That ongoing controversy you’ve been hearing so much about isn’t just about Roseanne Barr. Or racism, or media liberals like Joy Reid and Samantha Bee being held to different standards. It’s really about relatability—relatability and the American electorate.

I’m sure Roseanne Barr wishes she’d never hit the button that sent her tweet comparing former Obama White House aide Valerie Jarrett to a character from Planet of the Apes into cyberspace. But she’s been at the center of controversy before and, if she comes through this one she’ll most surely be at the center of controversy again. It’s what she does.

Before getting too far into things, it’s important to note she’s not a conservative. When she ran for president it was with Cindy Sheehan, the Iraq War Gold Star mother who made it a point to be a thorn in the side of George W. Bush at every turn as her running mate. Roseanne’s original show, which was an early adopter of a same sex couple as recurring characters, pushed the cultural envelope leftward. For all her antics, including her bizarre performance of the National Anthem at a baseball game, ABC stood by her.