by Sunnyjane
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| Americans are able to detect the most subtle forms of Democrat-electaphobia. |
Because George W. Bush's two terms were so successful -- and Barack Obama has been a disaster for the country -- the Republican Tea Party is anxious to put a shiny new further-right creep in the White House. There are plenty of contenders for this assignment, of course; so many that, like 2012, they're stumbling over themselves already. Thirty months before the general election, there are, by the most conservative count, four governors, four senators, and at least one representative -- their esteemed failed 2012 vice-presidential candidate -- who wish to wear the mantle of President of the United States.
They're pretty sure they know who the Democratic candidate will be: Hillary Clinton. If they can get rid of her with Benghazi, and impeach President Obama at the same time, there will be new Batmobiles for all, and the Koch brothers will have a standing invitation to all White House events.
Let's face it, they've got nothing else to let loose on the Democrats. The economy is improving, the jobless rate is looking much better, the deficit is going down, the stock market has made a dramatic recovery, and Obamacare is kicking ass. And not one of their supposed Obama Scandals has gained an iota of traction. So, let's hound BENGHAZI to death!
A New Truth-Virgin for Eighth Benghazi Hearing
Since Darrell Issa failed miserably in his umpteen Benghazi hearings on this issue, John Boehner brought in new, um, talent. Trey Gowdy, who once called Nancy Pelosi mind-numbingly stupid for suggesting that the GOP was going after Eric Holder in order to advance their voter suppression tactics, is now taking the lead on getting the truth, by God, about who did what in an under-secured U.S. consulate in Libya. Gowdy has already shown his hand on this by referring to the hearings as a trial where, obviously, he's the prosecutor and the Obama administration is the defendant: If an administration is slow-walking document
production, I can’t end a trial simply because the defense won’t cooperate. I guess Boehner didn't explain to him what a hearing actually is.
The GOPers' rationale for this new Select Committee on Benghazi is that all the questions have not been answered. Well, actually they have; not getting the responses you so badly desire doesn't mean the questions haven't been answered. All told, there have been five different congressional reports; seven different congressional investigations; eight different subpoenas issued; thirteen hearings; twenty-five transcribed interviews conducted; fifty different briefings for staff and members; twenty-five thousand pages of documents produced by the administration; and one partridge in a pear tree. Believe it or not, even Chuck Todd is saying that it's pretty ridiculous of the House to indulge themselves in this show: It’s like investigating who cut down one tree in a forest that’s been burned down.
Gowdy has stacked the committee with seven Republicans and only five Democrats, so it's hardly what one could call bipartisan. In fact, Nancy Pelosi hasn't yet decided whether her party will even participate; it ends up being a situation where House Democrats are now caught between a rock and a hard place.
Of course, this is nothing but a Republican Tea Party fundraising exercise, about which the White House is royally pissed. Why? Well, you might remember the 2012 squawking from the right on the anniversary of Osama bin Laden's demise, during which the GOP accused the Obama campaign of politicizing the anniversary. Oh, the hypocrisy.
You Want a Scandal? Take...Your...Pick
They're pretty sure they know who the Democratic candidate will be: Hillary Clinton. If they can get rid of her with Benghazi, and impeach President Obama at the same time, there will be new Batmobiles for all, and the Koch brothers will have a standing invitation to all White House events.
Let's face it, they've got nothing else to let loose on the Democrats. The economy is improving, the jobless rate is looking much better, the deficit is going down, the stock market has made a dramatic recovery, and Obamacare is kicking ass. And not one of their supposed Obama Scandals has gained an iota of traction. So, let's hound BENGHAZI to death!
A New Truth-Virgin for Eighth Benghazi Hearing
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| Hey man, just a bit of advice: the Daffy Duck look isn't working for you. |
The GOPers' rationale for this new Select Committee on Benghazi is that all the questions have not been answered. Well, actually they have; not getting the responses you so badly desire doesn't mean the questions haven't been answered. All told, there have been five different congressional reports; seven different congressional investigations; eight different subpoenas issued; thirteen hearings; twenty-five transcribed interviews conducted; fifty different briefings for staff and members; twenty-five thousand pages of documents produced by the administration; and one partridge in a pear tree. Believe it or not, even Chuck Todd is saying that it's pretty ridiculous of the House to indulge themselves in this show: It’s like investigating who cut down one tree in a forest that’s been burned down.
