That puts Republicans in a quandary. For all the grand talk of expelling Moore after he is elected, it is an open question whether Republicans would really set the precedent of kicking out a senator for alleged behavior — no matter how heinous — that happened decades before he was elected to the Senate, particularly if it was known to the voters who elected him. Moreover, expulsion is not so simple. Moore would be seated, and there would be an ethics investigation that could take months — with public hearings and witnesses. That is a spectacle no one wants.