So I don't know what the middle ground is here. I just get concerned of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
I assume that your stance is there is no reconciliation for past bad behavior
I too struggle with this, but I felt his 'crimes' were pretty low level...but still offensive none the less...
Will it hurt the Dems chances to take the house...I'm not sure
I think he has had a very documented history of doing things for the African American community and I think they will remember that
I believe there should be no tolerance for sexual harassment in the workplace and that it should be doubly so for public servants. Being a politician SHOULD require higher standards. No individual politician is worth sacrificing the moral high ground for.
I think this is morally true, but also strategically so. The R's gain strength by breaking government (which proves their theory that government is broken) and double down on racism and misogyny. The D's can only be successful by governing well and being strong against racism and misogyny.
As for Northam, I do not see how having a racist Gov and a rapist Lt Gov can do anything but hurt turnout in an off year state wide election. It just creates a sense that there are no good politicians, and that both sides are the same. For a party thats base is women and minorities, that feeling is incredibly damaging in the long term.
I also think that the Dems push to attract corporate money (the Bill Clinton strategy) has undermined the party. Same deal with Labour in the UK. Without the worker vs. capital dichotomy it was necessary to find a new "other" to explain inequality. The D's haven't found one. The R's are able to other immigrants, minorities, Muslims, etc... It was smart politics in the short term, but damaging long term. That's how I feel about Biden (and his ilk). He might be the best chance to win now, but long term I think his politics are unstable.