If I've learned anything from the Andre Carson comments... and then the Jimmy Hoffa comments, and the rush by many on the left to defend said comments, it's that the same defenders have decided not to try to elevate discourse, but to accept the belly-crawling nature of it, and slither alongside. This is after watching exactly the same from the right, of course.
I keep waiting to see which side will take the high road. Neither is apparently up to the task.