2026 Congressional Elections

[gehringer_2]

1 hour ago, Motown Bombers said:

Why is the war in Gaza labeled a genocide and not Ukraine?

Both the Russians and Ukranians are Slavs, The Russians aren't trying to kill slavs because they are slavs, they aren't even trying to remove Ukrainian culture, they claim it as their own. The Russians simply want to destroy a state - a polity - it's a political action, there is no 'genotype' at its core. It's more like the pre enlightenment English civil wars in that respect. 

Of course if you move it back a few levels, Jews and Palestinians are both Semites. 🤷‍♂️

 

[oblong]

If only the choice was as easy as support for Israel or dental care.  
make no mistake. There was rampant anti Semitism after Oct 7. Just as Trump made it ok for the racists here to come out of rne closet, Oct 7 made it ok for anti Semitism to make a return and much of that on the left.   I’ve yet to see an Arab or Muslim unconditionally condemn Hamas over Oct 7 without some form of whataboutism or “but….”   That’s horrific.   

[pfife]

At least one person here posted dozens of antisemitic videos in the gaza theead.   Happens to be posting antisemitic posts even earlier today too.

[chasfh]

12 hours ago, Tigerbomb13 said:

Nancy Mace is a horrible person, but trying to poke the nest of the pedo coverup was a bridge too far for the pedo in chief. 

It’s the same reason MTG was excommunicated.

[romad1]

2 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

Both the Russians and Ukranians are Slavs, The Russians aren't trying to kill slavs because they are slavs, they aren't even trying to remove Ukrainian culture, they claim it as their own. The Russians simply want to destroy a state - a polity - it's a political action, there is no 'genotype' at its core. It's more like the pre enlightenment English civil wars in that respect. 

Of course if you move it back a few levels, Jews and Palestinians are both Semites. 🤷‍♂️

 

 

Ukraine has gone through the theft of its children to deny them their Ukrainian culture and heritage and raise them as Russians.  That's genocide.  Also, the Holodomor was a genocide even though it was based in part, on class, not ethnicity. 

https://humanrightsclinic.law.harvard.edu/intent-to-destroy-why-the-world-must-name-and-confront-russias-genocidal-war-in-ukraine/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor

[chasfh]

11 hours ago, GalagaGuy said:

I didn't even realize that Platner was drawing 100% disability from the VA.  So now on top of everything else, the piece of trash is scamming the government.  Can't have it both ways, either this guy is gaming the system or he actually has some serious mental health issues. 

Is he scamming the government? Like, actual fraud? Is this documented? Or might he actually qualify? Just asking because even if he appears healthy on the surface, if he technically qualifies for disability, he’s entitled to take it. If thats the case, then fault the VA.

Edited 4 hours ago by chasfh

[Motown Bombers]

17 minutes ago, chasfh said:

Is he scamming the government? Like, actual fraud? Is this documented? Or might he actually qualify? Just asking because even if he appears healthy on the surface, if he technically qualifies for disability, he’s entitled to take it. If thats the case, then fault the VA.

Then he’s lying about being a working class stiff who supports himself from his oyster farm. He’s getting nearly $5k. There’s certainly more there that will be exposed. 

[chasfh]

2 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

Then he’s lying about being a working class stiff who supports himself from his oyster farm. He’s getting nearly $5k. There’s certainly more there that will be exposed. 

Then that should cost him the election.

[GalagaGuy]

19 minutes ago, chasfh said:

Is he scamming the government? Like, actual fraud? Is this documented? Or might he actually qualify? Just asking because even if he appears healthy on the surface, if he technically qualifies for disability, he’s entitled to take it. If thats the case, then fault the VA.

I think you missed the point I was making.  If he's deserving of his rating, that means he has some serious mental health issues.  Is that really someone who should hold a position as a Senator? 

 

[chasfh]

5 minutes ago, GalagaGuy said:

I think you missed the point I was making.  If he's deserving of his rating, that means he has some serious mental health issues.  Is that really someone who should hold a position as a Senator? 

 

Yeah, I didn’t see that point in there.

I don’t think serious mental issues constitute a barrier to public office anymore. That’s not what I would choose, but there it is.

Edited 4 hours ago by chasfh

[gehringer_2]

24 minutes ago, chasfh said:

Then that should cost him the election.

If there were anything wrong with his disability payment you have to believe that would have been blown out of the water already.

But almost all the people that served in 'kinetic' combat have messed up hearing, joints, back or some level of PTSD and the system is designed to compensate them for those. It's not the same system as SS disability were you have to be not be able to work. My SIL was a career AF non-com, she qualified for substantial disability - in her case after a full 20. It has nothing - or at least little practically, to do with whether you are still able to work some 'normal' jobs - she was still doing hers when she retired.  It's a compensation system for what you suffered and carry as a result of serving. "Disability" is a bit of misnomer as compared to what people think of in workplace disability.

IIRC Platner's bio includes having been blown out of a vehicle by an IED. You're not likely to be completely whole again after that.

Edited 3 hours ago by gehringer_2

[GalagaGuy]

Considering Platner gets around just fine, the majority of his 100% rating has to come from his mental health.  Based on the way VA math works, that would mean his mental health rating is almost certainly 70%.  Any joint or back issues he has are obviously minor so they couldn't be more than 10% or maybe 20% at the most.  Maybe he got a generous examiner and received 40% for a herniated disc but that still wouldn't get him to 100% without the 70% mental health rating.   

