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May 17, 2026
Key Developments and What We're Discussing Today:
- Graham Platner, the likely Democratic U.S. Senate nominee in Maine, is a deeply flawed candidate with a history of offensive statements and a now-covered-up Nazi tattoo. If you're looking for a defense of Platner, you're reading the wrong newsletter.
- It's hard to see how Democrats win back the Senate unless Platner defeats incumbent Senator Susan Collins. If you're looking for someone to tell you we'd be better off under a Republican-controlled Senate that includes Susan Collins than we would under a Democratic-controlled Senate, you're reading the wrong newsletter.
- How do we reconcile our aversion to Platner with our recognition that these are the most consequential midterm elections of our lifetimes and that whether Democrats win control of Congress could determine the trajectory of our democracy?
- We cannot deny or gloss over the problems with Platner. Sometimes it helps to ask how you'd feel the day after. Would you feel better if Platner lost and Republicans retained control of the Senate or would you feel better if Platner won and Democrats won control of the Senate? If the latter, how would you feel if Platner lost and you stayed on the sidelines?
- Today's newsletter is about how to think, not what to think. My advice is to find out all you can about Platner, find out all you can about what will likely happen under Democratic vs. Republican control of the Senate, and do what you think is best for our country.
You're reading the non-fiction version of Jewish Insider. You can support my work by chipping in via credit card (you do not need a PayPal account), Zelle, Venmo @Steven-Sheffey (last four digits, 9479), or check.
Greetings!
Democrats have repeatedly warned us that electing Democratic majorities in the House and, if possible, the Senate, has never mattered more. Never in our history has our democracy been threatened from within by a political party and a leader with the means and the desire to undermine our democracy.
The House, the Senate, and the Supreme Court, all under Republican control, have abdicated their responsibilities to check an Executive Branch that is out of control. Higher prices, fewer vaccines, more disease, antisemitism, gun violence, and reproductive rights are among many issues that matter. But democracy is the thread that binds together the fabric of the country we know and love.
Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner is the likely Democratic nominee in a state that Democrats must win to have any hope of winning back the Senate.
Many Democrats don't want to support someone like Platner. It's distasteful to them. They wonder how we can call out Republicans if we don't call out our own. They won't support his opponent, Republican Senator Susan "Trump has learned his lesson" Collins, but they might sit out the Maine Senate election.
They'd love to have a Senate majority. They'll take it if they get it, but they don't want to compromise their principles to get it. I can relate to this. I'm deeply offended by Platner’s Nazi tattoo and what it symbolizes, as well as Platner's litany of derogatory comments about women and people with disabilities, including slurring them. I consider myself a progressive. None of this is progressive. None of this is inclusive. None of this makes me proud that Platner is the likely Democratic nominee.
Republicans don't fret about tattoos or offensive remarks. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has at least two offensive tattoos, which he seems proud of. When given the chance by Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) to apologize for an antisemitic remark, he smirked his frat-boy smirk and refused to apologize. No Republican senators condemned Hegseth for these remarks or for his tattoos. Only three Republicans voted against his confirmation (every Democrat voted against it).
To be clear, no senators should have voted to confirm Hegseth for many reasons, including his tattoos and his antisemitism, and there was no greater good other than fealty to Donald Trump that justified voting to confirm Hegseth.
Graham Platner had a deeply offensive tattoo. Democrats are rightly concerned, despite Platner's apology and despite the painful procedure he underwent to cover it up. He is a deeply flawed candidate, although not as flawed as some would have us believe, who at least seems to own up to and apologize for his previous statements, which go well beyond antisemitism (as if that's not bad enough). The New York Times asked Platner about many of the concerns about him in a wide-ranging interview published yesterday. You can decide for yourself to what extent his answers satisfy you.
I expect much better from the Democratic Party than Graham Platner. Don't ask me to defend everything Platner has done or said. I can't, even if it's true, as Michele Goldberg writes, that many of his critics premise their attacks "on a deliberate misreading of both Platner and his progressive fans."
And yet Frank Bruni argues that we should support Platner, writing that we "can’t recognize the profound moral offense and extreme danger of Trump and then sit out the election or cast a vote that potentially helps his party, which has abetted or ignored his authoritarian designs, win either chamber of Congress. That would be irresponsible, nonsensical and perilous."
Once upon a time, both parties shared basic values and agreed on many issues. It once made sense to vote for the person, regardless of party. Not today. Not if we believe what we are saying about Trump's authoritarianism and the GOP's complicity. That means some hard choices.
This is not about blind loyalty to the Democratic Party. This is not about pretending that Platner is a candidate we are proud of or dismissing his faults. This is about voting to maximize the political effectuation of our values.
