The moment Brett Kavanaugh went on offense

“There is now a frenzy to come up with something—anything—that will block this process and a vote on my confirmation from occurring,” Kavanaugh wrote. “These are smears, pure and simple. And they debase our public discourse.”

Compare that to the relatively reserved statement that Kavanaugh released when Christine Ford accused the judge of attempted sexual assault when the two were in high school. Kavanaugh wrote, “I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation. I did not do this back in high school or at any time.”

So much has changed since that first accusation, including something inside the psyche of the beleaguered nominee, apparently. The Ford allegations have frayed significantly, as none of the alleged witnesses, including one of her close friends, is willing to corroborate any part of the story of sexual deviancy, including Kavanaugh’s attendance at the party where it allegedly happened. A second set of allegations has surfaced, but this one appears to be completely unsubstantiated, and in fact denied by all of the corroborating witnesses it cites. Deborah Ramirez accuses a drunken Kavanaugh of exposing himself to her during a drinking game while the pair were undergraduates at Yale. The New Yorker published the story even though none of the witnesses that Ramirez names backs up her story. In fact, they found six former students — two alleged male witnesses, the wife of a third, and three other undergraduates — who say the opposite.

Led by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Democrats seized on the unverified allegations and called for hearings to be delayed until the FBI could investigate (no doubt because a delay keeps an ethical cloud over Kavanaugh’s head and harms the GOP as the midterm elections approach). Others, such as Sens. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Edward Markey of Massachusetts, called on him to drop out altogether.

But any Democrat who hoped that the nominee could be cowed was mistaken. Kavanaugh is going to get another day in front of cameras. After all, to back down now would be almost an admission of guilt. They’ve backed him into a corner, and his good name depends on his pushing back as hard as he reasonably can.

“I will not be intimidated into withdrawing from this process,” Kavanaugh wrote in the most “Come and Take It” moment since Clarence Thomas fought to defend himself before the same committee. “The coordinated effort to destroy my good name will not drive me out. The vile threats of violence against my family will not drive me out. The last minute character assassination will not succeed.”

This provides a decent preview of how Kavanaugh will conduct himself Thursday. When members of the judiciary committee meet the judge again, they won’t find the same soft-spoken nominee. They will come face-to-face with a man dangerously backed into a corner. Expect Kavanaugh to confront Democrats this time around.

Feinstein had better be prepared to defend her decision to hold onto the Ford accusations until the last possible moment. Why, for instance, didn’t the senator raise the issue when the two met in her office or during a confidential session or throughout any of the more than 31 hours of testimony that Kavanaugh offered. It is a question without a comfortable answer.

Something similar can be asked of Sen. Mazie Hirono. The Hawaii Democrat has accused Kavanaugh of everything from outright lying to having a proclivity for sexual deviance because of his judicial philosophy. If the nominee watches the news, which he most certainly does, he might press Hirono to explain this exchange with CNN’s Jake Tapper, in which she throws innocent until proven guilty out the window based on Kavanaugh’s perceived opinions on unrelated matters. It’s also worth mentioning that Hirono sent a fundraising email out this week, declaring that Kavanaugh “knows he is guilty.”

[Also read: Female Senate Democrats tell male GOP colleagues to ‘shut up’ and ‘do the right thing’]

Anything can change in the next three days. One thing that won’t, though, is Kavanaugh. The judge isn’t just resolute in his innocence. He seems angry. The first set of hearings provided an opportunity to interview for a spot on the Supreme Court. The second will give him a final chance to defend his good name. Expect fireworks.