The key is to live a blameless life. Like finding a unicorn.
“... live a blameless life.”
‘k simp, what are you saying?
No, that’s not what this is about.
It’s about the fact that life in politics is a potential minefield. The answer for elected officials is to turn around and walk the other way instead of walking right into the minefield.
The Congressional parties are not likely to be the "first rodeo" for these characters. It is probable that blackmail-able individuals are targeted based on their proclivities and ambitions, and subsequently pushed and aided by the blackmailers to ascend to office.
Vote fraud techniques are used to eliminate un-blackmail-able candidates, preferably in the primaries. This is why the GOPe is always indifferent to ballot security - they are heavy users of those same tactics.
If an uncontrollable candidate somehow slips through (Trump, Lake) then they have to go nuclear in the general election, which attracts a lot of negative scrutiny. So they prefer to manipulate primaries, and attribute the failure of the honest candidate to suburban female voters supporting abortion rights or the candidate's alleged racism.
The Deep State will not allow anyone into “The Club” whom they cannot destroy at will if they forget their place.
Think of the Washington sex parties as a mandatory initiation ritual.