The only thing that puzzles me is why so many GOP leaders seem surprised by all this. Of COURSE the goalposts were moved after you gave up control of the process. Of COURSE the tiniest particles of dirt are now being dug up and thrown at Kavanaugh.
Rescheduling the hearing was taken as a sign of weakness by Democrats, and the starting gun on a mad race to dig up something, anything, everything that could even slightly taint the character of young Brett Kavanaugh.
Meanwhile, Ford is clad in the invincible armor of victimhood. Anyone who dug up and revealed a single negative thing about her college or high-school years would be ripped to bloody shreds for "attacking the survivor."
By delaying the hearing, the GOP began a game that Kavanaugh could not possibly WIN. The only question was how much he would lose by, and if it was enough to delay hearings further or scuttle his nomination. Time was never going to be his friend under these rules of engagement.
The one winning move Kavanaugh ever had was that public disgust with Democrat theatrics, smears, and delaying tactics would become overwhelming. That came pretty close to happening over the past couple of days.
But days are FOREVER in a battle like this. Plenty of time for Dems to throw some fresh chum in the water. Notice how the goalposts moved and got lower with every passing news day. Now we're in screaming matches over how much the guy drank in his 20s.
Here's a concept Repubs should have remembered from the early days of the "Russia collusion" con job: NEWS HOOKS. What keeps a narrative alive is fresh "news," new developments, anything media can use an excuse to talk - and the Dems use media buzz to justify political action.
Democrats only need very tiny news hooks to keep a narrative going. Anything will do, even if it's absurdly nitpicky or debunked 24 hours later. (By contrast, notice how quickly anything harmful to Dems is abandoned as "old news" if there are no fresh bombshell revelations.)
The GOP should have understood media would help Dems trickle out news hooks at precisely the speed necessary to keep their narrative alive. Kavanaugh couldn't do much more to prove himself innocent. He put all his cards on the table right up front.
Kavanaugh wouldn't get much news out of one more person coming forward to say they don't remember the party Ford claims, or that Brett would never do anything like that. All of the news hooks from last Thursday forward were guaranteed by definition to be against him.
As for mounting public disgust, it might bite Dems hard in the midterm elections, but only if Kavanaugh makes it. We live in a polarized nation where polls were never going to say more than 50-some percent are disgusted, and doubt more than 50 would ever say "confirm now!"
Kavanaugh might still make it, but the forces bearing down on wobbly Republicans are intense, and Dem unity is almost a given. All Dems need is one more delay to bring the whole thing crashing down. If they can force another delay, GOP will never regain control of the process.
I wouldn't be entirely surprised if some of the last-minute theatrics from Ford's lawyers about the hearing are just battlespace preparation for her dramatic appearance. Dems and their media are very good at managing expectations.
Imagine: 3 days of "she's looking for a way out" speculation, followed by THE MOST DRAMATIC APPEARANCE IN HISTORY as she BRAVELY CONFRONTS THE EVIL REPUBLICANS. You can write those headlines right now. They probably ARE being written right now.
And at this point, all she really has to do is avoid perjury and appear sympathetic at the hearing. Dems will wave the phony "corroborating statements" (every single major media outlet instantly called them that programming the public mind) and demand further investigation.
Yes, the Republicans CAN get past all this and hold the confirmation vote on their revised schedule, but they made it much, much harder on themselves by granting the delay last week and surrendering control of the process. They did everything right but ACTED like they hadn't.
And as even the most befuddled Republican should understand by now, this is all about appearances. Once we gave up the presumption of innocence, it became a one-sided battle of character where the only question was how much Kavanaugh would lose by. /end
