re: #457 KGxvi

The bit about using an outside lawyer is really interesting to me. It signals to me that the Republican men (but I repeat myself) on the committee know they aren’t deft enough to ask questions without it blowing up in their faces. So bringing in a ringer, who I’m guessing is probably an employment law defense attorney, to basically conduct a deposition makes a certain amount of sense. But it also opens them up to questions of why they aren’t capable of doing their own jobs - I mean, we saw a lot of very old Senators (again, I repeat myself) ask very stupid questions about social media. I have a feeling this is going to not go particularly well for them, whatever the format - but I’m also not entirely sure they care.

And after listening to Pod Save America yesterday, I’m not entirely sure we won’t see a John Marshall situation after the midterms, with the Dems taking the Senate and McConnell saying “fuck it, hold a vote” whether it’s Kavaughan or not.

It’s not even that they’re deft enough to ask the questions, but that there isn’t a single woman on the panel of GOPers who can ask questions. The use of proxies - lawyers - to ask is meant to sidestep the optics of an all white older male panel of GOPers trying to attack a credible woman who accuses a loyal right wing extremist of being a sex predator.

After the GOP refused to hold a vote for Garland, that they’ll turn around and lame duck whoever Trump serves up with a rubber stamp will be particularly galling and remind everyone that the GOP doesn’t give a shit about the rule of law or the rules, but whatever can give them absolute power and overturn Roe, Griswold, and roll back civil/voting rights and the safety net, all while giving millionaires like Trump all the benefits and none of the harms while everyone deals with the burdens.