Will GOP Candidate Ben Ghazi End His 2016 Presidential Bid?

by Sunnyjane

It came not with a roar, but with a squeak: The House Intelligence Committee, led by Republicans, has concluded that there was no deliberate wrongdoing by the Obama administration in the 2012 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans...  This, after investigation by eight different committees, during which numerous House hearings were held, since September 2012.  The HIC also found no wrongdoing by then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Among the Committee's other findings:

 -- Intelligence agencies were "warned about an increased threat environment, but did not have specific tactical warning of an attack before it happened."
 -- "A mixed group of individuals, including those associated with al Qaeda, (Moammar) Khadafy loyalists and other Libyan militias, participated in the attack."
 -- "There was no 'stand-down order' given to American personnel attempting to offer assistance that evening, no illegal activity or illegal arms transfers occurring by U.S. personnel in Benghazi, and no American was left behind."
 -- The administration's process for developing "talking points" was "flawed, but the talking points reflected the conflicting intelligence assessments in the days immediately following the crisis."

Twenty-three months and millions of tax-payer dollars have been spent on this witch hunt.  It's important to review what happened during that time.

Mitt Romney and The Opportunity 

Yay!  I can use the deaths of four Americans to fulfill the White Horse prophecy!

So fixated were both political parties on Romney's 47% disaster from his speech at a big-donors fundraising dinner in May 2012 that the rest of that night's message was lost.  But during the question-and-answer period, one attendee asked him if there was some sort of scenario that would duplicate Ronald Reagan's defeat of Jimmy Carter because of the Iranian hostage situation.  Romney admitted that his campaign was anxious for a national security crisis to occur so they could use it as an opportunity to display the President's weaknesses on geopolitical matters: I mean, if something of that nature presents itself, I will work to find a way to take advantage of the opportunity.

In July, he wagered on a trip to England, Israel, and Poland to give his campaign much-need momentum.  What he ended up with was a whole lot of nomentum.  Even Republican leaders were scratching their heads about the ill-fated excursion.  One high-placed GOP strategist said, I find this trip borderline lunacy.

Romney also knew the trip had been a disaster.  On the flight back to Boston he sent an email to some of his aides in which he said, I can only imagine what the media looks like at home.  And I don't think I want to find out.   A really swell opportunity down the drain.

Anxious to forget that disaster-lampooned-round-the-world, Romney concentrated on choosing a running mate.  Did he consider someone who had foreign relations experience?  Of course not.  He decided on a lamebrain budget wonk, who probably doesn't even possess a passport.  Smooth move, Mitt.

But never mind all that.  On September 11, before anyone was sure exactly what was happening in Benghazi, Romney decided he had found his opportunity, and issued a statement in which he proved he certainly didn't know what was going on: I'm outraged by the attacks on American diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt and by the death of an American consulate worker in Benghazi.  It's disgraceful that the Obama Administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks.

What got Romney's magical Jockeys in a jumble was actually a statement issued by the U. S. embassy in Cairo hours before the attacks even began, and which was neither written nor approved by the White House or the Secretary of State.  Cairo's statement was referring to the film produced by right-wingers in this country that disparaged the Islamic religion, and was not in response to the attacks.  Oops.

The White House response was swift and condemning of Romney's shoot-first-and-aim-second statement: We are shocked that, at a time when the United States of America is confronting the tragic death of one of our diplomatic officers in Libya, Governor Romney would choose to launch a political attack.

The following day, President Obama appeared in the Rose Garden to brief the press and the American people on the tragedy and said, in part:  ...no acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the values we stand for.  The President also said in the same statement:  We will not waver in our commitment to see that justice is done in this terrible attack, and make no mistake: justice will be done.  And the response from the GOP on the capture of the Benghazi attack suspect twenty-one months later?  Basically, What took ya so long?

What the President said the day following the embassy attacks became a much-relished spectacle during the second debate, of course, when Romney made a complete fool of himself by asserting that it had taken President Obama fourteen days after the deaths in Benghazi to call the attack an act of terror.  Which part of no acts of terror Romney didn't understand is unknown and was never explained by his campaign.  This debate was also famous for the fact that Tagg wanted to take a swing at the President and Ann decided it was classy to give the President the finger.  Please proceed, Governor.

