Let’s look at it from a clear-eyed perspective, though. It occurred at the same time as riots across the Middle East, because of the trailer for a film called Innocence of Muslims, which was seen to be blasphemous by followers of Islam.
The timing of the attacks caused some confusion, which the Republicans have been trying to exploit politically ever since.
Secretary Clinton set up an Accountability Review Board to investigate the actions of the various players, and while it pointed out some failures in the process, none of the problems were the fault of the Secretary of State.
Despite the fact that the review had already taken place, the Congressional GOP wanted to waste time holding their own hearings on the attack. Because if there’s one thing that Republicans enjoy, it’s getting to waste their time and other people’s money while getting to act like massive dicks on television. And one of the biggest dicks at the hearing was Rand Paul (whose hair looks suspiciously pubic anyway), who decided that he didn't need to ask questions, he was just going to lecture his betters for just under 2 minutes.
(You have to appreciate how, at right about the 40 second mark, Hillary realized that somebody had pressed his "bag of douche" button, and just closed her notebook, put her chin in her hand with a bored look, and just let him hump her leg until he was done.)
Couple of thoughts on that.
First of all, it isn't the job of the Secretary of State to read every cable from every one of the 285 embassies, consulates and other diplomatic facilities worldwide.
Second... well, let's put it this way.
For fiscal 2013, the GOP-controlled House proposed spending $1.934 billion for the State Department’s Worldwide Security Protection program — well below the $2.15 billion requested by the Obama administration. House Republicans cut the administration’s request for embassy security funding by $128 million in fiscal 2011 and $331 million in fiscal 2012. (Negotiations with the Democrat-controlled Senate restored about $88 million of the administration’s request.) Last year, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned that Republicans' proposed cuts to her department would be "detrimental to America’s national security" — a charge Republicans rejected.But really, that's not the best part here. Let's consider just five short sentences from the middle of Little Randi's spew.
"I'm glad that you're accepting responsibility. I think ultimately with your leaving that you accept the culpability for the worst tragedy since 9/11. And I really mean that. Had I been president and found you did not read the cables from Benghazi and from Ambassador Stevens, I would have relieved you of your post. I think it's inexcusable."Isn't that great? He thinks this is the worst tragedy since the original 9/11. You know, I'm curious how he came to that conclusion. Really. I am.
Is it because it was an attack on an embassy? Well, we've had seven embassies and consulates attacked since 2001.
Was it because four Americans were killed? Well, hell: we lost 4,409 military, 13 DoD civilians and 2 journalists in Iraq since we invaded in 2003; we've lost 2,047 US military personnel, 3 DoD civilians and 27 journalists (of varying nationalities) in Afghanistan since 9/11. And little Randi, who's served a big two years in the Senate, supported the war in Afghanistan and was opposed to withdrawing troops from Iraq.
And bear in mind, Junior said "worst tragedy" - we have to consider hurricanes, fires, floods, shipwrecks, car pileups, school shootings, and cases of horse-induced arson or airborne fire extinguishers.
Had I been president... I would have relieved you of your postWe should just ignore the monumental ego that it takes to cough up a joke like that, and just be thankful that Rand Paul has less chance of getting elected President than his father ever did.
One would like to think that what we have in the USA is two major political parties arguing civilly over different but essentially sane and tolerably sound philosophies of governance. But that isn't what we have at all, as these Benghazi hearings (like so many other recent political struggles, including the entire 2012 campaign) make painfully clear: what we have is one party that pretty much makes sense and generally tries to do right by the people, and another that seems devoted to the promotion of ignorance, greed, dishonesty and callous disregard for everything and everybody. What passes for intelligence in the GOP is usually little more than the low cunning of brutes, and what doesn't quite make the smart-cut is so dumb that you don't have to listen too hard to hear the angels weeping.
ReplyDeleteSome of their chief operatives have now fallen to tacitly admitting that the only way they can win is to rig elections state by state. Heads they win, tales you lose. I take it that's the game plan for 2016.
For a fleeting moment I thought the GOP might have a Pauline sort of epiphany, but no, they're still riding on the same ass, braying in the same fashion.
DeleteYou can expect to hear from the International Brotherhood of Rude Beasts though. You've impugned them unfairly I think. Even an OX has more dignity and certainly more usefulness.
Rand Paul, like his daddy, is a lying sack of shit. That's really about as much as needs to be said about him.
ReplyDeleteOTOH, it would have been nice if Hilary had had a "Bentsen moment" and said something like:
"I've known presidents; hell, sonny, I'm MARRIED to one of them. I know presidents and you're not presidential material. You're not even qualified to carry luggage onto AF1, douchenozzle.".
"That's really about as much as needs to be said about him."
DeleteBut kind of shit, how ripe is it, how big a sack? Is it really a sack and not a bag? a Crock? These things need to be discussed. Besides, it's fun.
