Call it the winter of my discontent.

It began with the manner in which Al Franken was run out of town on a rail by his fellow Democrat senators.

Don’t get me wrong. I understand that Al was not, and is not, everyone’s cup of tea. Overall, however, I thought he was one of the more reasoned, and reasonable, voices on the progressive side of the political spectrum.

When the sophomoric photograph of Mr. Franken, in his former life as a standup comedian, surfaced with him leering over, but not touching, Sleeping Beauty, I along with most of the country, cringed. I thought, “Oh, Al, the times they are a-changing,” and what just looked silly 11 years ago is going to take on a sinister edge in the hyper-judgmental “Me, too” moment upon which the country is currently embarked.

Things didn’t get any better when Sleeping Beauty, now a conservative radio talk show host on the West Coast, went into excruciating detail about a slobbery kiss perpetrated upon her by Mr. Franken during a rehearsal for their USO comedy skit.

Wasn’t right then; isn’t right now.

Franken followed the damage control handbook to the letter. He immediately made a public apology, and requested a Senate ethics investigation into his own conduct. The victim said she accepted the apology, and furthermore, was not calling for Franken’s resignation. So far, not so good, but survivable.

Then the “Me, too” accusations dribbled in, and if those accusations were to be believed (and why shouldn’t they?), Al was revealed to be a serial kisser, and a touchy-feely guy of the first order.

These charges are serious, but on a continuum, they are clearly different in degree from molesting 14-year-old girls or wandering through beauty contest dressing rooms sizing up the semi-clad (and often underage) contestants. Nevertheless, the charges against Franken were serious and would be legitimate subjects of investigation in the context of an ethics investigation. Given the notoriety of the scandal, the media, if no one else, would guarantee transparency of the process.

During such an investigation, Franken would have the opportunity to present a defense, admit to some charges, or take issue with others. If he admitted to charges, he would still have the option to offer exculpatory evidence to mitigate possible sanctions, of which there were many, ranging through private reprimand, public reprimand, letter of reprimand, letter of censure, loss of committee assignments, loss of seniority, or ultimately, to expulsion from the Senate.

But all of this would take time, and time was not on Franken’s side.

A group of female Democrat senators, led by Kristen Gillibrand of New York (currently on the list of possible presidential candidates in 2020), called for Franken’s immediate resignation.  Gillibrand wrote: “While Senator Franken is entitled to have the Ethics Committee conclude its review, I believe it would be far better for our country if he sent a clear message that any kind of mistreatment of women in our society isn’t acceptable by stepping aside to let someone else serve.”

Shortly thereafter, a couple dozen male Democrat senators, including our very own Joe Donnelly, scampered to get on the right side of the issue and added their calls for Franken’s ouster—which will make interesting reading should any of their own peccadilloes ever go public.

I do not take exception to a full investigation of the charges against Franken. What I do take exception to is Senator Gillibrand’s implication that any accusation is a charge, any charge is automatically an offense, and every offense charged is presumed to be a hanging offense.

I have rarely, if ever, seen a one-size-fits-all policy that does not, in the long term, lend itself to abuse, and grotesque results.

Some have said that if we are talking about the comparative seriousness of the charges, we are having the wrong conversation. Actually, it is precisely the discussion we must have, and it is a public discussion that can only take place in a forum wherein due process is honored, and not in a rush to judgement that resembles, more than anything else, a political lynching.

It is unbecoming for those who would berate the president for short- circuiting long existing norms of fairness and due process to resort to the same sort of tactics themselves when it furthers their own political ends.

As we know, Franken bowed to political pressure and resigned. I don’t know if he would have survived an ethics investigation. Given the multiplicity of similar allegations, and with his fate in the hands of Republicans as well as Democrats, I doubt it, but as it is, we will never know.

And, for many reasons, that is unfortunate.