The Hecklers in the Peanut Gallery           

We're all responsible for what we say and what we do.*  John McCain, 11/14/12

Republican nerves were severely frayed after their election loss on November 6.  Though none of the GOP leadership ever really embraced Romney, they had badly wanted to make Barack Obama a one-term president and if Mitt Was It, so what?  Grover Norquist had readily admitted during the primaries that it didn't matter who their 2012 candidate was because he'd do as he was told so they should just Pick a Republican with enough working digits to handle a pen to become president of the United States.   Looks like Palin missed her big chance.

And speaking of attacks, John McCain decided to go after U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice for statements she had made five days after the Benghazi incident, which were talking points derived from faulty intelligence reports.  Rice's name had been floated as a replacement for Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, and McCain was having none of it.  He called Rice not qualified and not very bright. 

* Thank you, John, for asserting that one is, indeed, responsible for what one says and what one does.  Now let's talk about that time you selected an unqualified and not very bright individual to be your running mate, shall we?

Haaawww...I know all zee CIA's secrets and I vill tell zee terrorists everything!

For a year after the Benghazi consulate was attack, the were numerous of investigations into the incident; and then the Issa hearings began.  One of the most pressing questions the Republicans had was why there were security lapses at the compound, and they pounded hard on that issue before the election.  The answer could have been easily located in Paul Ryan's budget proposals.  Even though SoS Clinton had warned that slashing funding for embassy security would be detrimental to America's national security.  They did it anyhow.  Why?  Because as Jason Chaffetz said, We have to prioritize on the budget.  So obviously, the safety of Americans serving abroad is not a priority.  It should be noted that Ryan, Chaffetz, and Issa all voted for these cuts.  Hypocrisy lives and thrives in the Republican Tea Party.

In addition to the embassy budgeting indignity, Chaffetz and Issa managed during one of the hearings to reveal to the world -- including al Qaeda, of course -- that the compound was a CIA outpost.

Um...about those security lapses?

A New and Shiny Hearings Leader

The Democrats' Worst Nightmare?  In your dreams, Boehner.

Saying that there were still unanswered questions concerning Benghazi, John Boehner pulled the rug out from under Darrell Issa and his year-and-a-half obsession and appointed Trey Gowdy to head a new Select Committee.  Gowdy's three questions are: Why was our security profile in Benghazi so low on the anniversary of 9/11? Why were our assets not positioned across the globe in such a way that we could respond to northern Africa in time?  And thirdly, and in some people’s estimation most importantly, can we trust government?  Major yawn here.

Not one to take rejection lightly, Issa did a little number on Boehner by releasing details of a memo that confirms that the White House was correct on one aspect of the Benghazi issue: the right-wingers' video mentioned above.

Now that the House Intelligence Committee has released its No-Foul-Found  by the Obama Administration, will the Gowdy hearings go forward, just to keep the subject before the American electorate because they've got nothing else?  Is anyone even interested any more?

Let's ask these folks...

End Note

Fox News had absolutely nothing to say after findings of the House Intelligence Committee were released.

What to Expect When You're Expecting the GOP's Worst in 2014

by Sunnyjane

John Boehner:  Congress should not be judged on how many laws we pass.  Congress ought to be judged on how many laws we repeal.

A House Divided

House Report Card: Members do not work and play well with others.

It's hardly breaking news that the House session ending in early January 2014 has been the least productive in history.  Speaker John Boehner has accused at least three different factions for this dubious recognition:  President Obama for not working with the congress; the Democratic-controlled Senate for not doing its job; and the battle royal between the Republican pragmatists and ideologues that force him to leave the office early and go sprinting to the nearest D.C. watering hole for an injection of Merlot. 

This year is one of elections for all members of the House of Representatives, some senators, and a few governors.  Karl Rove and Scott Reed, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's chief political strategist, are planning to spend tons of money to see that no losers end up as Republican candidates in 2014.  Scott told the Wall Street Journal recently, That will be our mantra: No fools on our ticket.

As Eugene Robinson of The Washington Post says, Wanna bet?

Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone also has a hilarious post on this topic, at one point wondering if Ted Cruz will choose Phil Robertson as his more moderate running mate.

Speaking of Fools...

It's easy to understand why Scott Reed and Karl Rove might be a tad anxious about idiots running on the Republican ticket in 2014; there is already too much irreconcilable imbecility in both houses of congress.  A brief review of some typical Tea Party Republican legislators making fools of the entire party in 2013 confirms that these two strategists have every right to be uneasy.

