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New bits of information feed GOP's claim that Benghazi is huge liability for Obama, Clinton
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Leroy N. Soetoro
May 22, 2013, 8:25:15 PM5/22/13
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http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/05/11/new-bits-information-feed-gop-claim-
that-benghazi-is-huge-liability-for-obama/?intcmp=obinsite
WASHINGTON � Steady drips of information about a horrific night in Libya
are fueling Republican arguments and ads designed to fire up the
conservative base and undercut the Democrats' early favorite for president
in 2016.
Strategists in both parties disagree on the issue's power to influence
elections next year and beyond. But after eight months of trying,
Democrats are still struggling to move past the terrorist attack on the
U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi last Sept. 11 that killed Ambassador
Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
Democrats insist that an independent inquiry, the dismissal of several
State Department officials, and nine congressional hearings leave little
new to say on the matter. But Friday turned up the sort of nuggets that
feed conservative activists' belief that a major scandal may be at hand.
Newly revealed communications show that senior State Department officials
pressed for changes in the talking points that U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice
used a few days after the Benghazi attacks. These senior officials
expressed concerns that Congress might criticize the Obama administration
for ignoring warnings of a growing threat in Libya.
The White House has contended it only made stylistic changes to the
intelligence agency talking points, in which Rice suggested that
spontaneous protests over an anti-Islamic video set off the deadly attack.
The new details suggest a greater degree of political sensitivity and
involvement by the White House and State Department.
Rice and others eventually acknowledged that the Benghazi assault was a
premeditated terrorist attack. Republicans say her Sept. 16 televised
remarks were just the start of administration efforts to mislead Americans
about what happened.
The incident was heavily politicized from the start, occurring less than
two months before President Barack Obama's re-election and while Hillary
Rodham Clinton was secretary of state.
The former New York senator and first lady, who infuriates many
conservatives, ranks high in speculation about Democrats in the hunt for
the 2016 presidential nomination.
Friday brought a fresh round of conservative broadsides against Clinton,
Obama and the administration's handling of the Benghazi matter.
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a possible Republican presidential contender,
wrote in The Washington Times restating his view that Obama should have
fired Clinton.
Campaigning later in Iowa, Paul said he thinks the attack "precludes
Hillary Clinton from ever holding office."
The conservative group American Crossroads released a 90-second video
asking if Clinton was "part of a cover-up." The video, like emails and
letters from several other groups, asked for political donations.
Benghazi hands Republicans some political opportunities, although none
without complications. It may be difficult for average voters to sift
through the chronology, assess blame or even follow the logic of GOP
arguments.
For instance, claims that Clinton and others ignored calls for greater
diplomatic security in Libya might be linked to the four American deaths.
But accusations about the post-attack talking points, which sometimes seem
to dominate the current debate, have nothing to do with possibly
preventing the deaths, thus robbing them of that moral heft.
Democrats note that an independent inquiry found that the State Department
badly mishandled security needs in Libya. But it blamed officials no
higher than the assistant secretary of state level.
Republican strategist Kyle Downey said Benghazi has exposed a trove of
Democratic vulnerabilities, which might grow as inquiries continue.
He said Republicans should use the findings to challenge the competence,
truthfulness and judgment of Clinton, Obama and other administration
officials.
Republicans, Downey said, should let the politics play out in terms of
which charges gain the most traction.
Some strategists say the Benghazi narrative may prove more valuable for
congressional Republicans in next year's elections than in 2016. House
Republicans, in particular, can seize on Benghazi to motivate their base
and donors, and to fend off possible primary challenges from the right.
Democrats say Republicans are exploiting the Benghazi deaths, and voters
won't like it.
"Republicans are a desperate party right now, trying to do whatever they
can to dirty up the president to make some gains in 2014, and to dirty up
Secretary Clinton because they're terrified she'll walk into the White
House," said Democratic consultant Doug Thornell. "This is an attempt to
keep their base together and motivated" after Obama's victories in 2008
and 2012.
Thornell predicted Benghazi will prove no more useful as a political
"scandal" than did the highly criticized "Fast and Furious" gun-tracking
program and the federally subsidized but ultimately doomed Solyndra energy
company.
White House press secretary Jay Carney has spent hours trying to dismiss
GOP accusations, including those that Obama sought to hide the fact that
Islamic terrorists were behind the Benghazi attack.
"The whole effort here by Republicans to find some hidden mystery comes to
nothing because the president called it an act of terror," Carney told
reporters Friday.
Benghazi may remain a white-hot topic in many conservative regions and
talk shows for some time.
At Wednesday's hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform
Committee, Rep. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., told relatives of the four
Americans killed in Benghazi that her constituents "think about you all
the time."
--
Barack Obama, reelected by the dumbest voters in the history of the United
States of America.
Eric Holder, racist black murdering United States Attorney General, still
has his job.
Nancy Pelosi, Democrat criminal, accessory before and after the fact to
improper vetting of Barry Soetoro aka Barack Hussein Obama, a confirmed
felon using SSAN 042-68-4425, belonging to a dead man.
Obama ignored the brutal killing of an American diplomat in Benghazi, then
relieved American military officers who attempted to prevent said murder
in order to cover up his own ineptness.
Obama continues his goal of disarming America while ObamaCare increases
insurance premiums 200% and leaves millions without health care.
