Quite the ruckus broke out on CNN Thursday when conservative commentator Alice Stewart found herself the subject of heated comments from fellow CNN panelists S.E. Cupp and John Avlon because she defended embattled Georgia Senatorial Candidate Herschel Walker (R) who’s running against incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock.

The panelists were discussing the latest allegations against Walker — including the revelation that he paid for a girlfriend’s abortion and was physically abusive to his family when Stewart defended the former NFL footballer by saying Georgia voters will ignore this because they are focusing on issues like crime and inflation, Raw Story reports.

“We’re seeing character and ethics are not a qualifying factor for elected officials anymore,” Stewart explained. “It’s unfortunate but it’s actual reality… But conversations in my home state of Georgia, they’re not concerned with what Herschel Walker did in 2009.”

But for Avlon, they’s fightin’ words.

“What we’re saying is character doesn’t count,” he said. “That’s what’s really dangerous. If you go down that slippery slope and say that character doesn’t count, confidence doesn’t count, telling the truth doesn’t count, what you’re really saying is, ‘Party above country, power above everything.”

Stewart stood by her comments, reiterating that people will vote for Walker because of his policies, and that’s when Cupp joined the fray.

“I don’t see conservatism in a lot of this, I don’t see policies, principles, ideas,” she said. “I see Herschel Walker and Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert and Donald Trump and Matt Gaetz vice-signaling to their base. And all they’re voting for now is, ‘Who do they hate and are they the same people that I hate?”

There’s a definite point to this, but let’s face it: Trump managed to become president despite his very obvious character flaws. Even after the Access Hollywood tapes where he talked about grabbing women by their private parts. Many of us thought Hillary Clinton was a shoo-in after that and look what actually happened. So Stewart also has a point about this.

So maybe sometimes “character doesn’t count.” It sure didn’t seem to count when Trump was elected.

You can watch the fireworks in the clip below.