They told themselves they could contain him, they thought he was like them, cultivating an insincere public persona to accumulate power. He had the juice and the ability to perform jedi magic over their constituents. They rationalized the indefensible to win elections.

None of them care about anything except power and leveraging it. Politics ain't bean bag and all of that. It's revealing to anyone actually paying a modicum of attention that isn't blinded by partisan hate.