Why should I believe her? I haven’t met her. I haven’t seen and heard her describe what she claims happened to her and respond to questions about the details of that event. In fact, none of the the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, with the exception of Sen. Diane Feinstein, have met her.
So, she starts out entitled to as much respect and credibility as any human being one encounters for the first time. But, in Dr. Ford’s case, she has revealed herself to us incrementally, by what she has done. She has demonstrated that she is clever and strategic and calculating. Clever to the point of sneaky.
When President Trump announced he was nominating Kavanaugh to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court, Dr. Ford started the process of telling her story…anonymously. How is what Dr. Ford did with her anonymous campaign any different than writing on a restroom wall “Judge Kavanaugh tried to rape me”?
Isn’t there something wrong, on its face, with leveling a charge against someone without putting your name on it? If you’re having trouble with the question, you shouldn’t. It stinks. It reveals the character of the person making the charge. It puts their character in question.
For 60 days, Dr. Ford got her story out, anonymously, and allowed the hearings to come and go. With her story fully in the the public domain and the firestorm raging at fever pitch she reveals her identity, hires three (!) lawyers and public relations folks, raises serious money on Go Fund Me and says she’ll testify if her conditions are met.
Liberal segments of the press fall all over themselves in praise of her “courage”. I don’t get it. The courageous thing to do is to walk into the hearing room at the beginning of the process and tell your story, like Anita Hill did in 1991. Except for Dr. Ford it would have been and will be a walk in the park compared to what Anita Hill endured. Anita Hill was and is an American hero.
Dr. Ford is no hero and certainly no dummy. She knows she’s riding the wave of of the Me Too Movement, an incredibly powerful force in American politics right now. She will be treated with extreme deference by Republicans and total obeisance by Democrats on the Committee. Assuming she doesn’t sit at the witness table and throw up on herself she will be viewed as a heroine in the Democratic Party and the Women’s Movement. Book deal, paid speaking engagements, and nightly appearances on MSNBC to follow. Welcome to the fast lane, Dr. Ford.
Bottom Line: Dr. Ford has played a weak hand cleverly. Her story has made her a star. But, is it a true story? And, can the Democratic Party survive Christine Blasey Ford?
CONCLUSION
Be prepared for a spectacle on Thursday when Dr. Ford testifies. They may have to get the biggest hearing room on Capitol Hill to accommodate Dr. Ford’s entourage of lawyers (now three and growing), public relations specialists, security detail (they’ll be the ones with ear pieces and sunglasses…except if Dr. Ford decides to wear sunglasses…she’ll want to be the only one…you know how stars are), plus assorted supernumeraries like Gloria Allred and Michael Avenatti.
ADDENDUM
As expected, when an attack on somebody persists, somebody, somewhere remembers how badly they were treated by somebody who “very well might have been” the person under attack…in the present case, Judge Kavanaugh. Senator Feinstein, who sat on the information she received from Dr. Ford for 60 days, has now snapped to life. Feinstein wants the Hearings cancelled based on new vaguely recollected charges.
Three points:
First. When Senator Feinstein received information from Dr. Ford about Kavanaugh, Feinstein should have spoken to Ford as follows; “Unless you are willing to stand behind what you are telling me publicly and immediately this information is of no use. The fact that you, Dr. Ford, have not figured that out on your own is ridiculous. We believe in fair play in the Senate Judiciary Committee. You are asking me to be a party to an anonymous smear. I will not participate in your scheme.”
Second. Diane Feinstein is 85 years old. She has had a distinguished and honorable career as Mayor of San Francisco and California Senator. Like Ronald Reagan, she clearly is not as clear minded now as she was when she came into office. Her failure to do the right thing from her first encounter with Dr. Ford has put us in the mess we’re in now.
Three. There should be such a thing as a “speak now or forever hold your peace” moment. If the wannabes can’t get their story straight by the time the Hearings conclude they should go away and wait for another opportunity to smear someone.
Comments are welcome at tomc[at]wednesdayswars[dot]com. Comments will be addressed in subsequent posts.