It’s been interesting… rather inadvertently revelatory… to witness the fallout from one of the oddest political scandals in Vermont history — Rep. Mary Morrissey getting caught wet-handed*, repeatedly dumping water into a tote bag belonging to fellow Bennington Rep. Jim Carroll.

*Rimshot

On the official front, all parties are continuing their lengthy effort to sweep as much of this mess under the nearest rug as thoroughly as possible. On the media front, the coverage has been a mixed bag. On the personal front, both Carroll and Morrissey are flailing in the aftermath. And pretty much everyone is clearly uncomfortable with the situation.

It makes sense, really. This thing is, as Rep. Angela Arsenault told Seven Days’ Kevin McCallum “both juvenile and unconscionable.” To Carroll, already suffering through a difficult session thanks to his February DUI citation in a Statehouse parking lot, it must have caused significant emotional trauma. Arsenault:

“This is the type of thing that is designed to make someone feel like they are going nuts, to make someone question themselves, which to me is straight up cruel.”

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