Rep. Joe Barton, TPF- (Tea Party Fool) TX:  It should be noted, first and foremost, that Rep. Barton serves on the House Energy and Power and the Environment and Economy subcommittees.  Given those responsibilities, he has a long history of making the most outlandish anti-science statements ever heard from a representative who has to make policy on energy.   To wit, on wind energy technology, he has offered the notion that wind is a finite resource and harnessing it would slow the winds down, which would cause the temperature to go up.  (There's so much wrong with that statement -- beginning with wind being finite -- that I refuse to waste my time dissecting it.)  And on the causes of climate change, he suggests strongly that If you believe in the Bible, one would have to say the Great Flood is an example of climate change.  That certainly wasn’t because mankind overdeveloped hydrocarbon energy.

Rep. Trent Franks, TPF-AZ: Trent took exception to exempting pregnancies caused by rape and incest from provisions of an anti-abortion bill, because of course, ...you know, the incidences of rape resulting in pregnancy are very low.  But when you make that exception, there’s usually a requirement to report the rape within 48 hours.  And in this case, that’s impossible because this is in the sixth month of gestation. 

Rep. Louie Gohmert, TPF-TX:  On immigration, Gohmert said, We know that people that are now being trained to come in and act like Hispanic when they are radical Islamist.  (He failed to explain exactly how one can act like Hispanic, but I'm sure that his remark warmed the hearts of Republican moderates trying attract the Latino vote.)  And of course, this is the same Louie Gohmert who was outraged that Attorney General Eric Holder was trying to cast aspersions on my asparagus. 

I know the U. S. Constitution forbids any sort of religious test for folks running for elected office, but heavens to Murgatroid, might it not be a good idea to check out a candidate's basic knowledge of science and biology?  Oh, and vegetables.

What Can We Expect from the Media in 2014?

The extra 20% is those Fox News viewers who don't even  know what scientists are.

Oh, just a couple of things to consider here: 

1.  Will Jim DeMint work it so that David Gregory of NBC is replaced by Phil Robertson?

2.  Will not-running-in-2014 Michele Bachmann replace Sarah Palin on Fox News?

3.  Will Alex Baldwin land a reality show on A&E, where he'll fit right in?

4. Will Sarah Palin, political pundint, get Willow a job styling birther honcho Donald Trump's hair? 

     4A: Can Willow possibly teach her stupid mother the correct way to wear a wig?

5. Will Chuck Todd learn the difference between a finicky website and an excellent healthcare insurance plan?

6. Will every political analyst, commenter, and guest expert on news shows cease the obnoxious  habit of beginning every response to a host's question with Well, I mean, look...
      
    6A: Will the media learn the difference between less and fewer?  Hint to media talkers and writers:  Less traffic, fewer automobiles.  See, isn't that easy?

   6B:  Will the media ever learn that the past tense of sink is sank, not sunk?  It's OK, media; sank is not a dirty word.

Can the RNC Ever Get Its Minority-Vote Thing Right?

Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus is going to slip a disk if he continues to bend over backwards to lure African Americans -- and other minorities -- to vote for his party.

On December 1, the fifty-eighth anniversary of Rosa Parks's brave act of defiance in Birmingham, Alabama, the always-racially-tone-deaf RNC sent a tweet out that read Today we remember Rosa Parks’ bold stand and her role in ending racism.  It's too bad no one told James Earl Ray, who killed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., thirteen years later.

Right on the heels of that little social-media faux pas, Priebus sent Rand Paul parachuting into Detroit to open the GOP's first African American Outreach office -- or something like that.  They invited people to show up and hear Sen. Paul speak on the subject of how Republicans are going to do more for African Americans than Democrats.  People showed up.  They were white.  The end.

And just recently, Chairman Priebus and Co-Chairperson Sharon Day (I guess including Day was to show how much they Love you women!) sent out a Happy Kwanzaa statement commemorating an event that celebrates African history and culture.  Even conservative media called it pandering to blacks.

Wait for the RNC to tweet Happy Chinese New Year (celebrated in all Asian countries) on February 9, and Happy Cinco de Mayo on May 5.  

These meaningless gestures and transparent platitudes insult the intelligence of those targeted demographics and those white in this country who fight for the civil liberties of ALL Americans. 

Let's face it: the only difference between a gun-totting, Bible-clutching white supremacist and a Tea Party member of the GOP is the number of tattoos emblazoned on their bodies.

Will Ted Cruz Continue to be a Lying Obstructionist?

