Even as the sexual misconduct wave continues to lay waste to powerful men across the political and media landscapes, some Democrats are rethinking their "zero tolerance" policy.

A growing number of Democrats are now openly urging Senator Al Franken to rescind his resignation amid sexual misconduct allegations.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the winners of the "most clueless people of the year award."

West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin is the leader of the group calling on Franken to "unresign." Politico is reporting three other Senate Democrats are joining him, including Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy who was among the senators who called on Franken to resign earlier this month.

But this goes beyond political flip flopping and partisan hypocrisy. Encouraging Franken to reverse course could easily incinerate the Democrats' big lead in the current 2018 midterm election polls and destroy their credibility on women's issues. In fact, the stakes are so high that even the idea that Democrats are considering this course of action is incredible.

How bad would it be if Franken reneges on his resignation vow? Let's count the ways.

1. It would completely undermine the zero tolerance policy for sexual harassment and misconduct that his colleagues like Senator Kirsten Gillibrand are promoting. That wing of the party got a boost from President Trump's and the GOP leadership's decision to back accused child molester Roy Moore in last week's special election in Alabama.

Moore lost his bid for U.S. Senator, but Democrats will still relish using his name to claim the political high ground in the continued #MeToo backlash. There's also a renewed effort to revisit the sexual misconduct allegations made against then-candidate Donald Trump just before the 2016 election.