You know what's an interesting thought experiment? Change this New York Times headline...

Kavanaugh Accuser Opens Negotiations on Testimony Next Week

...to the following...

Kavanaugh's Alleged Victim Opens Negotiations on Testimony Next Week

The whole "accuser" thing is driving me crazy. There is a carefully nuanced pejorative lurking in the syllables there that makes me uneasy.

Chip Somodevilla Getty Images

Anyway, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and her legal team on Thursday proved themselves to be not only brave, but also shrewd. They told the Senate Judiciary Committee that Dr. Ford would be happy to testify before it next week. But not on Monday, and not until certain completely reasonable conditions are met.

“As you are aware, she has been receiving death threats, which have been reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and she and her family have been forced out of their home...She wishes to testify, provided that we can agree on terms that are fair and which ensure her safety.”

Obliquely, of course, this invites Charles Grassley and his merry majority to line up with the anonymous callers and the cyberthugs who are making life miserable for Ford and her family. All they have to do is turn her down.

It also draws a nice bright line under the consequences Dr. Ford has suffered since coming forward. Kavanaugh's eating at the White House mess, while Ford and her family are eating takeout at some Motel 6. Only one of them has anything at risk behind what they have to say. Ford and her lawyers are offering Grassley a chance to be decent in front of the whole wide world. Their next move, of course, if Grassley declines the offer, will be to write him a letter expressing regret that he couldn't see fit to provide Dr. Ford with measures to ensure her safety. Grassley will certainly enjoy that, I'm sure.

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Charles P. Pierce Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976.

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