Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Benghazi Keeps Bubbling Up Despite WH Spin — Jon Gabriel
As a kid, I had to repaint an old bike body that had been left out in the elements for months. I picked up the rusty body, rinsed off the dirt with a hose, let it dry and spray painted it. The shiny red bike looked like new.
Of course, after several weeks, the rust came back with a vengeance. Being lazy, I’d touch up the paint every few months to keep it looking decent. But, since I didn’t take care of the hidden corrosion, the rust wouldn’t stay covered up for long.
This White House has been painting over its failures for years; opting for quick PR fixes over long-lasting hard work. No where is the strategy more apparent than the drawn-out Benghazi scandal.
Even as the 9/11 attack on our Libyan consulate was taking place, the Obama administration’s primary concern was to preserve its image among the American public. After months of changing stories, deft spin, feigned outrage and mockery of those few reporters who dared to ask tough questions, the corrosion at the heart of this story is beginning to show through.
Through a hard-fought FOIA request, Judicial Watch uncovered emails proving that the White House was behind the “blame the YouTube video” talking point, not the CIA as administration officials claimed.
Today, ABC News’ Jonathan Karl had a heated, eight-minute back-and-forth with a defensive Jay Carney at the daily White House press conference. (You can watch the entire discussion below.)
Carney lamely tried to claim that the smoking-gun talking points were meant to address region-wide anti-American protests. “You knew full well that these Sunday show appearances were going to be dominated by the attacking Benghazi,” Karl replied.
“You stood there, time after time, and said that she was referring to talking points created by the CIA,” he continued. “Now we see a document that comes from the White House, not from the CIA, attributing the protests to the video.”
The nervous Carney attempted to mock the ABC reporter. “I know that you and I both are in a different time zone right now,” Carney told Karl, “But we are still in April of 2014.” Carney also claimed that the talking points were “explicitly not about Benghazi.”
Carl destroyed that assertion a few minutes later on Twitter.
@PressSec says @rhodes44 email not released bc “explicitly not about Benghazi.” It has section entitled “Benghazi” pic.twitter.com/SP3c5MynS6
— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) April 30, 2014
Is the lid finally coming off the Benghazi cover-up? If so, how will Obama (and Hillary Clinton) limit the damage?
Published in General
Hard to believe we have to continue to put up with this anti-American presidency.
Up to this point the media have treated the Obama administration like the adorable but not-quite-housetrained puppy that belongs to their girlfriend. They tolerated it chewing up their slippers and the newspaper. They put up with it because it was cute… and it belonged to their girlfriend.
But now they’ve come home to it having crapped on their couch when they were having their friends over for dinner, and it’s stinking to high heaven. And their girlfriend isn’t around to pick up after it.
They’re finally about to kick the dog out into the back yard.
Despite the hard won info being brought into the light (thank you Judicial Watch!) the ground has been prepared for a year and a half that anyone questioning the *official* Benghazi story is a quack, a loon, a conspiracy nut. Regardless of, you know, the truth, this will all be presented as an attack on the president, just as any attempt to learn more about the IRS scandals, or Fast and Furious – the mentions of these stories in the MSM (if they get mentioned at all) will be the same old extremists trying to throw mud on the President. Jay Carney’s response today reinforces that denial and smearing critics is how the White House will continue to play this out.
Jay Carney IS Nathan Thurm. http://youtu.be/98MNisZJyFI
1> White House ” failed fiction writer” writes fictional story.
2> Secretary of State and UN Ambassador loudly peddle fictional story as truth.
3> Head of CBS News (brother of White House failed fiction writer) muzzles determined investigative reporter.
4> Protected iconic president is safely re-elected in 2012.
5> White House Press Secretary reminds us that it is now 2014.
Therefore, never mind.
Nothing will happen. These occasional bouts of apparent rebellion on the part of the press don’t last long. Like abused but devoted spouses, they return to the abuser and all is forgiven.
And I’m afraid the low-information public has already decided that “Benghazi” is tin-foil-hat territory.
Nothing will happen.
Sad.
I am sorry to say I think you are right.
We’ll see
I really don’t know. This seems different. The press knows to get this stuff out early so that when it’s brought up during the election they can say that this is old stuff. So, the timing on all this might just be window dressing. But, this interview gives me a glimmer of hope.
I actually think this is just about the worst possible time for this to come out for the administration. We’re standing at the precipice of the beginning of the campaign season. By the time the full impact of this is known we’re going to be in the middle of campaign prime time.
Certainly, progressives don’t care. They probably admire such effective manipulation of the truth in support of their cause. But perhaps there might be a number of low-information moderates who would be entertained by a good scandal that is relatively easy to understand. That is, if the information gatekeepers could possibly be bypassed by social media or something. We’re talking potentially dozens of votes here!
So yeah, never mind.
