I figured it out no later than, if not before, when Tip O’Neill was brash enough to admit that it was the seriousness of the (rediculous) charges that mattered. Yes, I knew Democrats were Left Wingers and before then and I didn’t like them one jot ... but around that time the flagrant double standard made sense of a lot that had happened before and of course since.
Republicans, Quislings that they all too frequently are, are useless ... but a useless man who never gets that his bestest buddy isn’t hugging him but trying to backstab him over and over is still better than a malevolent knife wielding maniac who is all smiles to your face while plotting your ruin.
Are you thinking of Tom Foley?