Yes.  Yes, he will.

Sen. Cruz has denied that he caused the government shutdown by threatening that identical action back in September if the Affordable Care Act was not defunded.  He stood in the Senate Chamber and read Green Ham and Eggs for -- I don't know, twenty-one hours or so.  We know the results and the ensuing backlash it caused.

President Obama's response to that bit of showboating was: One faction of one party in one house of Congress in one branch of government doesn’t get to shut down the entire government just to re-fight the results of the election.  The idea of putting the American people’s hard-earned progress at risk is the height of irresponsibility and doesn’t have to happen.  You don’t get to extract a ransom for doing your job.  

Cruz is getting as bad as Sarah Palin when it comes to makin' stuff up, many times for no reason at all.  During his filibuster, he included (for no apparent reason and to no one's interest whatsoever) the, um, fact that My father invented green ham and eggs and talked about watching his father prepare the dish. This is quite interesting, since Dr. Seuss wrote that book in 1960 and Ted wasn't born until 1970.  (Even if Raul really told him that, most children outgrow these little stories their parents tell them, like thunder is just God doing his thing at the Heavenly Kingdom Bowling Alley located right behind the Harps R Us store on Pearly Gates Road.)

He is still calling on his fellow Republicans to block immigration reform because it would mean the GOP has no chance of winning the Senate in 2014.

Yes, Cruz will continue to lie and obstruct.  And every time he does, another conservative donor will write a large check to the Democratic Party.

Will Darrell Issa Finally Stop Talking About Benghazi?

Keep digging!  There's gotta be a way to blame Obama and Clinton!

No.  No, he won't.

Just for the record, Darrell Issa is a nasty, dishonest, scheming, mean, vile human being with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.  Any one who believes he has reformed after his criminal activities before getting into congress needs a cerebral MRI -- stat!

Democrat Anthony Clark, who worked on the GOP's House oversight committee, summed up Darrell Issa quite well in an excellent post at Salon: If Darrell Issa says something – based on the record, his statements, and my personal observations of him up-close – there is a strong likelihood it will be baseless and easily disproven.

Clark goes on to reveal that Issa is an inept Chairman who doesn't even know the rules under which he is to hold hearings or the legal powers accorded him in  that position.  He also lets it be known that Issa is a bully: The more bombastic he is, the more he hungrily seeks out the cameras, the more he promises “explosive revelations,” the less he actually has. Bullies don’t win fights; they win defaults. Push back just the tiniest bit, and it’s all over. 

Darrell Issa is so sleazy that when he demanded that Health and Human Services turn over highly sensitive documents to him regarding the Healthcare.gov website, he was refused because of his track record as an untrustworthy guardian of secrets.

On Benghazi, Issa has always insisted that the anti-Islam American-made film, Innocence of Muslims, had nothing to do with the rioting at the American Embassy that resulted in the death of four people.  Regardless of the source, evidence presented to him will not satisfy his lust to bring some scandal raining down the Obama administration. 

The Republican-controlled House twice cut funding for better security at American embassies worldwide, in 2011 by $128 million and in 2012 by $331 million because, You have to prioritize things.  And, obviously, security at embassies is not a priority.  Pointing one's finger and yelling Bang, bang at a well-armed horde of terrorists is hardly an effective deterrent.

And, of course, the Benghazi conclusions reached in the New York Times' recent article was simply to absolve Hilary Clinton. 

It matters not to Darrell Issa; he doesn't believe in real evidence.  Despite the fact that he has called President Obama one of the most corrupt presidents in modern times, but has never succeeded in making one accusation stick, he will continue to waste the tax payers' money and congressional time in trying.  Please proceed, Mr. Chairman.

Will Republicans Continue to Try to Impeach the President?

Of course they will.  

The first meeting of the committee to Get Obama the Hell Out of the White House came to the conclusion that The president has ignored laws, failed to enforce laws, undermined laws and changed laws, all contrary to the Constitution.

And the President's response? 

Heh. 

A Personal Indulgence, If I May

This is one of my favorite images of 2013.  No words are needed, except to say that Pete Souza certainly knows how to capture the most powerful and significant moments during the President's time in office.

End Note -- Happy New Year, GOP!

    

The GOP's Not-So-Magnificant Obsession: The IRS 'Scandal'

by Sunnyjane

The IRS scandal  will make Obama a two-term president!  Oh, wait...

