I never met Norm Macdonald. Never even watched him perform live. It’s one of my biggest regrets.
I’ve worked with several high-profile comedians and Saturday Night Live “weekend update” anchors, including his predecessor (Kevin Nealon) and successor (Colin Quinn). But not Macdonald.
He wasn’t appreciated in his own time — Rolling Stone magazine actually listed him as the seventh-worst SNL cast member ever — but after dying of leukemia in 2021, adulation of his deadpan absurdism has skyrocketed. Today, he’s one of the most heavily quoted comedians on social media.
And of all his jokes, Macdonald’s most enduring one is probably his “hypocrisy” crack about Bill Cosby:
Norm- “Friend of mind said he thought the worst part of the Cosby thing was the hypocrisy…. I disagree.”
Jerry Seinfeld – “You disagree?”
Norm Macdonald – “Yeah…. I think it was the r*ping.” pic.twitter.com/gtc2wqkLu6
— OldTimeHardball (@OleTimeHardball) April 22, 2026
It’s funny because it’s true: We’re emotionally outraged by hypocrisy — much more so than other transgressions. It’s a primal reaction; for whatever reason, we’re instinctively hardwired to hate it.
I suspect it’s tied to jealousy, social status, fairness, and resource allocation.
In 2005, NASCAR driver St. James Davis and his wife visited their pet chimpanzee, Moe, at a Bakersfield animal sanctuary, to celebrate Moe’s birthday. In view of the other chimps, Moe was given toys, candy hearts, chocolate milk, and a raspberry-filled sheet cake.
The other chimps received nothing.
Two chimps broke free and mauled Davis and his wife. She lost her thumb, but fared better than her husband: Davis’ fingers, left foot, most of his buttocks, both of his testicles, part of his torso, and his nose and lips were ripped from his body. He spent the next half-year in a hospital.
That’s the danger of hypocrisy: It violates our expectation of fairness and social order. Even chimps hate it when something is “good for thee but not for me.”
Which brings us to the Democratic Party and its now-inevitable senatorial nominee from Maine, Graham Platner.
Y’know, the guy with the Nazi tattoo.
And not just any Nazi tattoo. Platner decorated his chest with the Totenkopf (a.k.a “death’s head”), which was primarily identified with the SS-Totenkopfverbände who guarded Nazi concentration camps.
Platner claims he was drunk one night and got the tattoo without knowing its meaning. His story is directly contradicted by his own social media posts.
Deleted social media comments and an interview with an acquaintance undercut Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner’s claims this week that he only recently learned that a tattoo on his chest had Nazi origins.
A KFile investigation has uncovered mounting evidence that Platner — a Marine veteran— was aware of and defended the use of Nazi symbolism that had come to be embraced by some members of the military.
In one thread from 2019, Platner weighed in on a conversation about the “Totenkopf” — the skull-and-crossbones emblem worn by Nazi SS units that his own tattoo would later draw scrutiny for resembling — to note that many US service members had adopted similar imagery, such as the Punisher skull used by some Navy SEALs.
Plus, there were eyewitnesses:
CNN also spoke with an acquaintance of Platner from more than a decade ago who said Platner spoke about his tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol. A second person told CNN that they learned of the tattoo years ago from the acquaintance, who told them that Platner had described it as a Nazi-style design.
CNN also reviewed a text chain between the acquaintance and another person discussing Platner’s Nazi-like tattoo several months ago, before the story became public.
Platner’s campaign declined to comment for this story.
On the surface, this should be a state-level issue. One knucklehead with a Totenkopf tattoo wouldn’t normally taint an entire political party.
But these aren’t normal times: In their effort to demonize Donald Trump, the Democratic Party didn’t just brand Republicans, MAGA, and the president as Nazis, fascists, and “literally Hitler” — the Democrats branded themselves as the exact opposite.
The Dems were so vehemently opposed to Nazis that even an awkward hand gesture by Elon Musk was attacked as a “Sieg Heil” salute!
Because the Dems are the anti-Nazi party, it’s what they stand for. Remember the kerfuffle over Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s “controversial” tattoos? (Fun fact: If you click on that link, one of the organizations that condemned Hegseth’s “racist” tattoos was the since-discredited Southern Poverty Law Center.)
