The Memo: Platner debacle inflames factional turmoil among Democrats

A credible allegation of rape against Graham Platner looks near certain to doom his Senate campaign, even though the Maine Democrat calls the charge “categorically untrue.”

The consensus in the political world is that Platner could withdraw from the race any moment. Meanwhile, the episode is ratcheting up tensions that are already burning hot within the Democratic Party.

On one side is the progressive left, which has felt its power rising and has been broadly supportive of Platner’s candidacy. On the other is the more centrist party establishment, which had long viewed Platner with skepticism and worries that the left will blow winnable races.

The battle lines in the wake of the new allegation are stark. They separate a party establishment saying “we told you so” from a left-leaning insurgency that insists the chaos in Maine does nothing to invalidate progressive viewpoints in general.

The progressive group Our Revolution, which has its roots in Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) first presidential campaign a decade ago, withdrew its endorsement of Platner in the wake of the allegations.

But its executive director, Joseph Geevarghese, accompanied that announcement with a statement that included the warning: “To the Democratic establishment: this is not your opening.”

Geevarghese insisted that Mainers had not backed Platner over the more centrist Gov. Janet Mills (D) in the first place “just to be handed another status-quo candidate. They deserve what they voted for.”

Conversely from the center-left, Neera Tanden, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, wrote on social media Monday: “Say what you will, but the establishment vets candidates.”

Tanden’s comment in turn, sparked furious backlash from the left, which noted the ethical travails of past establishment favorites including former President Clinton and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D).

For now, the focus remains on Platner’s........

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