This is fundamentally a dispute about facts and a sexual harassment case which, whoever is right, needs to be understood and adjudicated on its own terms. But sexual harassment, sex in the workplace and the much broader issue of coercion and the concept of consent are hot button political, legal and cultural issues today. We can’t ignore the fact that Fox News is one of the institutions at the center of charged atmosphere.

It’s not too much to say that in the Fox News bubble, and certainly among many Fox News viewers, sexual harassment is barely even a real thing. It’s a charge that temperamental or uptight women bring against gregarious or just non-PC guys either because of their ‘uptightness’ or to leverage some professional advantage. That’s an unvarnished way to put it, but it is the mindset that informs huge amounts of Fox News coverage and chatter and the same for many, though obviously not all, Fox News devotees.

I’m not a fan of Carlson, but to her credit, she never swallowed the Fox News ethos on sexual harassment.