Monday open thread—Sex and double standards

News broke Sunday that Katie Hill, Democrat of California, is going to resign from Congress? Why? Because her bitter soon-to-be-ex-husband outed her consenual, adult affair with one of her staffers.

Now. I am not condoning extramarital affairs. But that's because I adore my wife and could never think of stepping out on her. Life is life, and sometimes what I wouldn't do seems like a logical choice to someone else. We don't know what Ms. Hill's relationship with her ex-husband was, although, from reports, we can make some assumptions, none good for him. I'm not going to judge her.

But how odd. Would the political universe be so apoplexed over a male colleague having a consensual extramarital affair?

Were he a Democrat, perhaps. Certainly not were he a Republican.

When Al Franken was outed as a possible sex pest, all and sundry rallied to his support, telling him not to resign.

Meanwhile, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who took the point against Mr. Franken, was excoriated as an over-ambitious harpy, who did what she did solely to get a possible rival for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination out of the way, although Mr. Franken told anyone and everyone that he wasn't going to run. This act of hers was one of the main factors which doomed her candidacy for the nomination.

Where are all the calls for Ms. Hill to not drop out? To fight? To stand strong? Crickets. Instead, the sharks are circling to snatch her seat. Hell, Matt fucking Gaetz, no stranger to personal peccadilloes, said that Ms. Hill got a raw deal.

A person's sex life should be no one's business, unless it highlights gross hypocrisy. We're about to lose a talented Democratic freshman due to the animus which powerful women face. And she received nowhere near the support that Al Franken did. Along with racism, misogyny is our nation's Achilles' heel.

I wish Ms. Hill a safe journey on her future travels. But it sticks in my craw that she even has to start on a new journey. May we grow as a culture so that the only time someone's private life is an issue is when it contradicts their public life. Like the current occupant of the West Wing, who has multiple, credible sexual assault accusations against him, but who white evangelicals hold up as a paragon of Christian virtue.

This is your Monday open thread.