Benghazi Hearing Final Score: Gowdy 0, Clinton Won

[maxparrish]

No, they did not fail in the eyes of their targeted audience.

The target isn't Max. It is the middle crowd. The crowd they convinced that the ACA was evil and gave them an absurd landslide victory in the 2010 midterms. They failed in making an argument to those people that Clinton failed the nation.

Just look at maxie's response above yours. These asswipes are not targeting the undecided or democrats - they are playing to their base of tea parties, John Birchers, misogynists, right wing conservatives and the generally bat shit insane.

This is about 2016, and they failed to accomplish what they did with the ACA.

And it seems that both of you totally missed the point of my response. I said nothing about "an argument", I made fun of the entire concept of journalists and political junkies turning all public issues into a sport of "who wins" and of arbitrary scoring of 'the game' by the MSM. The thread OP is an unabashed celebration of "horse race politics"; where the only interest is not in an issue or truth, but in cheer-leading who shows the most talent at political dissembling and manipulation. Were American journalists actual historians, they would lead their "analysis" of the rise of Soviet communism with the title "Stalin Wins".

There seems to be little concern with truth or reality, but a love of expressing adulation for the acumen of its participants in dealing with the issue...almost as if they think that it is truth itself. It seems that truth, accuracy, and context are beside the point because those are just another way of doing politics; just as lies, distortions, and out of context analysis is an equally valid alternative to doing politics.

So the MSM declared Hillary the debate winner because, contrary to viewers impression that Bernie won, she was the most adept at doing politics. And then the MSM made the truth for the vast majority who did not see or hear the debates, or know the issues. In fact, the journalist observer is just playing politics too.

If Hillary "won" it is in not spilling the beans, in not losing her temper (such as "what does it matter") and waxing on about her innocent humanity; much like the fictional Don Corleone did (although he did one better by getting a witness to recant).

But it's not like we have not heard this on screen:

Michael Corleone: In the hopes of clearing my family name, and in the sincere desire to give my children the fair share of the American way of life, without a blemish on their name and background, I have appeared before this committee and given it all the cooperation in my power. I consider it a great dishonor to me personally to have to deny that I am a criminal. I wish to have the following noted for the record: that I served my country faithfully and honorably in World War II and was awarded the Navy Cross for actions in defense of my country; that I have never been arrested or indicted for any crime whatsoever; that no proof linking me to any criminal conspiracy whether it is called "Mafia" or "Cosa Nostra" or whatever other name you wish to give has ever been made public. I have not taken refuge behind the 5th amendment, though it is my right to do. I challenge this committee to produce any witness or evidence against me. And if they do not, I hope they will have the decency to clear my name with the same publicity with which they now have besmirched it.

I'm sure Hillary has seen it, don't-cha think?

 

[Tom Sawyer]

I like the way that Clinton was associated with Michael Corleone, thus giving her actions a nefarious undertone without having to go through the trouble of making any actual claims which might then need to be backed up.

 

[maxparrish]

I like the way that Clinton was associated with Michael Corleone, thus giving her actions a nefarious undertone without having to go through the trouble of making any actual claims which might then need to be backed up.

So you think truth matters, do you? Well then, let's take a look at the latest hearing:

One new and appalling fact reveled during the hearing was that her employees (the ones she cares about) in Libya made about 600 requests for better security in Benghazi, all of them unheeded by Hillary Clinton. Hillary said with respect to those communications, “Well, Congresswoman, one of the great attributes that Chris Stevens had was a really good sense of humor. And I just see him smiling as he’s typing this.”

Mike Pompeo walked Hillary through the security requests quarter by quarter and he asked Hillary to explain the difference between her treatment of Sid Blumenthal, whose emails always arrived in Hillary’s in box, and her own diplomatic personnel who didn’t have similar access (she had no official email address) and apparently were unable to bring any of 600 requests for help to her attention?

Her answer...well, Sid is a friend so that's different.

