In the world of nonsense that is Washington, the big news of the hour is that Dr. Ford has agreed "in principle" to testify. There are still negotiations on certain conditions, however.
It's hard to imagine a more bizarre way for this whole mess to unroll. It took days of negotiations, unchangeable deadlines, and extensions of time for the accuser to agree actually to testify. When she finally agreed, she castigated the committee for leaks and bullying. It was surreal.
Think about it. The leaks here came from senator Feinstein or her chief of staff. They were the only ones who knew Dr. Ford's name, so when her identity surfaced, it had to come from them. Nevertheless, Ford blames the Republicans for leaks even though they didn't even know her name. And as for bullying, this too is a bizarre charge. Ford demanded that the regular rules of the committee be abandoned so that new rules she specified could be used. It is the rough equivalent of a baseball team demanding that they get six outs each inning rather than just three. Things like that don't happen. The senate rules have been in place for centuries. When the committee insisted on following those Senate rules, it is not bullying. The senators also demanded that Ford make a decision on testifying by a deadline which they extended three times. That too hardly seems like bullying.
The truth is that by falsely accusing the Republican majority on the committee of improper behavior, Dr. Ford and her team seem more involved with politics than with caring at all about her telling her story.
Since there is no final agreement on Ford's testimony, it seems likely that this is not the last of the back and forth between Ford and the committee. I wonder if she will ultimately testify or if she will put out at the last minute after claiming constant mistreatment by the committee.
It's hard to imagine a more bizarre way for this whole mess to unroll. It took days of negotiations, unchangeable deadlines, and extensions of time for the accuser to agree actually to testify. When she finally agreed, she castigated the committee for leaks and bullying. It was surreal.
Think about it. The leaks here came from senator Feinstein or her chief of staff. They were the only ones who knew Dr. Ford's name, so when her identity surfaced, it had to come from them. Nevertheless, Ford blames the Republicans for leaks even though they didn't even know her name. And as for bullying, this too is a bizarre charge. Ford demanded that the regular rules of the committee be abandoned so that new rules she specified could be used. It is the rough equivalent of a baseball team demanding that they get six outs each inning rather than just three. Things like that don't happen. The senate rules have been in place for centuries. When the committee insisted on following those Senate rules, it is not bullying. The senators also demanded that Ford make a decision on testifying by a deadline which they extended three times. That too hardly seems like bullying.
The truth is that by falsely accusing the Republican majority on the committee of improper behavior, Dr. Ford and her team seem more involved with politics than with caring at all about her telling her story.
Since there is no final agreement on Ford's testimony, it seems likely that this is not the last of the back and forth between Ford and the committee. I wonder if she will ultimately testify or if she will put out at the last minute after claiming constant mistreatment by the committee.
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