In retrospect, it was a tempest in a teapot. Either that, or Jimmy Carter was a racist, too:
This is amazing. LOL https://t.co/4BRyuouTyG
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) January 10, 2025
But now that one of their own was caught wearing Nazi ink, the Dems are suddenly goose-stepping in a different direction.
Fox News: Van Hollen Backs Embattled Dem With Nazi-Linked Tattoo, Says ‘Second Chances’ Matter
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., pushed back against criticism of U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner over his “Nazi tattoo” and past online comments, arguing that Platner’s behavior may be linked to PTSD stemming from his deployment to Afghanistan and that he deserves a second chance.
[…]
“Let’s take a couple issues, including the comments he’s made in the past,” Van Hollen said. “I mean, he’s been very clear that he went into combat on behalf of the United States. He went through a really rough period, a PTSD-type period.”
“He himself said there are lots of things he’s done and said that he completely regrets, and I do believe people should have second chances and that people can learn from their mistakes, and I think he’s been doing that,” Van Hollen continued.
Everyone makes mistakes — that’s why pencils have erasers! C’mon, guys, let’s show some grace and give Platner the benefit of the doubt!
If the Dems were branded as the party of second chances, this would be fine. But it’s not. The Democratic Party has spent the last decade playing “Where’s Waldo,” with swastikas, insisting the GOP was filled with fascists. Over and over again, the top Dems connected the Right with the Reich.
But now that one of their own is the Nazi, they’re singing a very different tune. (Which probably sounds a lot like Horst-Wessel-Lied.) Seems the Dems’ opposition to Nazism depended more on partisan politics than moral principles.
Paging Norm Macdonald…
It’s pure, unadulterated, nakedly transparent hypocrisy. EVERYONE knows that if a Republican candidate had a Totenkopf tattoo, not only would he be attacked and pilloried 24/7, but the Dems would elevate it to a national issue (with some friendly assistance from the media, of course): Every Republican would be put on the spot — forced to either disavow this horrible, terrible Nazi, or be tarred and feathered as a Nazi sympathizer.
Which makes the GOP’s next move obvious.
Graham Platner is a gift from the political gods. He’s the walking, talking embodiment of Democratic hypocrisy.
We instinctively loathe hypocrisy, but not all hypocrisy is created equal. When limousine liberals lecture us about “saving the planet” — and then fly around on a private jet — we don’t like it, but we kind of understand it: Hey, if we could afford a private jet, we’d probably use it, too. (Air travel sucks.)
But if you’re gonna be hypocritical about frickin’ Nazis… then what WON’T you be hypocritical about?!
Best of all, this issue coincides with the Republican Party making record-setting inroads with black voters and other minorities — groups that recognize the danger of empowering neo-Nazis:
Trump’s GOP is holding on to the generational gains they made with Black voters in the 2024 election.
The GOP has gained 12 pts on the Dems on party id with African Americans vs. Trump term 1 at this point.
Trump’s approval with Black voters is higher than it was in term 1. pic.twitter.com/EKiEv561jk
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) April 30, 2026
The Dems have already lost the white vote. If they lose the minority vote, too, they simply can’t win.
The GOP should turn Platner into a national issue, forcing every Democratic candidate to either endorse a Totenkopf-tatted Nazi or disavow him completely. Remind the American people of the Dems’ over-the-top rhetoric when bashing Republicans — and their hypocritical indifference when it comes to Maine Kampf.
We have a full decade of interviews, tweets, and social media posts to exploit!
Because we hate hypocrisy. We hate it with the burning passion of a thousand suns. But to paraphrase Norm Macdonald, when it comes to Platner, the hypocrisy isn’t the worst part:
“Yeah… I think the worst part is the Nazis.”
One Last Thing: 2026 is a critical year for America First. It began with Mayor Mamdani declaring war on “rugged individualism” and will reach a crescendo with the midterm elections. Nothing less than the fate of the America First movement teeters in the balance.
Never before have the political battle lines been so clearly defined. Win or lose, 2026 will transform our country.
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