This hearing has been a complete disaster for republicans mainly because

[Snake Plissken]

Dr Ford comes off exactly like an un-coached witness who is being honest, it is frustrating Graham, Grassley, Hatch, and the rest of the Republicans, because the prosecutor they themselves picked to interrogate her is treating her like a witness being deposed instead of attacking her like a mass murdering terror suspect

They hired her to attack Dr. Ford as if she was a criminal on trial, and they specifically picked a female prosecutor so they would not have to be seen doing it themselves for the sake of optics, that is obviously not happening, it's an unmitigated disaster for the Republicans .

Dr. Ford is coming off exactly like a credible witness who was sexually attacked just as she describes.

I expect Trump to have a complete meltdown over this.

[vlyons]

1. when is Trump not having a meltdown

about this or that?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

36. Exactly.

Trump lives in a fantasy world of his own construction. Actual truth that is in any way different from his preconceived notions simply does not register. He will simply assert she's lying and think that because HE said that she's lying, everyone should believe him.

[George Eliot]

44. Trump knows how to frame all for his base which is bigger than appears. That is his genius.

I used to think he was stupid, close to dementia, foolish maybe. No more. Not a word comes out of his mouth that isn't framed and targeted. He is evil. No empathy. Just a sociopath with authority. And all his distractions keep us from recognizing and taking action against the disaster he's wreaking on our country through his cabinet from education to national parks and the environment. The wheels keep moving and we're all talking about Trump's current whatever. He's shown the depravity of our politics and senators and representatives. No fantasy world. He is successfully doing exactly what he wanted to do.

[LAS14]

2. And the female prosecuter is a respectful professional...

... who asked their questions in a manner designed to elicit the truth, and Ford hit her answers out of the park! Picking Mitchel was a colossall mistake.

[rsdsharp]

3. Mitchell's problem is two fold.

One, she is dealing with a very intelligent witness who is obviously telling the truth.

Her bigger problem, though, is that she is being forced to do a discovery deposition (in five minute increments). The old saw about never asking a question you don't know the answer to doesn't really apply in a discovery deposition. That's one of the places you learn the answers to questions you will frame at trial. The Republicans sent her in without a background investigation so she really isn't fully prepared. I don't think she could shake Dr. Ford in any event, but she really had no chance. And she can thank her "clients" for that.

[Nitram]

33. Mitchell doesn't have a "problem." she is doing her job with a very high level of preofesionalism.

She is questioning an alleged victim of sexual assault to assess her credibility. Dr Ford is not on trial (although it would have looked that way if the Republicans on the committee had questioned her).

[Snake Plissken]

4. They felt they could use her to attack Dr. Ford and then kick her to the curb when they're done

And she is having no part of that, she's obviously not about to throw her reputation away for idiots like Grassly, McConnell, Trump. and Hatch. She is questioning Dr. Ford as she would question any other credible witness.

[defacto7]

13. Maybe, just maybe

this is exactly what the prosecutor meant to do from the start. Maybe she meant to take the air out of the GOP tires by being somewhat reasonable rather than being used as an attack device. Maybe she wanted to even up the game and took the opportunity.

Or maybe not and she simply failed her job.

I'm starting to wonder.

[Snake Plissken]

14. If that was the plan, Grassley and Graham would not be have complete meltdowns in public

I can guarantee you that Trump is going ballistic right now

[malthaussen]

19. I think defacto7 is suggesting...

... that the questioner had a plan different from her employer's. A tad unethical, perhaps, but then there is the question of the greater good.

-- Mal

[FakeNoose]

24. Mitch McConnell says he already has the GOP votes in the bag

If that's true then these farty old men don't even care what happens today.
I hope it's not true, and I really hope this blows up in their faces.

Either way, it's not Rachel Mitchell's fault. She's doing her job in the only way she can,
and they're not giving her much to work with.

[Beartracks]

42. They never actually cared. They just wanted to be able to say...

... "See? You can't say we didn't let the little lady have her say."

==========

[haele]

26. Since she provided high cover for Sheriff Arpiao in the past, she failed at her job.

Her "experienced sex prosecution" was typically focused on brown on brown or brown on white prosecutions, while white on brown and even white on white (when there was a class difference involved) was unusually unsuccessful.

Looking at her record, it's pretty obvious she was brought in to run her standard "protect a solid <white> community member against a rape charge" prosecution.
But on a national stage, with:
1) a respectable victim who had already taken a polygraph test,
2) some corroborating character witnesses against the accused,
3) the accused own demeanor and history, and
4)not enough preparation to develop any subtle smearing tactics to work -
- she really could only fail. She couldn't take the short cuts that would get a suspect off that she normally would in her little private courts in Maricopa County...

Haele

[LAS14]

21. I totally agree. The GOP made a colossal mistake in hiring her! nt

[uponit7771]

17. +1, she had to do the investigation at the same time she had to cross examine an impossible position

[WeekiWater]

5. Isn't the Republicans assistant someone who has spent most of her career...

protecting and fighting for victims?

Did they just assume she would use her knowledge to attack? A complete one eighty from what she has spent a lot of her career doing?

[Snake Plissken]

8. They expected her to attack Dr. Ford, and she sees a believable victim in Dr. Ford

As everyone else does,


they thought they'd would get the optics they wanted along with the results they wanted, instead they got nothing but a credible witness that everyone not only believes, but sympathizes with .