Ask yourself whether you think our country would be better off under a Democratic majority or a Republican majority. That's what the Senate election in Maine is all about. You can do nothing and hope for the best or you can say, "These are my values, Platner doesn't share all of them, but the Senate will be better under a Democratic majority that includes Platner than a Republican majority that includes Collins."
There is no comparison between Republicans who voted for Trump despite what they claim were their misgivings and Democrats who support Platner despite their misgivings. A vote for Trump was a vote for Trump controlling the Executive Branch and gaining enormous power over the composition of the Judicial Branch.
A vote for Platner is a vote for Democrats, not Platner, controlling the Senate. It's a vote for someone who does not align with all of our values to allow those who do align with our values to wrest control from those who don't share our values.
Remember how mad we were at those Democrats who chose to stay home instead of voting for Kamala Harris because she didn't align with them on certain issues?. How pure they were. Their issues were as important to them as ours are to us, and they let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Let's not make the same mistake they made.
And yet...Is there no line? What if Platner had pulled a Hegseth, refused to apologize for anything, and said he was proud of his tattoo? What if he were a Nazi? Maybe that would be a bridge too far for Democratic primary voters, but what if it wasn't? By the logic I've presented above, wouldn't it still make sense to support Platner over Collins?
It's an interesting question, but we have enough to worry about without having to worry about hypotheticals. We don't have to know exactly where the line is to know whether we are on the right side of the line.
Based on what I know now, working for a Democratic Senate majority that includes Platner is likely on the right side of that line, as distasteful as having Platner in the Senate would be. Maybe I'd feel differently if Democrats were likely to win a Senate majority without Maine, but that's not the reality we live in.
Others may have different lines. If you do, given the stakes, at least don't rule Platner out. Talk to him, find out what you can, and if you think you can't support him, ask yourself how you'll feel if Republicans keep the Senate and you could have done more to help Democrats take the Senate back.
In Case You Missed It:
- Ilan Goldenberg writes that the collapse of Israel's standing in the U.S. is "the direct result of a series of catastrophic political decisions by Benjamin Netanyahu over the past decade."
- David Litt: By almost any quantifiable measure, the average American living in a blue state lives a better life than the average American living in a red state, concluding that "if Donald Trump and JD Vance wanted to put America First, they’d stop waging their war on blue states, and start thinking about how to help the rest of the country become more like them."
- Trump created a Presidential Prayer Team, condescendingly encouraged Jewish Americans to "observe a national Sabbath" yesterday, and declared today a "National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving," about which American United for Separation of Church and State wrote, "As far as we can tell, of the 29 individual speakers and performers on the schedule sent out by Mike Johnson, every single one is Christian [other reports say that one Orthodox rabbi, but no one of any other religion, will also participate]. This is a government-sponsored event on public property that combines only Christian faith leaders and government officials; it’s less a ‘Jubilee of Prayer’ than a ‘Jubilee of Christian Nationalism.’" I would add that if anyone feels mandated by 1 Timothy 2:1-2 to pray for anything, that's fine. What's not fine, what is un-American, is citing what some believe is a Biblical mandate on a government website. Watch Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) and his colleagues explain the danger of Trump's National Jubilee of Prayer.
- Jay Michaelson: When it comes to Israel/Palestine, everyone is sure that everyone else is a bigot. You can test your understanding of Michaelson's article by your reaction to the links in the next bullet point.
- Nicholas Kristof's column on sexual violence in Israeli prisons contains likely truths, poorly sourced material, and likely fabrications. The column came out within hours of a report on sexual violence by Hamas and its allies during and after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Rabbi Josh Weinberg provides the moral clarity we need as we wrestle with Kristof's column and the report on Hamas's atrocities.
Tweet of the Week. Aaron Rupar.
Jewish Insider Fail of the Week. Friday's absurdly obsequious coverage of Trump's national Sabbath. Is this a news report or a White House press release? Are there no dissenting voices within the Jewish community? You wouldn't know if you rely on Jewish Insider, but you would know if you relied on JTA.
Video Clip of the Week. Yet another reason to love Rod Stewart. Read about it in Variety and New Music Express.
Vintage Music Clip of the Week. Rod Stewart--You Wear It Well.
The Fine Print. Read the fine print before you reply or send me anything.
For those new to this newsletter. This is the newsletter even Republicans have to read. If someone forwarded this newsletter to you, your luck continues. You can subscribe and get it in your inbox every Sunday for free. Just click here.
Be sure to read my posts on distinguishing anti-Zionism from antisemitism, understanding the words Zionism, apartheid, and genocide, how to heal the generational rift on Israel and antisemitism, and the IHRA definition of antisemitism.
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