I'm not giving him a pass. I just don't see how the outrage is proportional to the crime. There is a literal genocide going on, but we care more about his dog than children being starved.
Like I said, other right wingers don't get the same scrutiny. Of course nobody likes animal abuse, so that's the easiest motive they can use to discredit his political stance.
How is it not identity politics? Had it been a random guy sure, but this is overshadowing the political discourse to focus on the person and framing it as you vs us. The president wearing a tan suit? Scandal! An elected republican killing their dog? No problem.
Associating views like mine as "giving him a pass" also plays into their hand to divide the left. Either I reject him or I accept him entirely, no middle ground, while I may agree on some stuff politically, as a person, I never met him and I don't care about him.