'This isn't a good look': Christine Blasey Ford's 'fear of flying' narrative crashes and burns

Sarah D | 12:36 PM on September 27, 2018

Based on her opening statement released yesterday, Christine Blasey Ford was entering today’s hearing at a disadvantage, credibility-wise. This doesn’t do her any favors, either:

Prosecutor Rachel Mitchell seems to be challenging Dr. Ford’s contention that she developed a fear of flying by pointing to a series of plane flights for work and vacation. pic.twitter.com/2CtPVvUNCk

— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) September 27, 2018

GOP counsel presses Ford on whether she flew to DC. Ford says she did, but says she has a bad fear of flying, though she admits she has flown around the world

— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) September 27, 2018

Mitchell: How did you get to Washington, D.C., today?
Ford: On an airplane.
Mitchell: When were here in August, how did you get here?
Ford: On an airplane.
Mitchell: You've been to Hawaii and Tahiti?
Ford: Yes.
Mitchell: How'd you get there?
Ford: On an airplane.

— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) September 27, 2018

We don’t contend that people who suffer from a fear of flying never get on a plane. But the fact that Ford was willing to travel to Maryland and undergo a super-sketchy polygraph test but refused repeatedly to fly to Washington to meet with the Senate Judiciary Committee, and didn’t take advantage of Chuck Grassley’s offer to fly Senate Judiciary Staff to California to meet with her, suggests that at the very least, her fear of flying is highly selective.

"Mr. Singal, you have said you are scared of giant Bavarian-style pretzels – repeatedly."

"Yes."

"And yet you are eating one right now, during this very hearing."

[through mouth stuffed with pretzel, trying to use a manila folder to cover a much larger pretzel] "Ro I'm rot"

— Jesse Singal (@jessesingal) September 27, 2018

Some of Ford’s behavior is consistent with that of an assault victim. She may very well have been assaulted in the past, if not by Brett Kavanaugh, then by someone else. But her case has been damaged by her own inconsistencies and by the shady and possibly unethical conduct of her legal counsel. She’s got an uphill battle ahead of her.

Ford’s lawyers unnecessarily damaged their and their client’s credibility by manufacturing the fear of flying story.

— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) September 27, 2018

I legitimately feel badly for Dr. Ford. Not only is she clearly suffering, but it seems many involved here — Democrats and *her own attorneys* — have taken advantage of her in order to execute a bigger plan. This is not how you treat a human being.

— Emily Zanotti (@emzanotti) September 27, 2018

One thing’s for sure: