The state’s agreement to settle the sexual harassment lawsuit against Iowa Senate Republicans for $1.75 million does not close this shameful chapter in our political history.

The campaign fight over the case is just beginning.

Democrats, who lost the Senate majority in the 2016 election, think voter outrage over this scandal will help them win it back.

The leader of Iowa Senate Republicans, however, brushed off the settlement as something that “happens all the time” in state government.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix said Democrats are “going to do what they’re going to do, but at the end of the day it’s one of those things where state employees are involved and this kind of thing happens all the time across state government.”

It happens all the time? Really?

So male state workers are showing nude pictures to female co-workers in the office all the time? They are going around using profane words for female genitals to refer to women? They use racial slurs and ask women about the size of their breasts and areolas?

These are just some of the complaints that Kirsten Anderson, former communications director for the Senate Republican caucus, detailed in her lawsuit.

Are lots of state workers being fired just hours after complaining about harassment? Because that’s what happened to Anderson. It’s a wonder that the state hasn’t had to declare bankruptcy from all the million-dollar verdicts.

After this column posted on DesMoinesRegister.com, Ed Failor Jr. of the Senate Republican Caucus Staff called to clarify that Dix was talking about lawsuit awards being common in state government, not sexual harassment.

Nevertheless, reaction from Democrats and the largest state employees' union, AFSCME, was harsh.

Danny Homan, AFSCME president, said, "I certainly can’t speak for the Senate Republican staff, but sexual harassment in the rest of state government most certainly does not happen all the time — or at all — without consequence.

"... As the union representing the state employees Senator Dix appears to be referencing, we simply won’t stand for this kind of oust-worthy rhetoric to be spewed," Homan added.

Two Democratic candidates for governor had also issued statements as of Friday morning.

Sen. Nate Boulton, D-Des Moines, noted the impact on the state budget. "And just days after closing the books on a year where reserve funds are being raided for a $14.6 million shortfall in the state’s budget, the Republicans are making Iowans foot the bill for the $1.75 million settlement. Iowans deserve better."

Candidate John Norris said the governor and Iowa GOP leaders should call for Dix's resignation. "Senator Dix’s comments demonstrate a fundamental lack of moral leadership in Des Moines and show that he is unfit to hold elected office," Norris said.

Dix said in an interview on Wednesday, before the settlement was announced, that he’s fixing the problems and that they occurred before his time as leader.

“I mean, I’m taking a leadership role in putting in place policies that respect workers and ensure that they have a safe environment to work in. And you know, the things that took place, took place prior to my leadership,” he said.

That’s not entirely true. Dix was minority leader at the time Anderson was fired in 2013, just seven hours after presenting a list of harassment complaints to supervisors. He was in a position to prevent the situation from becoming a huge legal and political liability.

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Dix said in August that he was working to contract with the state’s Department of Administrative Services to provide human resources services for his caucus. The agency normally works only for executive branch employees and not legislative staff.

On Wednesday, he said the DAS contract was still “a work in progress.”

Over the summer, Dix also announced an internal investigation by the secretary of the Senate of allegations raised during trial that had not already been reviewed. No conclusions have been publicly reported as a result of the investigation. However, one of the caucus employees who was central to Anderson’s harassment complaints, Jim Friedrich, resigned this month.

Once it's approved by the State Appeal Board and is paid, the settlement will end the state’s appeal of the case, which could have kept this unsavory business in the news for months. The settlement includes attorney fees, which would have continued to pile up during the appeal.

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Democratic senators and staff have told me it’s the money — the cost to taxpayers for the lawsuit — that has riled up voters the most. The award comes at a particularly awkward time for Senate Republicans. The state ended the fiscal year with a budget deficit and must repay over $140 million borrowed from reserve funds.

The fact that the settlement trimmed the award from $2.2 million to about $1.75 million isn’t likely to make Iowans feel happier about having their tax dollars pay for it.

Senate Democrats are counting on that. Their political fund has been circulating a web “survey” on social media asking people whether they think taxpayers should have to pay the jury award.

Jacob Becklund, director of Iowa Democrats’ Senate Majority Fund, wouldn’t reveal how many people clicked “yes” or “no.” He said they don’t release specific results of “internal online surveys,” but said more than 1,800 survey responses had been recorded as of Tuesday.

"Let's just say that it would be easier to find an Iowa State Cyclone fan in Iowa City than to find an Iowa taxpayer interested in paying a $2.2 million verdict because of the inappropriate actions of Republican senators and staff,” he said in an email.

The results don’t really matter, however. It’s not a scientific poll. People who vote on this survey supply their email address, which puts them on the Senate Democrats’ list for fundraising and campaign organizing pitches. That’s what matters in a campaign.

Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann, asked about the political fallout during a recent television interview, couldn’t back away fast enough.

Fallout from the Iowa Senate Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

“I can tell you as the head of an organization where I do have the responsibilities and direct responsibilities are (at) RPI and that kind of behavior would not be tolerated at RPI. You'll have to ask Bill Dix in terms of the details of how he is going to actually react to that and handle questions about that,” Kaufmann said on “Iowa Press,” which aired Sept. 22.

Gov. Kim Reynolds did defend Dix, while also calling for zero tolerance of harassment. Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Troy Price will likely keep reminding voters of that. “In her first 60 days in office she had an opportunity to lead on this issue. As the first female governor and as a governor for all Iowans, she should have been out front and criticizing what happened in the Senate, instead she defended Bill Dix,” Price said, also on “Iowa Press.”

Dix’s mismanagement of this fiasco is being compounded by political malpractice. This case may be settled in the courthouse but in the court of public opinion, the jury will rule on Election Day in November 2018.

Kathie Obradovich is the Register's political columnist. Contact: kobradov@registermedia.com Twitter: @kobradovich