It puts the Democrats in a difficult position in the following sense.
We want the party to set an example of honest, decent, normal governance - but Republicans are counting on the Democrats to play by the rules, while they break them all. That’s what gives them their maximum advantage, and the the notion that they need an example of good governance to follow, etc. is ridiculous.
They only care about power and partisan advantage. Noting else matters.
Since Democratic values and policies are actually what the majority of Americans support, simply enforcing a level playing field and a fair game means the Democrats win.
But the Democrats are being forced to fight fire with fire. We cannot get to the situation where fair play triumphs until Republican power is destroyed. So first we must fight the war to win. We do not need to sink their abysmal level, but we do need to take the fight to them and cut the Republicans out of power where ever possible.We need to think clearly about the next rules the Republicans are going to break, and beat them to the punch.
Remember - the Very Serious People, the MSM, the Punditocracy, the Inside the Beltway crowd are going to say “both sides do it” anyway. We don’t get brownie points for being honest losers.