Still, we don't know why. Perhaps because the election was approaching and Obama didn’t want to look like Bush, with fortified compounds and reliance on military personnel? Perhaps he wanted a light footprint consistent with his pacific preferences for leading from behind. Ergo, no "boots on the ground" reinforcement for the dangerously exposed State Department personnel in Benghazi.

In any case, it just provided another reason to conclude that a) Hillary has been lying and b) she is unwilling to admit she (and her boss) sacrificed lives to maintain political appearances.

 

[laughing dog]

The target isn't Max. It is the middle crowd. The crowd they convinced that the ACA was evil and gave them an absurd landslide victory in the 2010 midterms. They failed in making an argument to those people that Clinton failed the nation.

Just look at maxie's response above yours. These asswipes are not targeting the undecided or democrats - they are playing to their base of tea parties, John Birchers, misogynists, right wing conservatives and the generally bat shit insane.

This is about 2016, and they failed to accomplish what they did with the ACA.

And it seems that both of you totally missed the point of my response. I said nothing about "an argument", I made fun of the entire concept of journalists and political junkies turning all public issues into a sport of "who wins" and of arbitrary scoring of 'the game' by the MSM. The thread OP is an unabashed celebration of "horse race politics"; where the only interest is not in an issue or truth, but in cheer-leading who shows the most talent at political dissembling and manipulation. Were American journalists actual historians, they would lead their "analysis" of the rise of Soviet communism with the title "Stalin Wins".

There seems to be little concern with truth or reality, but a love of expressing adulation for the acumen of its participants in dealing with the issue...almost as if they think that it is truth itself. It seems that truth, accuracy, and context are beside the point because those are just another way of doing politics; just as lies, distortions, and out of context analysis is an equally valid alternative to doing politics.

So the MSM declared Hillary the debate winner because, contrary to viewers impression that Bernie won, she was the most adept at doing politics. And then the MSM made the truth for the vast majority who did not see or hear the debates, or know the issues. In fact, the journalist observer is just playing politics too.

If Hillary "won" it is in not spilling the beans, in not losing her temper (such as "what does it matter") and waxing on about her innocent humanity; much like the fictional Don Corleone did (although he did one better by getting a witness to recant).

But it's not like we have not heard this on screen:

Michael Corleone: In the hopes of clearing my family name, and in the sincere desire to give my children the fair share of the American way of life, without a blemish on their name and background, I have appeared before this committee and given it all the cooperation in my power. I consider it a great dishonor to me personally to have to deny that I am a criminal. I wish to have the following noted for the record: that I served my country faithfully and honorably in World War II and was awarded the Navy Cross for actions in defense of my country; that I have never been arrested or indicted for any crime whatsoever; that no proof linking me to any criminal conspiracy whether it is called "Mafia" or "Cosa Nostra" or whatever other name you wish to give has ever been made public. I have not taken refuge behind the 5th amendment, though it is my right to do. I challenge this committee to produce any witness or evidence against me. And if they do not, I hope they will have the decency to clear my name with the same publicity with which they now have besmirched it.

I'm sure Hillary has seen it, don't-cha think?

Your response is totally off point. I made no reference to who won or lost anything. Nor do I care what the MSM or the loonisphere of any side thinks who won or lost. The truth is that Congress has spent countless hours and lots of money and has come up with nothing. And yet, they continue to "investigate" Benghazi.

So, you are right. There is little concern with truth or reality. And exhibit one is this Congressional investigation to date.

 

[Iznomneak]

My favorite moment: some Republican she-terrier going on about Hillary driving home the night the Benghazi news was coming in. 'Who was with you, at home?' 'No one.' 'You were alone all night?' Hillary burst out laughing -- because it WAS funny, in the intense reading her questioner gave her. And then the woman couldn't salvage her dignity and most of all couldn't acknowledge how silly she'd sounded. 'I don't see anything funny about this!' The audience & Hillary did.

Hillary Laughs at GOPer’s Benghazi Question, Immediately Scolded: ‘It’s Not Funny’



at 0:48.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I thought this was about the Republicans politicizing the deaths of four Americans for political gain against Hillary Clinton. We didn't have this many commissions after the terror attacks on US homeland soil that led to the deaths of 3,000 people. And certainly nothing that could be considered anything near as recklessly partisan.

