The GOP Senators Are Utterly Afraid to Open their Mouths.

[MineralMan]

They simply could not avoid saying stupid, mean things, and they know it. They can't even trust themselves to speak to Dr. Ford.

Dr. Ford has the power here, not them, and that frightens the crap out of them. So, they sit silent.

The irony here is palpable.

[BumRushDaShow]

1. They formally ceded the questioning to this female prosecutor

[MissB]

2. "Female assistant"

In real life, she’s best described as a prosecutor instead of a “female” prosecutor.

[BumRushDaShow]

6. I wouldn't call her an "assistant"

but in the context of a hearing that is not a court of law, the description was to indicate that she was not a formal member of their staff and just a reiteration of her gender with her title (when she practices in AZ).

[MineralMan]

10. Well, I don't see how she's "assisting" the Republicans at all.

Her questions are merely procedural and about the timing of things. They have no relevance to the situation, really. She will get absolutely nothing useful to them from Dr. Ford.

It is FAIL!

[BumRushDaShow]

13. True although a few times

she went "prosecutorial" by attempting to undermine her state of being - e.g., the thing about "flying".

It does underscore that they have little or no empathy - EVEN when Blumenthal attempted to invoke some by quoting sympathetic sentiments written by Lindsey Graham in his recent book about victims who try to come forward (which were in contrast to Graham's public comments to the media that have expressed the opposite).

[MineralMan]

7. Yes, because they were too afraid to ask the questions themselves.

It would be hilariously funny if it were not so sad. None of those men are shy about speaking. In fact, it's hard to shut most of them up. Yet, faced with a woman who was sexually abused at age 15, they have lost their ability to ask questions.

Not the Democrats, of course. They're fine with asking her questions.

My conclusion is that those Republican Senators are craven cowards who cannot trust themselves to behave as gentlemen.

[BumRushDaShow]

11. They didn't want the optics of that

but even then, Grassley's explosions are generating enough optics every time he goes off the rails.

I noted elsewhere that every Democratic Senator on that committee is a lawyer except Diane Feinstein. Among the GOP, there are 4 who are not lawyers - Grassley, Crapo, Sasse, & Tillis.

[MineralMan]

12. So, instead, they have the optics of being too cowardly to ask questions.

Those are the optics they are getting. There they all are, sitting silently as Dr. Ford tells her story eloquently and truthfully.

[BumRushDaShow]

14. Yup. Either way they chose to go would be a lose-lose for them.

[MineralMan]

16. As the losers they are, they will lose again.

At least I hope so.

[BumRushDaShow]

18. Well that all depends on 2 GOP Senators (and it could be any 2)

Because otherwise, they may still be able to ram Kavanaugh right straight to the SCOTUS seat regardless of the shitshow of their own making.

[Iliyah]

3. Except for Grassley. Grassley truly needs to be in a corner.

[gratuitous]

4. The irony

Why didn't the Republicans on the Judiciary Committee speak up at the time Dr. Ford was right there in the hearing room with them? You know, like they expect the victims of sexual assault to speak up?

[MineralMan]

8. Exactly. They sit mute. Those powerful, important men cannot

trust themselves to speak, so they hire a person who is a complete stranger to them to ask their questions.

[world wide wally]

5. I can hear them saying to each other, "What were we thinking"?!!

[MineralMan]

9. Yes. The woman doing the questioning is not taking an

adversarial position. Instead, she is simply asking questions about the timing of things, etc. Nothing she is asking could work in the favor of the Republicans' positions.

It is complete FAIL for them. They have nothing now, and will have nothing to say, because they were too afraid to ask their own questions. Weakness. Fatal weakness on their parts.

[JonLP24]

15. Except for Grassley

Who is making an ass out of himself.

[MineralMan]

17. As Martin Luther said at the Diet of Worms,

"I can do no other." Grassley can't be anything other than an ass.

[Vinca]

19. She's a very, very credible witness and as human as anyone's mother, daughter,

wife or sister. What happened to her isn't a rarity. The way the GOP has handled this is. So far, their only voice of opposition is Don, Jr. making an issue of her flying in airplanes. If that's all they've got, it's pretty weak.

[MineralMan]

20. Yes. They've got nothing.

And just watch when the Democrats question Kavanaugh. It's going to be, well, entertaining. They're going to bring up the new victims. They're going to hammer Kavanaugh about Ford. He's going to either lose his temper or burst into tears.

Right now, Kavanaugh is drenched with flop sweat.

[BumRushDaShow]

21. HA!!! Mazie just forced Grassley to admit publicly that they are ceding all their questions

to their hired counselor!!!!

[MineralMan]

22. What a bunch of wimps!

Gutless cowards. Little boys sniveling behind their desks. Twisting uncomfortably on their chairs.

Those are our Republican Senators. A worthless lot of bullies.

[BumRushDaShow]

23. He literally spat out his "YES!"

as if he were spittin' tobacco on the ground in a huff.