Dino: very astute encapsulation of the condition.
ReplyDeleteDemo: She eventually did lose her temper at one of the ass-hats - we're going to be hearing about her “What difference at this point does it make?” comment for months, despite the fact that you have to take it completely out of context for it to become anything but perfectly accurate.
Gotta admit, yours would have been a better comment. Also might have cut her tension level down. What were they going to do? Fire her?
Apparently, Speaker Boehner is convinced Obama is out to annihilate the GOP. Considering how Republicans have been acting lately, they are quite capable of annihilating themselves with no help whatsoever from the President.
ReplyDeleteI am reminded that Rand Paul is an eye doctor. As far as I know, the only other eye doctor in the world with a major political role is Hafez al Assad of Syria.
ReplyDeleteActually that's Bashar Asshat who is the doctor. Halfass Asshat was his father.
DeleteI haven't seen this pointed out yet but after going through their horse shit the republican horshitters left.
ReplyDeleteIncredible how they all decried the politicizing of Benghazi while politicizing it themselves.
April 18, 1983, the American embassy in Beirut was bombed and Reagan did, um, well, he ah, he made a speech and then gave Lebanon 250 million bucks. That's old cut and run Ronnie whose bastard children accused us of being cutters and runners for not wanting to attack Iraq for an attack made by Saudis and Egyptians. Hey, W told us the US had never been attacked on its own soil before like 1812 or 1941 weren't part of 'ever'. They take ignorance for granted and we usually grant it to them.
ReplyDeleteMy horses are thoroughly insulted comparing the shit that comes out of their asses to the shit that comes out of Rand Paul's mouth.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly seems there is a shitload of shit spread evenly over the shitty landscape that is known as the land of political bullshit.
ReplyDeleteRand Paul, as far as I can tell, is that particularly loathsome type who grew up privileged and is reasonably intelligent. He believes that he knows what is best for everyone, and that his opinion, coming from that special brain of his, is better than anyone else's. Therefore, people need to listen to him and follow what he says.
ReplyDeleteIn short (because it's always projection when you're dealing with Republicans), he is exactly what they want to claim that liberals are.
In Rand's case, it's obvious in everything he does. He decided that he didn't want to recertify with the American Board of Ophthalmologists (an oversight board made up of experts in the field, who determine peer-reviewed standards of best practices for eye doctors to follow).
In other words, they decide that an eye doctor should do a full examination, not just rip open your eye and start rooting around with pliers.
But, since Rand knew that he was better than all these stuffy old-guard eye doctors, he set up his own board of Ophthalmologists, with their own standards to follow (weirdly, standards which have never been disclosed for other doctors to review).
Because he KNOWS that he is smarter than anybody around him.
The man is a bag of dicks, surrounded by a ring of his own feces, fondling himself to child snuff porn. Because that's what he likes, and by god, no moralistic lesser being is going to tell him that he might possibly be wrong.
All,
ReplyDeleteIn psych circles, there is an axiom about “like seeks like” that is generally understood but rarely discussed openly. Put 100 people chosen at random into the same room. The sickest and most disturbed persons in the room will naturally gravitate towards each other as if some mysterious force attracts them.
Surprised? Consider an observation from history – how the most pathological and murderous followers turn into the henchmen of dictators and tyrants (who are themselves sociopaths, murderers and profoundly disturbed). Consider the example of the Third Reich. Of Stalin. Of Uday and Qusay Hussein (lovely boys). Yes, like seeks like, and that is how severe psychopathology propagates and spreads through an organization, a party, a nation.
It reminds me of today’s GOP: Joe Walsh, Allen West, Louie Gohmert, Rand Paul, and the Tea Partiers – all bellicose, obstructionist and ultimately self-sabotaging voices within today’s GOP. There is no coincidence to this pattern.
There are three possible outcomes. One: The GOP self-destructs. Two: The more moderate conservatives within GOP reclaim the party and return it to sanity. Three: A dictatorship of Town Hall henchmen and the monied plutocrats behind them.
@ Nameless cynic:
ReplyDeletePer your predictiion, the front page of the New York Daily News (or the Daily Post, I admit to conflating one exemplar of crapjournalism with the other) has a front page photo of "Crazy Clinton", "enraged". Since I would rather be seen fondling myself than reading either of those pieces of crap in public I have no idea if the article inside had anything to do with what actually happened.
Nameless, I love your posts and the clever turn of phrase throughout. talking about what dicks they are and then following it with this: (whose hair looks suspiciously pubic anyway) had me on the floor!
ReplyDeleteI think everyone, even many on the right can see how pathetically tranparent these congressional members are in trying to score political points by tilting at windmills. Maybe they all need glasses like Hillary's so they will stop seeing the ghosts and goblins that seem to plague there every waking moment.