There's a concerted rat fucking operation going on in VA against Democrats right now

[bigtree]

38. every pol affected by this right now in Va. is responsible for defending their own actions

...there's ALWAYS a prospect of political opposition exploiting past mistakes and embarrassments.

That doesn't make politicians any less responsible for maintaining their public integrity throughout any examination of their past. It's not as if we will (or should) eliminate opposition research.

We need clear standards of investigation in cases like this, in both ethics and law, with remedies and penalties appropriate to the incidents alleged or uncovered. Many of the issues we're dealing with today are suffering from a clear path to reconciliation, accountability, or justice. Establishing and exercising those (as well as existing regs and legal remedies) would do much more than highlighting obvious, perpetual biases in our political system.