There is also the possibility that he is 100% based on Individual Unemployability but that would be a huge scandal as he would not be allowed to earn more than poverty level wages.   I doubt he would be stupid enough to try and pull that one off since the VA collects employment data straight from Social Security.  

[pfife]

Your argument centers on your opinion that he gets around fine

Thats not strong

[GalagaGuy]

2 minutes ago, pfife said:

Your argument centers on your opinion that he gets around fine

Thats not strong

My argument centers on the fact I am intimately familiar with the VA disability rating system.  

[gehringer_2]

12 minutes ago, GalagaGuy said:

Considering Platner gets around just fine, the majority of his 100% rating has to come from his mental health.  Based on the way VA math works, that would mean his mental health rating is almost certainly 70%.  Any joint or back issues he has are obviously minor so they couldn't be more than 10% or maybe 20% at the most.  Maybe he got a generous examiner and received 40% for a herniated disc but that still wouldn't get him to 100% without the 70% mental health rating.   

There is also the possibility that he is 100% based on Individual Unemployability but that would be a huge scandal as he would not be allowed to earn more than poverty level wages.   I doubt he would be stupid enough to try and pull that one off since the VA collects employment data straight from Social Security.  

I can see it being fudged some, and I can see evaluators being pretty liberal. But as an overall issue politically, *assuming* nothing outright illegal was done, how big a political issue is a $60k stipend for a guy that did 4 tours under fire? Could be I suppose. If you ask me they all deserve at least that level. Which still doesn't mean Platner may not still be a creep, just not sure that anything related to his military service is a particularly fruitful line of attack against him.

[pfife]

Just now, GalagaGuy said:

My argument centers on the fact I am intimately familiar with the VA disability rating system.  

It didnt.   The first sentence in the post was about his ability to get aroumd, as you assessed it as an antecedent to the rest of the post. 

Im sorry you posted that if you didnt mean that

 

[pfife]

6 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

I can see it being fudged some, and I can see evaluators being pretty liberal. But as an overall issue politically, *assuming* nothing outright illegal was done,

Def illegal.  After all, he "gets around fine" (known fact) so obvs illegal

[Motown Bombers]

46 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

If there were anything wrong with his disability payment you have to believe that would have been blown out of the water already.

But almost all the people that served in 'kinetic' combat have messed up hearing, joints, back or some level of PTSD and the system is designed to compensate them for those. It's not the same system as SS disability were you have to be not be able to work. My SIL was a career AF non-com, she qualified for substantial disability - in her case after a full 20. It has nothing - or at least little practically, to do with whether you are still able to work some 'normal' jobs - she was still doing hers when she retired.  It's a compensation system for what you suffered and carry as a result of serving. "Disability" is a bit of misnomer as compared to what people think of in workplace disability.

IIRC Platner's bio includes having been blown out of a vehicle by an IED. You're not likely to be completely whole again after that.

Yeah I’m sure there is nothing more to come out about this pathological liar. 

[GalagaGuy]

2 minutes ago, pfife said:

Def illegal.  After all, he "gets around fine" (known fact) so obvs illegal

You should really consider learning even the basics about the VA disability system before making stupid smart ass comments.   I get it though, you like the dude who had the Nazi tattoo for 20 years and claims he didn't know it was a Nazi tattoo. 

[GalagaGuy]

Oh and by the way Tammy Duckworth doesn't even have a 100% VA disability rating.  

Edited 3 hours ago by GalagaGuy

[pfife]

5 minutes ago, GalagaGuy said:

You should really consider learning even the basics about the VA disability system before making stupid smart ass comments.   I get it though, you like the dude who had the Nazi tattoo for 20 years and claims he didn't know it was a Nazi tattoo. 

Lol

Post better

I reacted to what you posted.  Sorry that hurt you bad

Edited 3 hours ago by pfife

[gehringer_2]

3 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

Yeah I’m sure there is nothing more to come out about this pathological liar. 

If there were issues around this and Mills's team didn't bother to run it down or sat on it, she's as incompetent as Platner may be toxic.

[pfife]

I took magalagaboi's advice and reconsidered.  Not only is his argument weaker than i initially thought it also became way more ableist as it spiralled downward 

[GalagaGuy]

Funny thing, he has all these joint issues but was on Reddit talking about the intense workouts he was doing after leaving the military.

[gehringer_2]

so by the numbers: in 2020 Gideon got 72% of the a democratic primary vote total of 162K, or 116K votes

Collins got 87K votes out of 88.5K cast

in 2026 with 93% in, Platner got 72% of a democratic primary vote total. The total is est to be 222K so Platner's 72% would be 158K votes

There is no tally on the GOP side as Collins was unopposed this time.

The population of Maine is only 4% higher than it was in 2020.

So Platner got 42K more votes than Gideon did (FWIW - Gideon lost the general in 2020 by 70K)

Unfortunately since Collins' vote wasn't totalled we don't know if the larger Dem turnout was 'new voters' or ex-Collins voters changing sides  or even GOP leaning independents voting for Platner because they think he was the weaker candidate against Collins. (Independents in Maine could vote in either primary).