Al Franken and John Conyers might not be the worst violators of women walking the halls of the United States Congress, but that fact never should have shielded them from withering criticism. Nor should it ever have been considered a reasonable defense against suggestions they should lose their seats of power.

Unfortunately for Democrats, party leadership opted for the self-inflicted wounds of an unhealthy dose of whataboutism and feet-dragging rather than a firm commitment to zero tolerance of sexual assault in any form.

Consequently, Franken’s controversy drags on as the man in the middle of it faces frustratingly little pressure from top Democrats to step aside.

Mercifully, Conyers’ version seems to be winding down given the recent news of his retirement, effective immediately. Of course, that the longest-serving member of Congress finally caved to slowly mounting pressure doesn’t change the initial reaction of top Dems like Nancy Pelosi, who moronically called Conyers “an icon” when the scandal was in its infancy, while lending him support and implicitly challenging the veracity of his accusers. Granted, you’ve gotta give ol’ Nance credit—she was quick to register the backlash and was thorough with her damage control.

The damage, however, was done.

Thanks to blunders like Pelosi’s and conspicuous silence or muted responses from other party leaders like Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Party’s standing and perceived sincerity with regards to combatting sexual assault have already suffered.

Consider that, while neither situation presented a particularly difficult call, the case against Franken was the easier of the two. Yet it’s the one that persists.

The junior senator from Minnesota now stands accused of groping five women since 2006. The allegations seem to be highly credible given their similarities, his lack of denial, and the judgment/mentality represented in this photo. We’re approaching the territory where it’s understandable for people to lose count of just how many women claim a sitting U.S. senator copped a feel without their consent. We might see more, given Al’s pseudo-explanation for all of this.

A champion for women who can’t remember which ones he’s victimized. Terrific.

Hey, you know who can remember whether or not he inappropriately touched a specific woman? A man who does not make a habit of inappropriately touching women.

“I don’t remember” is either a lie or it means Al has groped so many random women that he sincerely can’t recall at least some of his sexual improprieties. So, even if he’s not lying and these women aren’t actual victims, there are presumably some victims out there, which is just as gross.

That’s not to say Franken surrendered his right to due process, but it does mean he should be on borrowed time, and Democrats should be emphatically condemning his behavior.

Instead, the party line has been to drool out platitudes, point to the other side, and hope President Donald Trump will face-plant into something that permanently knocks Al from the public’s consciousness.

Yes, the allegations against Roy Moore that have surfaced during his push for Alabama’s vacant Senate seat are far more disturbing than anything currently connected to prominent Democrats. Yes, President Trump has his own deeply troubling history.

For better or worse, neither the Democratic Party nor any of its candidates could’ve survived this.

Regardless, the gravity of sexual assault, especially when facilitated and enabled by an unbalanced power dynamic, demands these allegations not be treated as either/or prospects predicated by partisan loyalties.

Furthermore, the Democratic Party does not have the luxury of hiding behind partisan spin, even though the Republican Party probably does.

Unfair as that may be, it is the reality Democrats must navigate since the party holds itself up as the champion of women and as a vigilant defender of what should already be women’s well-established right to control what happens to their bodies. This is all the more so because Dems and their media wings frequently portray the other side as the enemy of women.

Whether you believe these things to be generally true about Democrats and Republicans is immaterial, as they certainly reflect the political backdrop against which events are unfolding. In other words, file this under “perception is reality” in your “political optics” folder.

Let’s not forget, the weeks running up to Franken and Conyers dominating headlines saw an outpouring of mea culpas from left-leaning journalists regarding their failures to hold ex-President Bill Clinton accountable for his various well-publicized abuses of women. Even a few politicians got in on the sanctimonious act. This newfound sense of integrity seemed to be triggered by their failures to hold Democratic power brokers like Harvey Weinstein accountable for his serial abuses of women.

This is not something like wooing corporate dollars, where Democrats can follow the Republican lead but stay a few paces behind and then pray that “hey, at least we’re not as bad as them” will appease voters.

Not by a long shot.

As a result, Democratic leaders play themselves for fools by slow-playing the controversies and waiting for public pressure to force their hands (as happened in the case of John Conyers).

The foolishness gets even more pronounced when you analyze the political price of doing the right thing and adopting a hardline, zero-tolerance stance on sexual assault. For, example, Franken’s replacement would be chosen by Governor Mark Dayton, who is a Democrat. The replacement would then seek re-election in 2018 bolstered by months in office and a party that took decisive, honorable action in support of a crucial demographic.

Instead, the party is wasting that political capital, tarnishing its image as the party concerned with female experience of oppression, and shamefully shirking its ethical responsibility.

Either the only major party hoping to attract liberals and progressives is serious about its commitment to protecting women from sexual predation, or it’s not. Every second it spends equivocating on creeps like Franken leads voters to believe it’s the latter.

And rightfully so.

Democratic leadership has badly bungled its role in America’s reckoning with the ugly workplace reality faced by too many women. Its reputation should suffer and, as long as Al Franken and his kind continue to represent the Democratic Party at the highest levels of government, it will continue to suffer.