Schadenfreude often proves irresistible, especially in politics.

Just as I was not surprised by the Republicans looking like Cujo after the Harvey Weinstein stories, nor am I shocked by the Democrats unable to contain their froth after The Wall Street Journal’s shocking piece last week about Steve Wynn.

What’s good for the blue team is good for the red team, I suppose. And hypocrisy, like sexual harassment, knows no party.

But lest we get lost in the social media velocity of nonsense about the Wynn revelations, which were meticulously reported, cemented by a $7.5 million settlement and punctuated by a non-denial denial (“The idea that I ever assaulted any woman is preposterous”), let’s step back for a moment and consider the momentousness for Nevada and the country.

Despite Sheldon Adelson’s more recent ascension because of his remarkable success and high political profile, Wynn is still the biggest name in the history of Nevada businessmen. His fall – already cashiered from the Republican National Committee as its finance chair and his place at the helm of his eponymous company in jeopardy – will have ripple effects from Las Vegas Boulevard South to Pennsylvania Avenue.

How so? Glad you asked:

— RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel could not contain herself after the Weinstein revelations, calling on the DNC to return his “dirty” money. Her immediate acceptance of Wynn’s resignation, after getting the president’s signoff, was foreordained. But her continued dismissal of misconduct charges against Donald Trump and her refusal to say she would get rid of the Wynn donations exposed her moral high ground as a hill only a Lilliputian could climb.

Wynn’s closeness to Trump after decades of rivalry, animosity and lawsuits, hastened after the casino mogul’s buyer’s remorse for initially supporting President Obama, should not be underestimated. Yes, Weinstein was close to Hillary Clinton. But Wynn was chosen by Trump to be the RNC finance chair and has said he regularly listened to Trump for advice.

Is it unfair for cable news, except for friendly FOXes, to show all those photos of Trump and Wynn together? I don’t think so.

Birds of a sexual harassing feather….

— The conspiracy of silence may end soon among GOP elected officials, but the double standard will not soon fade. Sen. Dean Heller, the most vulnerable GOP incumbent in the country, sought and received an embrace from Wynn to help fend off Danny Tarkanian in the primary, just as he has been expressing his newfound love for all things Trumpian every chance he gets.

But Heller, and other prominent Republicans such as state Senate Minority Leader Michael Roberson, were quick to call for Democratic Rep. Ruben Kihuen to resign while so far remaining silent about Wynn, whose money fills their coffers and those of outside groups that can help them. (Let’s not forget that Wynn can still help through dark money.)

Kihuen’s depredations, from what we know, are much less severe than what the Journal reported about Wynn — not that they weren’t repellent. But why has it taken so long for Heller & Co. to denounce Wynn? I can’t imagine.

— The Democrats can’t resist pouncing on the Wynn story, and I understand the impulse. But as Rep. Jacky Rosen calls on her opponent, Heller, to renounce Wynn’s “support,” if not his money, she probably should have said less, even though she also called on Kihuen to quit.

The Democrats in Nevada ought to pause a moment, considering that the two most prominently exposed elected sexual harassers in Nevada are Kihuen and ex-state Sen. Mark Manendo. The Democrats covered for Mandeno for years and knew something about Kihuen, too.

But tribalism trumps all. And shame is always on holiday.

— This story will not end soon, especially because the Wynn Resorts board needs to act (or not) and state gaming authorities need to act (or not). It’s easy to say that a company synonymous with Wynn will have to defenestrate him to survive or that the Gaming Control Board will have to revoke his license because of a morals clause in the statute.

But I remind all: This is Nevada.

Wynn has a friendly enough board – surely it is not lost on Democrats that the longest-serving governor in Nevada history, Bob Miller, is on it – but this also comes against a backdrop of an acrimonious lawsuit over Wynn’s stewardship of the company with his ex-wife, Elaine, which also has to be a consideration.

(I found it interesting that Steve blamed Elaine for the story, as if she was responsible for the heinous acts exposed by the Journal, and as if she would be thrilled to see that stuff in print.)

As for gaming authorities, there is this paradox about Nevada supposedly being the gold standard in casino regulation but often shying away from taking on (beyond cosmetic fines) the industry’s major players. And what a time for the state to have its first female chair of the Gaming Control Board as Gov. Brian Sandoval only this month elevated state Sen. Becky Harris to the position.

Will the gaming regulators fine Wynn?  Will they revoke his license? Will they even hold a hearing?

The pressure on Harris is immense, the symbolism not lost on anyone.

— Finally, mostly lost in all of these stories of sexual misconduct, afflicted as they are with political hyperventilating, are the real human costs. So many women have been traumatized; many have had careers derailed and dreams dashed by men in positions of power.

This is not a Democrat or Republican problem, despite the small minds who try to make it so. It is an XY problem, and a tectonic societal shift has finally and thankfully made such behavior unacceptable and punishable — even if the latter is only through public opprobrium and status lost.

Steve Wynn is just the latest example, albeit in an industry where a culture of sexism has existed for decades. But he surely will not be the last – either in the gaming industry, the political/media world or anywhere else.

Disclosure: The Nevada Independent has taken donations from Steve and Elaine Wynn. See our full list of donors here. The board of The Nevada Independent had a meeting on 1/29/18 to discuss whether to return the $75,000 2017 donation from Wynn Resorts. The vote was unanimous in favor of keeping the contribution. Editor Jon Ralston explained the decision here.

Jon Ralston is the editor of The Nevada Independent. He has been covering Nevada politics for more than 30 years. Contact him at [email protected]. On Twitter: @ralstonreports