On Monday, the jury issued its verdict in the Harvey Weinstein case, finding him guilty of one rape in the third degree and one criminal sex act in the first degree.  The sentence against him on those charges can span anything from four to twenty-nine years in prison.  The jury gave Weinstein a pass for predatory sexual assault, which could have carried a life sentence, and on rape in the first degree.

Countless outlets discuss the more squalid details of the charges against him and the witness testimony.  Andrew McCarthy, as always, offers an excellent analysis of the legal matters at issue.  This post is concerned with what Weinstein's fall says about leftist Hollywood, an oleaginous collective that uses its bully pulpit to advance leftist politics in America and to denigrate ordinary Americans and traditional American values.

A few pertinent, and almost certainly accurate, facts emerged from the #MeToo scandal when it came to Harvey Weinstein.

First, he'd been committing sexual crimes against women, crimes ranging from rape to assault to harassment, for decades.

Second, most in Hollywood were aware of the stories about him and had good reason to believe them to be true.

Third, so far as we know, all but two of the women on the receiving end of his predatory behavior failed to report his conduct to authorities.  Some were certainly too ashamed or embarrassed to push the issue, but it appears that others tolerated it as the price of success in Hollywood — and Weinstein knew and traded on that knowledge.

Fourth, the one woman who had the courage to charge Weinstein with sexual assault saw her case thrown out by a Democrat prosecutor who may or may not have been influenced by donations and other connections.  (The prosecutor denied any such influence.)

Fifth, high-powered Democrats in Hollywood and in politics sucked up to Weinstein.  Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Russell Crowe, Colin Firth, Michael Moore, Meryl Streep, Gwyneth Paltrow, Oprah, Hillary and Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Chuck Schumer — all of them considered him a friend or a sugar daddy.  They nodded sagely when Weinstein supported rapist Roman Polanski by saying, "Hollywood has the best moral compass."

What this tells you is that the only compass Hollywood had is one made up of money and power.  They couldn't get close enough to Weinstein when he could make them rich and famous, regardless of the fact that they knew, or should have known, that he was an evil person.  It was only when #MeToo meant the tide was turning that these same people turned on him, anxious to wash the stench from their skin lest they also get caught in the #MeToo movement.

And then there's poor Johnny Depp, a man whose career was edging slightly downhill and who certainly wasn't a Hollywood power broker.  Monica Showalter exposed the way in which Hollywood turned Depp into a non-person based upon charges leveled against him by an abusive woman, known to be crazy, and despite scads of testimonials putting the lie to her accusations.

There's your Hollywood morality: turn a blind eye to a monster for decades because there's something in it for you, and jettison a decent man so you can get in some virtue-signaling points.

There are exceptions, but the Weinstein/Depp pattern mostly goes to show that Hollywood leftists are loathsome people.  Yet they still believe in their moral compass and parade around supporting a variety of leftist politicians who seek to impose either swift socialism on America (e.g., Bernie and Warren) or slow, Fabian socialism (e.g., Buttigieg and Klobuchar).  They're also dumb because it never occurs to them that their wealth is going to be needed to jumpstart the new socialist paradise.

So when your average Hollywood leftists tout, support, or cuddle up to the latest Democrat star, remember that these are all awful human beings whose years in the fetid bath of Hollywood fame have caused them to lose all connection to human decency.  They are the last people to whom you should look for political guidance.