These were the three scandals that were supposed to bring down the Obama Administration and kill any chances that Hillary Clinton would ever run for president, much less become president.

Well, the Benghazi scandal has fizzled badly in the heat and humidity of Washington's warmer weather.  Even GOP staffers are making fun of it:  Some of the accusations, I mean you wouldn't believe some of this stuff.  It's just -- I mean, you've got to be on Mars to come up with some of this stuff.  [Pardon me while I engage in a major splort here.]

And the AP scandal?  Well, no one is really talking about it any more, which means there's no there there, so we're not going to waste time on it at this point.

But the IRS scandal?  An entirely different matter, because taxes are something the Tea Party can get behind.  You betcha!   

Don't Legislate: Obfuscate and Intimidate

Damn, we invited the Tea Party to the prom and now we've actually gotta dance with 'em!

In a recent epistle to House leaders Boehner and Cantor, Heritage Action for America, the lobbying arm of the Heritage Foundation that now has as its head-honcho former Senator Jim DeMint, outlined their marching orders: Do not legislate, just focus on the Obama Administration's current scandals. Was this solely to put the thumbscrews to Democrats?  No, not really.  The true reason is that they don't want the American public to see what a fucking chaotic clown show the GOP has become:  ...it would be imprudent to do anything that shifts the focus from the Obama administration to the ideological differences within the House Republican Conference.  To that end, we urge you to avoid bringing any legislation to the House Floor that could expose or highlight major schisms within the conference.  Looks to me like a case of children behaving badly because mama and papa are too spineless to discipline them.  No, Boehner would rather discipline the IRS, aka the Obama Administration, by ensuring that somebody goes to jail.  This is, of course, before it's been determined that anyone has actually broken a law, and if so, which law. 

Secret Memos + Lies + Conspiracies = Idiocy

I'm proposing a bill to warn the American public about the hazards of home permanents.

Rand Paul, the same idiot who is sure the Obama administration is responsible for his toilet-flushing problems, believes there are secret memos floating around that prove the IRS was  targeting people who were opposed to the president.  No, he told Candy Crowley of  always reliable CNN, he hasn't actually seen said memo, but it's been reported orally.  As opposed to writtingly, I guess; I dunno.  But if I remember correctly, that's called gossip, which is much more interesting to Tea Partiers than actual facts.  [Memo to Candy Crowley: I know you're the one making the big bucks, but don't you think it would serve your viewers to say something here, like:  So you really have nothing but an unsubstantiated rumor; isn't that correct?]  Maybe Senator Paul has been having too many lunches with Jon Karl, eh?

Everybody in the GOP and the media hyped this little scandal in the beginning by running around saying that the investigation of conservative groups by the IRS was a news-breaking issue and yelling that Congress didn't know anything about it.  Not so.  The inconvenient truth is that the inspector general of tax administration for the Treasury Department did, indeed, notify Congress last year, and in addition sent a letter to Darrell Issa in July 2012 informing him that the IRS would be audited.  It stands to reason that, in an election year in which the Republicans were trying desperately to make Barack Obama a one-term president, that had Issa believed he had a game-changing scandal, he would have brought it forward.  In a heartbeat.  He didn't; if fact, Issa himself said recently, This is one of those things where it's been, in a sense, an open secret, but you don't accuse the IRS until you've had a nonpartisan, deep look. That's what the IG has done. That's why the IGs in fact exist within government, is to find this kind of waste and fraud and abuse of power.

In addition, in March 2012, thirty or so Democrats signed a letter that urge[d] the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to investigate whether any groups qualifying as social welfare organizations under section 501(c)(4) of the federal tax code are improperly engaged in political campaign activity.  Note that the letter says any groups.  That's an important distinction because the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) blogger-in-chief, one Matt Gorman, published a post in mid-May that was headlined 32 House Dems Called For IRS To Investigate Conservative Groups In 2012.  That was, shall we say, somewhat misleading.  But then he outright lied, saying, They go on to specify the conservative SuperPAC Crossroads GPS.  He even published the Democrats' letter, and I defy any reader to find the words conservative groups, Tea Party, patriot, SuperPAC or Crossroad GPS.  That's not a lie; it's a damn lie.


