After all of the scandals, all of the “trainings,” after all of the “believe all women” grandstanding, after the tectonic culture shift that ruled a man staring at a retreating woman’s comely behind in the workplace inappropriate and the creation of a “hostile work environment” for female witnesses—after #MeToo, for heaven’s sake!—how could any Congressman be dumb and crude enough to do that? The ethics committee report revealed that Edwards would make “comments” about the women’s “appearance and dress,” give them “lavish and recurrent gifts,” invite them to “intimate dinners and vacations,” and send notes about his “effusive affection.” The two female staffers were “made uncomfortable with his behavior.”

Of course they were. I’m uncomfortable with his behavior.

The GOP has other slimeballs endangering the Republic as well. Representative Cory Mills of Florida was investigated by the police in Washington, D.C., in connection with a report of an assault of a woman. His former girlfriend got a protective order against him. Way to get that female vote! Mills is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee. In Ohio, Representative Max Miller was accused by his ex-wife, who is the daughter of a Republican state senator, of scalding her chest with hot water, holding a gun to her head, pushing her against a wall and fracturing their daughter’s collarbone. Nice. Miller denies everything.

Am I unreasonable to presume that good, ethical, trustworthy elected officials reliably manage never to have ex-wives accuse them of such things? Maybe the woman is crazy, I suppose. We can’t believe all women. Still: that’s quite a list of crimes to make up against a Congressman. If I had any faith in voters or the parties that nominate our leaders, I would be inclined to give the target of such a accusations the benefit of the doubt. As things stand…