This is an interesting development. It seems to me like everybody has known all along that the White House manipulated the story to save the campaign and the media assisted in the cover up. I think the media is now trying to regain a little credibility. They are probably hoping, however, that since the story is so old it will be greeted with a collective shrug from the American people, as in, “Duh. We knew that all along.” But since Hillary is probably running, the story won’t die. Now it begins to damage her as it should have all along. Delicious.
“Your obvious lifelong deep-seated hatred of puppies is showing through. You realize that people who hate puppies can get fired, be ostracized from society and even be forced to sell basketball teams. You wouldn’t want anything like that to happen to you…now would you?”
– Jay Carney
Then they realize who they’re going to want to go to bed with tonight, and resolve to continue to put up with it.
I’m grabbing some popcorn and a Diet Dr Pepper. I’m going to enjoy the show.
I’m trying to come up with some odds on Carney resigning in the next month or so. He’s been there a long time, and this turd won’t polish. He can bail now before the ball of yarn unravels.
I hope you are right. I have more faith in the media than this. They are in charge with the timing of most things. This FOIA may have made them act but the powers behind the media won’t let anything happen to Obama’s legacy and will probably prevent anything from happening before the next election. Part of that control comes from giving moderates the notion that the media is just an equal opportunity investigator. Pitiful that people actually believe this. Anyway, between elections is when they play this kind of game — pretending to have professional integrity. They have to be careful with this one, though. Even though the media and Jay Carney have the same job they have to play good cop, bad cop and appear to not have things coordinated. It’s been pretty successful for the last 4 decades or more.
Republicans need a champion with the chops to bite into this and not let go. We know the establishment press won’t do its job, and FOX will be denounced as a cabal of white-wing (interesting slip of the fingers, no?) conspiracy nuts and haters. But Watergate broke with the sudden revelation that tapes existed. We’ll need a similar moment for this to stick.
Never forget that Bill Clinton’s poll numbers went up with most of the shoes dropping and Republicans going after him. His year long delay allowed them to implement a Dick Morris strategy to turn it against Ken Starr and the House Republicans. Delays always benefit the guilty — if you’re a Democrat. Newt ended up, after his delays (which he didn’t cause), with having to pay a fine and admitting guilt to a trumped up charge.
Well people sure held Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot accountable. Oh wait. Nevermind.
Did anyone actually call them liars out loud? Nope, too scared.
Yes, and even more important during their lives and their killing sprees the leftists in the west and all the enablers refused to talk against them — and in fact, defended them. Only after they’re dead do people on the left seem able to criticize. Just look at Castro. He’s still alive and nothing bad will be said by the left until he’s gone. Mark my word. This is an old pattern.
Please please please let’s sink our teeth in and not let go. We HAVE them, in a direct lie about it all, if nothing else. I know in the past we had Clinton, squirming and sweating before the cameras after the dress was found, guilty as sin. We were exposing all their lies. Then we gave up, gave in to the “this is all old news” baloney. We had Holder lying about Fast and Furious, then we just gave up and let him walk. Their obfuscation strategy can not be allowed to work; if it does they can spin anything, and none of our coming here and talking about it will mean anything.
I keep seeing that scene in A Clear and Present Danger, when Harrison Ford is typing away furiously trying to print out the info, and the unctuous, smarmy, evil White House dude is typing away furiously trying to erase all the data that will incriminate the President. This seems to me like what was going on in Benghazi: lives were sacrificed to protect the image and rep of a politician – in both cases the President. Benghazi IS this movie.
A movie titled ” Benghazi” that exposed the White House would be a great thing.
I just watched Benghazi report on Glenn Beck’s (I know, I know, . . .) Internet program. If I am understanding the report correctly, the White House was supplying the rebels in the civil war in Libya, and the WH may have been behind the assassination of Muammar Gaddafi. Why?
At one point, the White House refused to finalize a truce that had been agreed to by all of the factions in Libya. Why?
Yes, the lid is coming off the Benghazi scandal, but it is too early to say what the impact will be. Today’s editions of the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal did not cover the email. The Washington Post’s article was on page 17. The only continuing coverage has been on Fox News.
Despite the occasional questions of people like John Karl, the main stream media does not want to tarnish either President Obama or Hillary Clinton. They won’t cover it. Congress has too few days before the recess for the 2014 election and no existing select committee to really investigate it. My hope is that Roger Ailes hires Sharyl Attkisson to head a team with Stephen Hayes, James Rosen, Catherine Herridge and others to investigate.
Impact on President Obama: little. Two thirds of the country believes he is not truthful on important issues. The negative impact will be when the histories of his presidency are written.
Impact on Hillary Clinton: could be significant. The first email mentioning the video came out of her office while the attack was occurring. Her speech at Dover when the bodies returned is a potential negative ad.
Will the Administration do something? Not likely.
Will motivated voters on the center/right do something? Indubitably. So many people are so angry that they’ll flood the polling places and it will be a nightmare for the Democrat Party. Congress won’t be limited to a single house and they won’t be supine either.
Its not as good as having the White House, but it could be pretty good compared to what we have now.