The Real IRS Scandal Began Fifty-Four Years Ago

The IRS code regulating the exempt-from-tax for organizations was written in 1954 and still  states today that:  Civic leagues or organizations not organized for profit but operated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare, or local associations of employees, the membership of which is limited to the employees of a designated person or persons in a particular … 

However, in 1959 the IRS began to interpret the word exclusively to mean primarily.  When it comes to taxes, a government organization should not arbitrarily change the meaning of a word; words matter.  As the New York Times so succinctly pointed out recently, Given the confusion, and the years of abuse, it’s time for the IRS to return to the original language of the statute and require these groups to operate exclusively for the promotion of social welfare and not engage in politics.

End Note  

The GOP's Funeral Will Be Held When They Finish Digging Their Own Grave

by Sunnyjane

The GOP has been on life support since 2008 or so, but it has finally succumbed to its self-inflicted case of Wingnuttery Inclusionus Nervosa.  And it isn't just the legislators who brought on this condition; their followers, Big Money supporters, and the far-right media have aided and abetted them the whole way.

There are so many instances of the GOP's determination to thwart anything the Obama administration tries to accomplish that it's difficult to know where to begin when discussing the latest hoohahs.  However, with Benghazi, the IRS, and the AP stories a'sizzling on the grill in the last two weeks, the Republican Tea Party seems to have finally found themselves red meat on which to chew, and they're snarling and yelping like a bunch of savage wolves.

So let's just jump right in, shall we?

Louie Gohmert's Latest Nutso Rant   

Did you hear Gohmert say I was casting aspersions on his asparagus?

It all began during another House hearing; this is all they do, you see, hold hearings, and it's especially fun when the victim is Eric Holder.  Anyhow, Louie Gohmert (R-Texas Idiot) decided he had not had enough irate spew time on the TV machine lately, so he took the opportunity on May 15 to rage against the Attorney General on everything from the IRS going after Christian organizations like Billy Graham to the handling of information from Russia on Boston bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev to PETA insulting his pet rock.  (OK, I made that up about the pet rock; the truth is that Gohmert's pet rock left home some time ago after being yelled at for pooping pebbles in Louie's favorite pair of bedroom slippers.)

Whatever.  Louie accused the FBI of failing to question the now-dead-and-buried-in-Virginia Tsarnaev brother thoroughly enough, even after Russia had said the Boston bomber had been radicalized.  Then there ensued some crosstalk with the Chairman about Gohmert's having run out of questioning (questioning?) time, but he insisted that the AG respond.  So Holder said, The only observation I was going to make is that you state as a matter of fact what the FBI did and did not do. Unless somebody has done something inappropriate, you don't have access to the FBI files.  I know what the FBI did. You cannot know what I know. That's all.

Louie then entered red-faced stroke-zone territory and said, I cannot have a witness challenge my character … The attorney general will not cast aspersions on my asparagus.  Oh, yes, he really said that.  Check it out.  (No word on whether or not his Hollandaise sauce was likewise insulted.)
 
You Say Benghazi and I Say Bullshit

Sarah Palin demands that the lamestream media interview Mr. Ben Ghazi immediately and find out what he knows about the attack.

So anxious to bring an impeachment resolution (we can be sure it's already been drafted) against President Obama, the Hill obsesses daily on the September 11, 2012 attack on the embassy outpost in Benghazi where four staff were killed by Islamist militants.

House Speaker John Boehner is, according to insider sources, totally fixated with the issue.  See, it takes away all the pressure on him to actually be a leader, and he can earn much-needed creds with the far-right crowd.   And, of course, he doesn't have to focus on those distasteful Obama-agenda issues like gun reform, immigration, and jobs -- those icky  thingies that would actually benefit Americans. Boehner has told Darrell Issa (well known car thief and illegal possessor of guns) how to run the show, and the salivating Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has done the job with a passion, concluding that the White House has been involved in a cover-up!  Why?  Well, because the President of the United States committed the grievous offense of calling the attack an act of terror!

Here's what the Benghazi cover-up consists of, according to Issa himself: The words that are being used carefully — an ‘act of terror’ is different than a ‘terrorist attack.’   

And what, dear readers, did George W. Bush (you remember him, don't you?) call the September 11, 2001 violence against America that killed more than three thousand people?  An unbelievable act of terror.  See, it's not what's done that counts, it's who does it:  Bush = That's Cool!  Obama = Grounds for Impeachment!

Reports have been made that suggest the Republicans did a tad of, shall we call it, wordsmithing with the talking-points emails they're so adamant about seeing.  On Thursday, May 16, Major Garrett on CBS Evening News pretty much called the Republicans liars:  Republicans told us these were the quotes; that wasn’t true.  Copies of the emails the GOP leadership gave CBS appear to have been, um, altered. 