Gowdy has stacked the committee with seven Republicans and only five Democrats, so it's hardly what one could call bipartisan. In fact, Nancy Pelosi hasn't yet decided whether her party will even participate; it ends up being a situation where House Democrats are now caught between a rock and a hard place.
Of course, this is nothing but a Republican Tea Party fundraising exercise, about which the White House is royally pissed. Why? Well, you might remember the 2012 squawking from the right on the anniversary of Osama bin Laden's demise, during which the GOP accused the Obama campaign of politicizing the anniversary. Oh, the hypocrisy.
You Want a Scandal? Take...Your...Pick
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| Could you tell us again where those WMDs in Iraq got to? |
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| And speaking of Crazy Uncles... |
Let's do a semi-oranges-to-oranges comparison here. In 2006, four Americans, including diplomat David Foy, were killed at the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan. This consulate had been attacked three times, and it is believed that Foy was the main target: his car was blown to smithereens by a bomb so devastating that the explosion left a huge crater and ten cars parked nearby were also destroyed. The outcome? No hearings, no outrage. And who was the Secretary of State at the time? Condoleezza Rice.
During her Senate confirmation hearings to become Secretary of State in 2005, Ms. Condi was grilled hard by Democrats who questioned her role in spreading the false intelligence that Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction. John McCain was livid and said, in part, We can disagree on policy and we disagree on a lot of things, but I think it is very clear that Condoleezza Rice is a person of integrity.
So, the Benghazi Consulate was attacked on September 11, 2012, and what happened? All hell broke loose on the GOP side of the aisle. Using the only information she had at the time, U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice explained on all the following Sunday morning shows what had occurred. After it was learned this her information was not correct, John McCain raged that Rice was guilty of, at a minimum, not being very bright, and was certainly unfit to replace Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State.
How many Transfer of Remains ceremonies did President George Bush participate in when the caskets carrying sixty Americans arrived on U.S. soil during his two terms? ZILCH. ZERO. How many did his Secretary(s) of State attend? DITTO.
And so it continues, because they've got nothing else. Well, if they intend to take on Hillary Clinton again, they'd better be very careful; they'll have to face her during debates leading up to the 2016 election. We can be sure that Ms. Clinton will, um, remind them that she warned against budget cuts and the effect they would have on safety and security at American embassies and consulates around the world. Adding insult to injury, the GOP budget gurus have cut another $400 million from the 2014 budget. Why? Because Paul Ryan, Darrell Issa, Jason Chaffetz, and other house republicans consider Embassy Security as a non-defense discretionary spending item that isn’t really necessary.
End Note
During her Senate confirmation hearings to become Secretary of State in 2005, Ms. Condi was grilled hard by Democrats who questioned her role in spreading the false intelligence that Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction. John McCain was livid and said, in part, We can disagree on policy and we disagree on a lot of things, but I think it is very clear that Condoleezza Rice is a person of integrity.
So, the Benghazi Consulate was attacked on September 11, 2012, and what happened? All hell broke loose on the GOP side of the aisle. Using the only information she had at the time, U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice explained on all the following Sunday morning shows what had occurred. After it was learned this her information was not correct, John McCain raged that Rice was guilty of, at a minimum, not being very bright, and was certainly unfit to replace Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State.
How many Transfer of Remains ceremonies did President George Bush participate in when the caskets carrying sixty Americans arrived on U.S. soil during his two terms? ZILCH. ZERO. How many did his Secretary(s) of State attend? DITTO.
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| President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton at Transfer of Remains Ceremony, September 2012 |
And so it continues, because they've got nothing else. Well, if they intend to take on Hillary Clinton again, they'd better be very careful; they'll have to face her during debates leading up to the 2016 election. We can be sure that Ms. Clinton will, um, remind them that she warned against budget cuts and the effect they would have on safety and security at American embassies and consulates around the world. Adding insult to injury, the GOP budget gurus have cut another $400 million from the 2014 budget. Why? Because Paul Ryan, Darrell Issa, Jason Chaffetz, and other house republicans consider Embassy Security as a non-defense discretionary spending item that isn’t really necessary.
End Note
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