Obama helped bankrupt Illinois. Democrat run Chicago closes 54 public
schools.
--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ne...@netfront.net ---
that-benghazi-is-huge-liability-for-obama/?intcmp=obinsite
WASHINGTON � Steady drips of information about a horrific night in Libya
are fueling Republican arguments and ads designed to fire up the
conservative base and undercut the Democrats' early favorite for president
in 2016.
Strategists in both parties disagree on the issue's power to influence
elections next year and beyond. But after eight months of trying,
Democrats are still struggling to move past the terrorist attack on the
U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi last Sept. 11 that killed Ambassador
Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
Democrats insist that an independent inquiry, the dismissal of several
State Department officials, and nine congressional hearings leave little
new to say on the matter. But Friday turned up the sort of nuggets that
feed conservative activists' belief that a major scandal may be at hand.
Newly revealed communications show that senior State Department officials
pressed for changes in the talking points that U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice
used a few days after the Benghazi attacks. These senior officials
expressed concerns that Congress might criticize the Obama administration
for ignoring warnings of a growing threat in Libya.
The White House has contended it only made stylistic changes to the
intelligence agency talking points, in which Rice suggested that
spontaneous protests over an anti-Islamic video set off the deadly attack.
The new details suggest a greater degree of political sensitivity and
involvement by the White House and State Department.
Rice and others eventually acknowledged that the Benghazi assault was a
premeditated terrorist attack. Republicans say her Sept. 16 televised
remarks were just the start of administration efforts to mislead Americans
about what happened.
The incident was heavily politicized from the start, occurring less than
two months before President Barack Obama's re-election and while Hillary
Rodham Clinton was secretary of state.
The former New York senator and first lady, who infuriates many
conservatives, ranks high in speculation about Democrats in the hunt for
the 2016 presidential nomination.
Friday brought a fresh round of conservative broadsides against Clinton,
Obama and the administration's handling of the Benghazi matter.
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a possible Republican presidential contender,
wrote in The Washington Times restating his view that Obama should have
fired Clinton.
Campaigning later in Iowa, Paul said he thinks the attack "precludes
Hillary Clinton from ever holding office."
The conservative group American Crossroads released a 90-second video
asking if Clinton was "part of a cover-up." The video, like emails and
letters from several other groups, asked for political donations.
Benghazi hands Republicans some political opportunities, although none
without complications. It may be difficult for average voters to sift
through the chronology, assess blame or even follow the logic of GOP
arguments.
For instance, claims that Clinton and others ignored calls for greater
diplomatic security in Libya might be linked to the four American deaths.
But accusations about the post-attack talking points, which sometimes seem
to dominate the current debate, have nothing to do with possibly
preventing the deaths, thus robbing them of that moral heft.
Democrats note that an independent inquiry found that the State Department
badly mishandled security needs in Libya. But it blamed officials no
higher than the assistant secretary of state level.
Republican strategist Kyle Downey said Benghazi has exposed a trove of
Democratic vulnerabilities, which might grow as inquiries continue.
He said Republicans should use the findings to challenge the competence,
truthfulness and judgment of Clinton, Obama and other administration
officials.
Republicans, Downey said, should let the politics play out in terms of
which charges gain the most traction.
Some strategists say the Benghazi narrative may prove more valuable for
congressional Republicans in next year's elections than in 2016. House
Republicans, in particular, can seize on Benghazi to motivate their base
and donors, and to fend off possible primary challenges from the right.
Democrats say Republicans are exploiting the Benghazi deaths, and voters
won't like it.
"Republicans are a desperate party right now, trying to do whatever they
can to dirty up the president to make some gains in 2014, and to dirty up
Secretary Clinton because they're terrified she'll walk into the White
House," said Democratic consultant Doug Thornell. "This is an attempt to
keep their base together and motivated" after Obama's victories in 2008
and 2012.
Thornell predicted Benghazi will prove no more useful as a political
"scandal" than did the highly criticized "Fast and Furious" gun-tracking
program and the federally subsidized but ultimately doomed Solyndra energy
company.
White House press secretary Jay Carney has spent hours trying to dismiss
GOP accusations, including those that Obama sought to hide the fact that
Islamic terrorists were behind the Benghazi attack.
"The whole effort here by Republicans to find some hidden mystery comes to
nothing because the president called it an act of terror," Carney told
reporters Friday.
Benghazi may remain a white-hot topic in many conservative regions and
talk shows for some time.
At Wednesday's hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform
Committee, Rep. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., told relatives of the four
Americans killed in Benghazi that her constituents "think about you all
the time."
--
Barack Obama, reelected by the dumbest voters in the history of the United
States of America.
Eric Holder, racist black murdering United States Attorney General, still
has his job.
Nancy Pelosi, Democrat criminal, accessory before and after the fact to
improper vetting of Barry Soetoro aka Barack Hussein Obama, a confirmed
felon using SSAN 042-68-4425, belonging to a dead man.
Obama ignored the brutal killing of an American diplomat in Benghazi, then
relieved American military officers who attempted to prevent said murder
in order to cover up his own ineptness.
Obama continues his goal of disarming America while ObamaCare increases
insurance premiums 200% and leaves millions without health care.
Obama helped bankrupt Illinois. Democrat run Chicago closes 54 public
schools.
--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ne...@netfront.net ---
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