And ABC admitted that in their haste to smear the Obama administration, they didn't actually read the Benghazi emails.  These are journalists?  Perhaps they attended the Sarah Palin School of Journalism and/or Communications -- take your pick. 

Investigations?  You Really Wanna Talk Investigations?

Would you care for a little arson on the side, Mr. Issa?

In 2010, an investigation was conducted on Darrell Issa's background and it revealed that a fire that burned his Ohio manufacturing plant was, according to inspectors,  most likely the work of an arsonist.  Because the fire insurance policy had been raised from $100,000 to $462,000 just a few weeks prior to the fire, and evidence arose that Issa had removed computers and papers from the building, led inspectors to suspect Issa himself.  Neither he, nor anyone else, has ever been charged, however.

Ari Melber and Martin Bashir discussed this issue on Thursday, May 16.

Curiouser and curiouser.    

The Scourge of Sexual Assault in the Military

 Not only is it a crime, not only is it shameful and disgraceful...  President Obama, May 16, 2013

The President is pissed, and rightly so.  He hauled Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey to the White House on Thursday to read them the riot act.  Attending were also the chiefs of each military service, the civilian heads of each service, and enlisted advisers.

The issue received needed attention when the Air Force official in charge of its sexual-assault prevention program was recently arrested for groping the breasts and buttocks of a female.

And just this week,  the Sexual Assault Program Manager at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, was arrested in a domestic dispute with his former wife.  

It's rather like what happens when the fox is guarding the hen house, isn't it?  Where's the GOP outrage?  When's the hearing on this issue going to be scheduled?  Oh, sorry...since it's only assaults against women, that doesn't count.

Obamacare: Let's Vote to Repeal it for the 37th Time!
 

And they did.  And it passed.  Yawn.

The Speaker of the House decided, once again, to spoil the children and let the seventy newbies in Congress vote to repeal the Affordable Healthcare Act.  I did think it was very considerate that they waited until the lying adulterer Mark Sanford was sworn in on Wednesday, don't you?

Mr. Speaker, please let me introduce my mistress.  I found her while hiking the Appalachian Trail.

And Darrell Issa was having such a good week that he took the opportunity to start a little rumble on Obamacare, tweeting: 
 

Darrell Issa        ✔ @DarrellIssa

Hey folks, #ObamaCareInThreeWords -- go!

The White House lost no time in responding:

  The White House        ✔ @whitehouse

It's. The. Law. #ObamaCareInThreeWords, pic.twitter.com/yCHSmuxkKj

 
Curses!  Obama Ruined Our IRS Scandal!

Revelations that the IRS had been targeting conservative groups that had applied for tax exempt status hit the news on Monday, May 13, when ABC obtained the Inspector General's [IG] draft report.  Naturally, the GOP leadership began salivating at the prospect of another Obama Scandal!  YIPPEE!  Surely they had him by the short hairs this time, dontcha think?  Well...no.  They prepared all their talking points for when the President went on  defense.  That scenario didn't come to pass, however, because President Obama said on Wednesday that the actions that were outlined in the IG's report were unacceptable.  He further said that his administration would accept all of the recommendations in the report and would work with the Congress in their investigation.   Please proceed, Mr. Speaker.  

Naturally, there was no outrage when, under George W. Bush, the IRS targeted liberal organizations, including the NAACP, Greenpeace, and an Episcopal Church in California. 
   
Deaths by Idiots With Guns Continue Unabated

My Bonnie looked into the gun barrel, the contents she wanted to see. She fired the gun to assist her, oh bring back my Bonnie to me.

No post on the GOP would be complete without a mention of gun violence.  

According to Slate, which is (thankfully) keeping track of gun violence since Sandy Hook, 4,127 people have died since that awful day in Newtown.  At least seventy-one victims of that horrid statistic are children, many of whom had been killed by, um, accident.  This is not only unacceptable, it's a sin. 

Logic, Republican Tea Party style:  Dr. Kermit Gosnell, an abortion doctor who has recently been found guilty of murder in the deaths of three babies, is representative of all abortion doctors.  But gun-wielding mass murderers, children's deaths by their own hand or by accident, and all other gun injuries and deaths are not representative of the NRA-backed House and Senate...or, by responsible, law-abiding gun owners.

End Note