It looks like Donald Trump set a precedent with his “locker room” talk when we heard the Access Hollywood tape of him bragging about forcing himself on women. We already knew that Trump voters don’t actually care about the terrible things he’s done and said. But finding out that Republicans will vote for any old douchebag as long as they have an R after their name is pretty disheartening.

Last night’s general election showed Republican Vito Fossella winning the race for Borough President of Staten Island. That’s a mostly meaningless title without much actual authority. But the symbolism of electing a man like Fossella to any position is terrifying.

See, Vito was actually a member of the House of Representatives from NY13 for a dozen years between the Clinton and Bush eras. But he lost his job back then due to a DUI arrest in Virginia. That wouldn’t necessarily be a disqualifier, but the arrest ended up exposing the fact that Fossella was living a double life with a whole other family at the time.

Trump endorsed Fossella in this race, of course. His public statement in support of Fossella called the candidate “the only true conservative Republican in the race who will stand up to the radical liberal mob.”

When he was in Congress, Vito was truly one of the “family values” guys in the GOP. He voted for everything that stripped the LGBTQ+ community of rights and against everything that gave any rights to them. He even voted to make it illegal for gay and lesbian couples to adopt children.

I just sat in on the adoption ceremony on Monday for a lesbian couple who are friends of mine. I cried as I watched their beautiful girl Lark take her place in a loving forever home. Anyone who would have denied my friends the opportunity to care for and cherish a child who might otherwise have been abused, ignored, mistreated, or forgotten is someone that doesn’t deserve to hold any public office.

But this is the reality of Republican politics now. Their voting base, after seeing that they could get what they wanted out of a racist, sexist, bigoted homophobe like Donald Trump, is willing to take a chance on anyone, no matter how disgusting their background.