At first I thought the US Benghazi consulate attack would be an incredibly huge black mark for the Obama administration until I realized the brazenness of the Republicans in rushing to make this a partisan issue, even though many who are pointing fingers, including Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) voted to cut funding to two State Department accounts, one of which dealt with security. This plays into the notion that the Republicans think Americans have a short attention span and will freak out over the mere mention of the word “terrorism.”

You know that “bold” vice presidential pick by Mitt Romney? Paul Ryan? Well, he factors into this equation as well. His budget proposal would “cut foreign affairs spending by 10 percent in 2013 and even more in 2016.” But that’s okay in their eyes because Mitt Romney has a plan to fix what ails this country on all fronts. Of course, I am being sarcastic.

New York Times:  It doesn’t take a partisan to draw that conclusion. The ugly truth is that the same people who are accusing the administration of not providing sufficient security for the American consulate in Benghazi have voted to cut the State Department budget, which includes financing for diplomatic security. The most self-righteous critics don’t seem to get the hypocrisy, or maybe they do and figure that if they hurl enough doubts and complaints at the administration, they will deflect attention from their own poor judgments on the State Department’s needs.

At a hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform last Wednesday, Representative Darrell Issa, Republican of California and the committee’s chairman, talked of “examining security failures that led to the Benghazi tragedy.” He said lawmakers had an obligation to protect federal workers overseas. On Sunday, he said more should be spent on diplomatic security.

But as part of the Republican majority that has controlled the House the last two years, Mr. Issa joined in cutting nearly a half-billion dollars from the State Department’s two main security accounts. One covers things like security staffing, including local guards, armored vehicles and security technology; the other, embassy construction and upgrades. In 2011 and 2012, President Obama sought a total of $5 billion, and the House approved $4.5 billion. In 2009, Mr. Issa voted for an amendment that would have cut nearly 300 diplomatic security positions. And the draconian budgets proposed by Mitt Romney’s running mate, Representative Paul Ryan, would cut foreign affairs spending by 10 percent in 2013 and even more in 2016.

The hypocrisy of the GOP is nothing short of mind-boggling. They are on a mission to spin this to the Obama White House, who in turn, is trying to point fingers at the State Department. Well, seems to me that Hillary Clinton is right in saying that the investigation will uncover what really happened. Something tells me that this will come full circle back to the Republicans, the Tea Party darlings if you will. The ones who led the charge of slashing and slashing and slashing…..

The was cross-posted from The Hinterland Gazette.