Eric Swalwell exposed for sexual misconduct; Katie Porter worse? 

California Democrats are bringing their dysfunction to prominent national attention. Over the weekend, allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced against Rep. Eric Swalwell, one of eight different Democrats running for governor of California. Swalwell is known for his bombastic, anti-Trump, resistance-style politics; for falling in with a suspected Chinese spy; and now for incredibly inappropriate alleged behavior with numerous women who are not his wife.  

One woman, a former aide to Swalwell, says that he had sex with her while she was too drunk to consent. According to CNN, a total of four women have alleged various levels of misconduct, including Democratic influencer Ally Sammarco, who says that he sent her nude photos of himself.

Here was Swalwell’s response. The congressman tacitly admits to infidelity but denies assaulting anyone. 

As Swalwell notes, he was leading in the race, at least among the Democrats. Actually, the top two candidates right now are Republicans — the front-runner is Steve Hilton, a former Fox News personality who is endorsed by Donald Trump. 

Now it seems that these accusations may be partly the handiwork of Katie Porter, one of Swalwell’s Democratic rivals, who has been connected to the Dem activist who allegedly leaked the Swalwell story. In a statement, Porter said: “The allegations against Congressman Swalwell are horrifying. I’m thinking of the courageous women who have come forward to share their stories. We believe you and we stand with you.” 

Numerous figures are calling on Swalwell to drop out of the governors race or even out of Congress altogether, and I understand that. But I’m surprised that no one is pointing out a very basic fact: Katie Porter has also previously been accused of some pretty bad behavior, by her then-husband during their contentious divorce.  

He claimed she dumped a bowl of scalding hot mashed potatoes on his head, and also threw things at him. Now to be clear, I don’t think we should take at face value everything that gets said by embittered parties during a divorce. But I’m also frankly a bit skeptical of MeToo-type allegations that emerge years and years later, concerning sexual behavior that might have been unwise or involved infidelity but was plausibly consensual and is now being reimagined as non-consensual. One of Swalwell’s accusers said he kissed her without getting explicit permission first. Is that a crime? 

The bottom line is, these are both pretty awful people in terms of how they treat others. But it does seem wrong to me to crucify Swalwell and excuse Porter — what, just because Swalwell’s alleged victims were girls and Porter’s was a man? 

To be clear, I would never vote for either of them, and that’s without factoring in any of the personal behavior. Luckily for California voters, there are six other Democrats in the race, and hey, those two Republicans for good measure. Democracy! Isn’t it wonderful? 

Robby Soave is co-host of The Hill’s commentary show “Rising” and a senior editor for Reason Magazine. This column is an edited transcription of his daily commentary.