Why did senators who asked Franken to resign hug him afterwards?

[Cicada]

29. Your answer does not address the question which was asked

The question I addressed was how could Dem Senators hug Al Franken while kicking him out. The answer is that the Dem Senators think Franken leaving will lead to more Dems elected which is more important than Al Franken. Your worry about electoral consequences from Franken leaving May be valid. But my answer addressed a different point: how can people both kick him out and hug him.

I am not competent to accurately predict whether your concerns are valid but I can point out that there are tens of thousands of elections nationwide and that there are elections in many future years. It is possible that one senate seat is less important than possible advantages in all those other elections. For instance Republican Jeff Flake has said that the election of Roy Moore will cost Republicans much more in other elections than his victory in this one race will be worth. I happen to agree with Flake and I happen to agree with Senate Dems. But I conced my expertise is basically zero.