“I’m a hugger!” Ex-mayor Bob Filner’s grinning ghost is seen here peering over former Democratic superstar Nathan Fletcher’s shoulder, perhaps in silent benediction of Fletcher’s decision to place personal pleasure over political power. Or perhaps not so silent: “Listen kid, the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. It won’t take a second to find another handsome Dem with the right ideas. Look how quickly we found you after I fell! So don’t worry about setting back the cause of progressivism. You gotta get yours while the getting’s good.”

“It’s baffling,” says San Diego Democratic Party Chair Becca Taylor. “Democrats are obviously the good guys in this world, fighting against the policies of the racist, sexist, corrupt, exploitative Republicans. And here in San Diego, after what seems like forever, we’re actually winning! A Democratic mayor! A Democratic city council! A Democratic majority on the Board of Supervisors! And yet somehow, even though we’re the party of sexual enlightenment, we keep running into these…issues. Mayor Filner and the groping. Former head of the state Democratic party Eric Bauman. Heck, I’m only here because of the sexual assault allegations against local chair Will Rodriguez-Kennedy. And now Fletcher! Even if the assault allegations are false, he was cheating on his political meal ticket! Seriously, please help me understand it.”