Steve Scalise's script armor

I read this Stephanie Grace column a few times and I still can't figure out why we're supposed to expect there is a difference between Steve Scalise and Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz.

Matt Gaetz is widely considered a camera-hogging fringe player in Congress. The second-term Florida Republican has called the Black Lives Matter movement a “terrorist organization,” and recently accused Democratic colleagues pursuing the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump of acting like “rabid hyenas.”

U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise is the House Minority whip, the second-ranking Republican in the House. That makes him someone whose presence in any situation confers a certain status, an implied assertion of importance and seriousness. Or it would, if Scalise weren’t becoming more and more prone to behaving like Gaetz, his partner in last week’s embarrassing storming-of-the-secure-hearing-room stunt.

What does she mean by "becoming"? Scalise has always been this way.  The self-described "David Duke without the baggage" has addressed gatherings of white supremacists, he has advocated putting guns in schools, he voted against the Martin Luther King holiday.   Why are we surprised to find him working closely with Gaetz on a stunt to defend Donald Trump from the consequences of his many crimes? If these guys aren't cut from the same mold, I don't know

The only difference between them Grace identifies is the "implied assertion of importance" imbued upon Scalise by virtue of his seniority.  But just because an asshole has risen to a position of greater power, does not make that person any less of an asshole.  Isn't that the reason we are considering these impeachment proceedings in the first place?

But equating power with dignity often seems like company policy over at the Advocate.  Have they published an "Our Views" on why people shouldn't have booed Trump last night yet?  Buzz me when it comes out.