THE BLINK OF AN EYE

I have been responsible for handling thousands of law suits. I quickly learned to look for the blink. The blink is the moment when the plaintiff does or says something that lets you know how they really feel about the case.

It is really quite simple. Plaintiff attorneys usually come in with their flags flying high, they think they have the case of the century, the would really like to try this, but might be willing to settle if the price is high enough. The truth is that it is very rare for any case to go to trial and in most cases the plaintiff attorney is just as anxious to settle the case as the defense. In some cases, more anxious to settle, because to the defense, it is often just a matter of the cost. For the plaintiff, if they try and lose, they get nothing. For the plaintiff, a loss can be a big financial hit.

I learned to watch for that moment when the plaintiff attorney signaled his or her real intent. It was often subtle.  Perhaps a slight change in tone. Perhaps a more muted response to a settlement offer. I learned to look for it and when I saw it I never ignored it. Once I saw the blink, I knew the case was going to settle and we were near the end.

We are close to the end of the Christine Ford fiasco. Although some people think Grassley blinked by extending the deadline, he didn’t.  His position is the same.  You can testify, but only under our rules and you have to set a firm date NOW.  If you don’t do that, we are just going to vote. It was the plaintiff attorney who blinked, when just before the deadline, she asked for more time to decide. This was an admission that she believed Grassley and he wasn’t going to play the delay game anymore. Grassley knows that, and it will inform his decision on how to move forward.

Her stated reason for delay is absurd. She wants to drive across the country instead of flying. No one is buying that. Odds are there are already numerous records of her flying all over the place for personal and business reasons. This was just a joke excuse, clear evidence that there never was an intent of her testifying, at least not in a rational setting.

Oh, they would have loved another Senate hearing circus with Pamela Harris praising her for the courage to tell the truth about this jerk and only asking her how much pain and humiliation she must be feeling. Then some white Republican Senator would say something wrong in his opening statement or will ask a question with the wrong tone. Frankly, it wouldn’t have mattered what actually happened, the MSM was already prepared to slam those old white Republicans for shamming a sexual assault victim. The truth would have been the least likely outcome.

But Grassley quickly shut that down by announcing that she would be questioned by a competent female attorney. That eliminated all the upside for Ford and only left a really big downside. Her attorney had zero intentions of participating in a good faith investigation. The whole point was only to defeat the nomination by delaying it.

At this point, it doesn’t matter what she does. Grassley has her cornered. If she doesn’t testify, Kavanaugh is confirmed. If she does testify, her paper-thin accusation will be exposed, and he will still be confirmed. What she can no longer due is delay the process.

We have seen the blink. The end is near.

TDM

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