I think the Dems did just fine, and I think the idea that there was something they could have done but didn't to change the outcome is magical thinking.
Ford was more compelling than expected yesterday, and Kavanaugh was a trainwreck in ways nobody anticipated. If he's confirmed, it's not because the hearing went well for him.
If you think the outcome of this nomination shifted in Kavanaugh's favor as a result of what Dems did yesterday, I want to know which senators' votes you think was flipped, and by what mechanism.
And since I'm getting pushback on the "Dems did fine" part (though not on the "different strategy wouldn't have changed the result" part), I'll say a couple of words on that. (Kavanaugh)
First, the Dems' most obvious PR goal was to make Ford look credible and sympathetic to independent or undecided voters, particularly women, and to make Kavanaugh look like a weasel. The overwhelming consensus opinion today is that they got that result.
Second, the Dems had a moral obligation to shield Christine Blasey Ford from partisan attacks in the room, to make sure she made it through the hearing, and to protect and burnish her reputation. She did most of the heavy lifting on that, but the Dems indubitably helped.
(On two separate occasions yesterday, Christine Blasey Ford was visibly on the verge of crying with gratitude in response to Democratic senators' words of praise for her. Their effective support for her in that room was very important to a lot of people.)
Third, Jeff Flake made it clear this morning that he isn't casting an evidence-based vote. More precise or dogged forensic questioning wouldn't have changed his mind. Whose mind—in or out of the senate—do we imagine it would have changed?
One thing the senators did obtain was tape of Kavanaugh repeatedly aggressively angrily disrespecting women who stood between him and what he wanted. The female senators handled him masterfully, coaxing out the worst in him over and over while remaining stoic themselves.
I don't know how Collins and Murkowski are going to vote. But can you really make the case that what they saw yesterday made them more personally inclined to support Kavanaugh, or that the Dems missed a serious opportunity to nudge them away from him? I just don't see that.
As I said last night, anyone who cared to discover whether Kavanaugh is a liar was given the data they needed yesterday. Anyone who didn't reach that conclusion wasn't interested in reaching that conclusion.
The hearings revealed the worst in Kavanaugh, and the best in Christine Blasey Ford. Could specific moments have been handled differently? Sure. But could the outcome have been changed dramatically in Dems' favor? Again, I don't see it.
