ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Democrats’ sexual harassment strategy has not just one target, but three. Speculation is intense that Democrats believe today’s outrage over sexual harassment can be turned on President Trump, to turn him out of office. However, Democrats stand to realize even more immediate and valuable returns: Expunging Bill Clinton from their past and exiling Hillary Clinton from their future.

Democrats have long benefited from Hollywood and America’s entertainment industry. Both have delivered once again, producing sexual harassment as today’s white-hot issue.

While quickly decimating America’s entertainment industry, politics is a different animal. An insulated culture of cold calculation, old ways can surreptitiously survive. This approach prevails even in politics’ liberal sphere.

This culture and Democrats’ own history likely preconditioned their initial response to sexual harassment charges in their own ranks. Democratic icons have been anything but isolated from sex in politics. John Kennedy was far more Lancelot than Arthur in Camelot. His brother Ted Kennedy took his legacy further — and further away from the image Democrats want to project on women’s issues. More recently, and even higher profile, was Bill Clinton.

Unsurprisingly, when recent sexual harassment charges first surfaced internally, Democrats’ first reaction was to close ranks. Former Michigan Rep. John Conyers was immediately defended; however this quickly changed. By the time Minnesota Sen. Al Franken faced the music, Democrats’ stance had thoroughly reversed.

This dramatic switch has led many to believe Democrats see an ideal opportunity to turn public outrage onto Mr. Trump over accusations against him.

Certainly Democrats despise Mr. Trump; their heart’s motivation should not be discounted. However, their head’s motivation should tell them otherwise: If Mr. Trump is as bad as they say, then they should want him to stay.

If Mr. Trump leaves office, now divided Republicans likely reunite. Vice President Mike Pence is a far more polished politician and would appeal to both conservatives and establishment Republicans, while also having greater appeal to moderate voters, who Mr. Trump lost decidedly last year.

In seeing Mr. Trump as Democrats’ primary target for a sexual harassment strategy, many are overlooking two more obvious and immediate ones: the Clintons. Here Democratic strategy is already working.

When Democrats unleashed their onslaught on the topic they had ample women politicians to lead the charge. Yet, one seemingly obvious one was missing: The one who had been their presidential nominee (America’s first by a major party), a former secretary of State, senator, and first lady — the highest profile and seemingly best positioned Democrat to take up a women’s issue. Of course, Hillary Clinton was nowhere to be seen — for obvious reasons.

Equally obvious is how potent sexual harassment is for Democrats to eliminate two problems — both Clintons. It allows them to expunge Bill and exile Hillary — things they greatly want and need to do.

Bill Clinton’s moderate, triangulating, third-way presidency is now thoroughly out of step with today’s Democratic Party. Even then, his overtures to conservative Republicans — on issues such as welfare reform — won him enmity in liberal circles. It is even truer in the party where Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders won 40+ percent of votes throughout last year’s primaries. Democrats now far prefer their elder statesman be Barack Obama, or even Jimmy Carter.

Exiling Hillary is equally desired and even more necessary. Democrats blame her for being, in their mind, the only politician who could have lost to Mr. Trump. And she is one they cannot shake — as her recent book and tour prove. Hillary is more visible than Mr. Obama — unless Democrats can keep her away. Sexual harassment perfectly serves that purpose.

Sexual harassment as an issue neutralizes Hillary. An enabler for Bill, she went beyond defending him, to being party to attacks on his accusers. As such, she could arguably be more of a pariah on this issue than her husband.

Politically, the Clintons will not die and Democrats cannot kill them. They keep Democrats tied to a past they would now rather forget and a future they cannot again endure. If sexual harassment can be raised from being an issue, to being a threshold that cannot be crossed, it can keep the party from going back to Bill or forward to Hillary.

Sexual harassment is therefore perfect for addressing Democrats’ biggest political concerns. They can use it in the long-shot hope of overturning Mr. Trump’s presidency — ideally in 2020 as Republicans’ nominee, but not before. They can also immediately use it to overlook Bill Clinton’s presidency — eight years that were closer to the Bush years than the Obama years. And they can use it to make a Hillary return end before it begins. For Democrats it is effective not just against this White House, but in their own house.

• J.T. Young served in the George W. Bush administration as director of communications in the Office of Management and Budget and as deputy assistant secretary in legislative affairs for tax and budget at the Treasury Department.

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