My problem with this story is precisely that it was Franken’s decision to make in the first place.

Sexual harassment has been a serious problem within Congress since at least forever. And yet they don’t have any sort of procedure for dealing with it. Every single time it happens, everyone runs around and spends a couple weeks inventing their own “this is what we ought to do” procedures from scratch, and then they are immediately forgotten. The next time it happens (later that day), everyone runs around and spends a couple weeks inventing their own “this is what we ought to do” procedures from scratch. Because every time it happens it’s a one-of-a-kind-nothing-like-this-has-ever-happened-before scenario. Just like what we do every time there’s a massacre where someone who shouldn’t have any guns at all gets access to guns so dangerous that nobody actually needs them.

This is how people react to problems they don’t actually want to solve. Do people invent new legal arguments and distinctions every time someone shoplifts? No. We don’t want shoplifting, that’s why.

Admittedly there’s a difficulty with elected officials not being able to be fired, and the possibility of whatever administrative investigations/sanctions are constitutionally permitted being abused as a political device. But come on. There’s a proper response for the person who says their case is somehow special and unique and not warranting the same legal consequences as everyone else: tell it to the judge.