[marylandblue]

6. Why didn't they hire a defense attorney?

A prosecutor attacks perpetrators not victims. What is she going to do with Kavanaugh?

[bitterross]

7. It's a disaster because they are in the wrong!

They are in the wrong on everything about this and they're getting what they deserve.

[Honeycombe8]

9. It may change when Kavanaugh gets his turn. "Disaster" depends on who you ask.

If the Repubs get him on the bench, it's not a disaster, in Republican eyes. That's all they care about. They've learned from the past that there's not much, if anything, to pay for confirming a vile human being to the S.Ct.

[ooky]

10. She was flawless.

i believe every word she said. And so now Kavanaugh is going to come in and try to lie his ass off, and Dems need to nail him.

[Cognitive_Resonance]

11. They're thoroughly screwed. There must be senators begging McConnell to make this stop. nt

[Perseus]

12. Mainly because they ARE a disaster?

Anyone who cannot see through these jerks is blind, what a bunch of cowards and crooks they are.

[KSNY]

15. Female solidarity? We will see when Ms. Mitchell questions Kavanaugh...

she may prefer not to have another predator on the Supreme Court.
Isn't the next nominee a woman?
Or maybe Ms. Mitchell simply has some professional integrity.

[leftynyc]

25. I read here a few minutes

the Senators will be questioning kavanaugh.

[KSNY]

28. Oh my G.. So the sex assault prosecutor questions her, but not him!

Seems unfair....

[grantcart]

16. Trump will blame Republicans and move on

It's the one thing he is really good at

I have $10 that he says "Grassley should have called the.FBI"

[Lonestarblue]

18. Lindsey Graham was practically foaming at the mouth.

He was openly angry that Kavanaugh’s reputation is being destroyed for all the world to see. Graham seemed like a man watching all his behind-the-scenes machinations being flushed down the toilet, and he was bliwing his stack. Unless Kavanaugh is able to give an Academy Award performance of his choirboy character this afternoon, it’s hard to see how he survives this to take a seat on the SC. He’ll be lucky to keep his current job. He has obviously lied under oath multiple times.

[watoos]

22. I wonder how much dirt Putin has on Lyndsey?

He certainly did a 180 after one of his Trump golf outings. Trump will appoint him A.G. after Lyndsey has feltched Trump so many times.

I read where Lyndsey's emails were hacked by the Russians.

[lindysalsagal]

41. Russian oligarchs (PUtin's buddies) own the GOP: Here it is:

https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2018/05/08/putins-proxies-helped-funnel-millions-gop-campaigns

In 2015-16, everything changed. Blavatnik's political contributions soared and made a hard right turn as he pumped $6.35 million into GOP political action committees, with millions of dollars going to top Republican leaders including Sens. Mitch McConnell, Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham.

In 2017, donations continued, with $41,000 going to both Republican and Democrat candidates, along with $1 million to McConnell's Senate Leadership Fund.

[BruceWane]

20. Wow.

I think Kavanaugh's going to be fully cooked, as in "done", this afternoon.

Commentary just said that R's have communicated to Kavanaugh that they were disappointed in his previous performances, "too weak" and want him to come out here and be "fired up and angry".

There's very, very few people that can do "angry" and make it look controlled and attractive at the same time. That, and I'll bet the D's are going to be very effectively fanning those flames.

Grab your popcorn, we may get to see a legendary meltdown here.

[Mr.Bill]

23. Any moment Grassley is going to make a motion

that they throw Dr. Ford in the Potomac river and see if she floats.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

35. Seriously!

I can't believe how hard the Rs are trying to drag us back to unenlightened times. Disgusting.

[ailsagirl]

27. I have the feeling they'll still vote that SOB in, regardless of any testimony (however compelling)

I sincerely hope I'm wrong

[AllyCat]

39. That's what I think will happen.

Kavanaugh could admit he did it and they would still vote to confirm.

[ailsagirl]

40. I hope we're wrong but remember Anita Hill

That brave woman was ripped to pieces

What a disgrace

[flibbitygiblets]

29. It's a disaster because Anita Hill happened in 1992 and still there's no process to deal with it

They're still making up shit and playing games. Deciding on the fly who can and can't testify and under what terms, mostly based on partisan politics and optics. Pretending to "give the little lady her say" while the BLOTUS disparages her publicly, as do all the white male senators who get to decide whether to believe her or not (and obviously have already decided).

Women and men of integrity around the world are watching in horror.

[yuiyoshida]

30. Frankly I think they will push

Kavanaugh through despite the protests, Republicans SUCK.

[Xipe Totec]

31. Because they tried to ram through a candidate with no bipartisan support.

I bet Garland would have flown through confirmation.

[wicket]

32. Agreed! A complete miscalculation

n/t

[NBachers]

34. Looks like their big "Girl on Girl Action Wet Dream" didn't come off quite as they'd planned.

[Rizen]

37. That's good to hear

I'm glad it's going well.

[zentrum]

38. Couldn't watch but

…hope she manages to say it doesn't matter that he was young when he did this to me. The fact that he is lying about it now shows that he has not changed and is unrepentant. He tried to rape me then and he is still trying to get away with it. He still believes he can do what he wants to a woman.

[bullwinkle428]

43. Any predictions as to how the 6:00 A.M. Toilet Tweet will play out?

I'll be up early watching the Ryder Cup from Paris, so I'll be keeping one eye on my news feed for sure!