Friday, May 2, 2014
From: Gary L. Bauer
Benghazi’s Back!
Revelations about White House emails connected to Susan Rice’s infamous Benghazi talking points have put the issue back on the front pages. And there are major developments breaking today.
The White House and its Capitol Hill allies on are in full damage control mode. Even the liberal media are starting to turn on them.
CNN’s Jake Tapper described the White House spin on the emails as “dissembling, obfuscating and insulting.” National Journal’s Ron Fournier said, “as someone who . . . wants to see my White House succeed, it was painful yesterday to watch that briefing and get ‘Baghdad Bob’ flashbacks. It was embarrassing.”
On Fox News yesterday, Bret Baier had this exchange with Tommy Vietor, a former spokesman at the National Security Council:
BAIER: Did you also change ‘attacks’ to ‘demonstrations’ in the talking points?
VIETOR: Maybe. I don’t really remember.
BAIER: You don’t remember?
VIETOR: Dude, this was two years ago. We’re still talking about the most mundane thing.
BAIER: Dude, it’s what everybody is talking about.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi feigned outrage. In response to a reporter’s question, Pelosi said, “… diversion, subterfuge. Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi. Why aren’t we talking about something else?”
We’re talking about Benghazi because four Americans died and government officials lied.
On Capitol Hill yesterday the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee heard from retired Air Force Brigadier General Robert Lovell. During the Benghazi attacks, Lovell was serving as Deputy Director for Intelligence for AFRICOM.
In response to intense questioning from Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), Lovell acknowledged that for the first time in his military career, he was prevented from doing what he was trained to do: “move to the sound of the guns.” He sat frustrated as “discussions churned on” at the State Department about what to do.
While questions remain whether our forces could have successfully intervened, Lovell told the committee, “The point is we should have tried.”
But we didn’t try because, as the general said, “There was a lot of deference to the desires of the State Department about what they wanted us to do.”
Subpoenas & Special Committees
This morning, Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, issued a subpoena to Secretary of State John Kerry ordering him to appear before the committee on May 21st. Issa is demanding to know why the emails from White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes were not released sooner and why they were instead given to Judicial Watch and not congressional investigators.
In his letter to Secretary Kerry, Issa wrote:
“The State Department’s response to the congressional investigation of the Benghazi attack has shown a disturbing disregard for the Department’s legal obligations to Congress. . . .Compliance with a subpoena for documents is not a game. . . . It is disturbing and perhaps criminal . . . that documents like these were hidden by the Obama administration from Congress and the public alike.”
Soon afterwards, news broke that Speaker John Boehner will move to form a special select committee to investigate the Benghazi scandal. Congratulations to Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) who has tirelessly pushed for a select committee. Here are excerpts of Speaker Boehner’s statement:
“The administration’s withholding of documents — emails showing greater White House involvement in misleading the American people — is a flagrant violation of trust and undermines the basic principles of oversight upon which our system of government is built. And it forces us to ask the question, what else about Benghazi is the Obama administration still hiding from the American people? …
“This dismissiveness and evasion requires us to elevate the investigation to a new level. I intend for this select committee to have robust authority, and I will expect it to work quickly to get answers for the American people and the families of the victims. Four Americans died at the hands of terrorists nearly 20 months ago, and we are still missing answers, accountability, and justice. It’s time that change.”
Various sources report that Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), a former prosecutor, is being seriously considered to lead the committee.
Terminating Twins
Floyd Mayweather is making headlines. Is it because of his big fight tomorrow? No. Is it because he expressed interest in buying the Los Angeles Clippers from disgraced owner Donald Sterling? No again.
He is making news because of his views on innocent unborn children. The undefeated boxing champion let the world know yesterday the real reason his relationship with his fiancée ended. Mayweather tweeted, “The real reason [we] broke up was because she got [an] abortion and I’m totally against killing babies. She killed our twins.”
The left has come down on Mayweather like a ton of bricks. In fact, some leftists seem to be suggesting that Mayweather’s pro-life stance is akin to Donald Sterling’s racism. The social media editor of SB Nation wrote, “Reminder that Floyd Mayweather is interested in owning the Los Angeles Clippers. That seems like a bad idea.”
Folks, I know the leftist mindset is sometimes difficult to comprehend. But in what world can Mayweather’s desire to save the life of his babies compare to raw racism?
The racists in the abortion debate are the abortionists who intentionally target minority women by placing abortion centers in their neighborhoods. In doing so, they are following the philosophy of Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger, who was dedicated to stopping what she termed the “lower classes” from having children!
Mayweather has had serious issues with abusing women in the past. But he still has enough character to oppose the killing of innocent human life. For that, he deserves credit, not criticism.
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