There's a thread on NRO online (forgot by whom) that states that the reason the Republicans are so reluctant to criminalize political differences as compared to Democrats is because D.C. is the single most Democrat-leaning district in the US.
In D.C., there's no way a Republican can hope to have a matter of law settled on its merits vs. political calculation.
I would hope that it would be because of principles. A fantasy, I know.