred by controversy. What’s interesting is how it seems to have hurt his campaign, which is not very much, or at least, not as much as you would have assumed. Of course, something else could surface after I finish writing that really puts a dent in his popularity, but given what has already been unearthed, it seems unlikely.

I don’t think Graham Platner style guys are the future of politics in this country. Like I said before, he’s basically a caricature of what Democratic strategists try to look for in every district, just with stronger opinions and Dumb Guy Swag. But that’s not to say our 85 IQ Aryan Pete Buttigieg isn’t going anywhere. He’s remarkably skilled at finding new ways to keep his profile up.

Not only has the tattoo scandal mostly evaporated, it seems like he’s expanding his presence into more apolitical spaces. The fact he was able to get a livestream with World of Warcraft streamer Bajheera and speed runner TriHex, both of whom have hundreds of thousands of followers, is impressive and slightly baffling. These aren’t political streamers from what I can tell, they just came to some mutually beneficial agreement for cross promotion that furthered their interests. I feel the spirit of Mao’s war time opium smuggling operations in the image below, if not in the political struggle, then at least in the amount of opiates.