Sooner or later something will happen that highlights the differences of 
Democrats and Republicans. The Jim Gibbons episode is one of these events. Ask Jennifer Flowers what Clinton officials/advisers said about her, and how the N.O.W. gang ignored her and her complaint (which Clinton settled out of court over).
When a democrat runs afoul, you see other dems having a pep rally on the capitol steps or (when Clinton was impeached) on the White House lawn, all lined up in support of their accused politician. And they also denigrate the accuser. I remember James Carville likening Jennifer Flowers as someone who will jump at a dollar bill if you drag it through the trailer park.
Shoe on the other foot. When a republican runs afoul, like Foley, Livingston, 
and others, the party expects them to pay the price. They don’t get behind the accused, and they don’t bad-mouth the accuser. You don’t hear anyone saying that Gibbons’ accuser, waitress Chrissy Mazzeo, is a gold digger or trailer park trash. And his republican colleagues, while disappointed with the news, say that if the accusations are true then he should go. But there is no pre-judgement of the matter. No pep-rally.
How these parties react to situations like this really does illuminate the character of both.
