Dignified old Republicans (yes, there really were some) must be spinning in their graves as, once again, the Benghazi issue is scheduled for a re-re-revisit.
The anti-Obamacare weapon has failed to obliterate the opposition. Democrats, who should — according to the rules — get thrashed in the midterms, are all smiles thanks to the bitter chasm within the Republican party. Triumphalist tea partyers are getting their heads handed to them in some primary races but there’s no sign they’re about to give up.
Democrats aren’t giving up either.
So, fellas, what have Republicans got left? Something to bury Obama and all Democrats in November? Not Obamacare. Not the economy.
What about Benghazi! David Drucker reports in the Washington Examiner that “lobbying by Republicans to win an appointment to the select committee has been intense, according to GOP members and other knowledgeable sources.”
Greg Sargent comments:
You can see why Republicans are jockeying so hard for a high profile role in the #Benghazi probe: The promise of endless plaudits from the Conservative Entertainment Complex, for one thing. As Fox News’ Bret Baier put it the other day, Benghazi is “the thing that everybody is talking about.” That is certainly true inside the Conservative Entertainment Complex, which makes it true everywhere.
Here in the CEC, Fox cut away from an Obama press conference with German chancellor Angela Merkel because reporters weren’t asking about Benghazi. And a Fox anchor was shocked to discover that the topic of another White House presser was energy and climate change rather than the Benghazi scandal. As Steve Benen put it, in this zone, Benghazi is the “One True News Story.”
Kevin Drum has a quick summary of the Benghazi story, concluding the new emails really should have been released earlier, but that even so, there isn’t much here.
Either way, many GOP lawmakers are absolutely convinced this is their Watergate, which only intensifies the attraction of playing a high profile role in this probe: Here is a chance for ambitious lawmakers to make a major mark on American life. …Sargent,WaPo
One savvy commenter sums it up like this:
Total employment reaches 138 million for the first time in US history…Bahghazi!!!
Stock market hits highest level in US history…Benghazi!!!
Unemployment rate falls to 6 year low…Benghazi!!!
GDP exceeds $17 trillion for the first time…Benghazi!!!
More Americans have healthcare than ever before…Benghazi!!!
Over on the wrong side of the tracks, Fox News is getting desperate.
Dana Perino, co-host of Fox News’ “The Five,” challenged meteorologists on Monday to ask Obama the tough questions on the 2012 attacks in Libya.
“Tomorrow, President Obama is going to do interviews with meteorologists all across the country about a new climate change report,” she said. “I hope they ask him about Benghazi.”
“Like, the weatherman from Montana should ask him about Benghazi,” she quipped. “That would be great. I dare you.”
Determined to inject the Benghazi attacks into the national conversation, Fox News has at least twice in the past week said they would only cover White House press conferences if a reporter there asked about Benghazi. …TalkingPointsMemo