What is being talked about in this thread is how yesterday, Hillary Clinton, despite years of targeted attacks against her, was calm, collected, and shot down the Republican Commission, and ironically (actual irony), helping her to become President in an attempt to try and prevent it.

 

[laughing dog]

I thought this was about the Republicans politicizing the deaths of four Americans for political gain against Hillary Clinton. We didn't have this many commissions after the terror attacks on US homeland soil that led to the deaths of 3,000 people. And certainly nothing that could be considered anything near as recklessly partisan.

What is being talked about in this thread is how yesterday, Hillary Clinton, despite years of targeted attacks against her, was calm, collected, and shot down the Republican Commission, and ironically (actual irony), helping her to become President in an attempt to try and prevent it.

You still think this investigation is about embarrassing Mrs. Clinton instead of placating people who write things like "In any case, it just provided another reason to conclude that a) Hillary has been lying and b) she is unwilling to admit she (and her boss) sacrificed lives to maintain political appearances"?

 

[Ford]

And it seems that both of you totally missed the point of my response. I said nothing about "an argument", I made fun of the entire concept of journalists and political junkies turning all public issues into a sport of "who wins" and of arbitrary scoring of 'the game' by the MSM.

It seems you totally missed the point of the 11 hour long hearing yesterday, AND the multi-million dollar "investigation."

A couple Republicans even copped to the fact that the whole circus is just to damage Hillary politically. It is the GOP in Congress that has turned this issue into a sport of "who wins."

This is a game for them. They're not trying to get to the heart of what happened that night over 3 years ago. We have those answers and have had them for quite some time now. What they're doing (and have been doing) with these hearings is to find something with which to bludgeon the likely Democratic nominee. They admitted that already. They want to score points and win the game.


This time, it backfired. Even conservative pundits and political junkies are conceding that Gowdy and his gang did not get the pound of flesh they were seeking. Two days ago the headline on Drudge was a picture of Hillary dressed as a witch...obviously setting up the "ding dong the witch is dead" headline they were likely planning to run at the end of the hearing when Clinton inevitably folded.

That didn't happen. So Drudge was reduced to a splash about a little coughing fit she'd apparently had at one point, and you've been reduced to a really lame attempt at humor. Like the Benghazi hearing, your attempt at a joke landed with an unceremonious thud.

 

[fromderinside]

My favorite moment: some Republican she-terrier going on about Hillary driving home the night the Benghazi news was coming in. 'Who was with you, at home?' 'No one.' 'You were alone all night?' Hillary burst out laughing -- because it WAS funny, in the intense reading her questioner gave her. And then the woman couldn't salvage her dignity and most of all couldn't acknowledge how silly she'd sounded. 'I don't see anything funny about this!' The audience & Hillary did.

Hillary Laughs at GOPer’s Benghazi Question, Immediately Scolded: ‘It’s Not Funny’

yes the question was very funny. So here we go another session of which it is it? As you know another Clinton won the last one.

 

[Horatio Parker]

Clinton Reaps Donations After Benghazi Appearance

 

[fromderinside]

Grimm?

 

[Tom Sawyer]

It's actually quite a serious issue. Since they were engaged in this sideshow for 11 hours straight, Congress completely missed the vote to officially recognize National Lobster Day. I mean, what's next? Losing out on an opportunity to rename something else after Ronald Reagan? There's important work that's not getting done because of this witch hunt.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I thought this was about the Republicans politicizing the deaths of four Americans for political gain against Hillary Clinton. We didn't have this many commissions after the terror attacks on US homeland soil that led to the deaths of 3,000 people. And certainly nothing that could be considered anything near as recklessly partisan.

What is being talked about in this thread is how yesterday, Hillary Clinton, despite years of targeted attacks against her, was calm, collected, and shot down the Republican Commission, and ironically (actual irony), helping her to become President in an attempt to try and prevent it.

You still think this investigation is about embarrassing Mrs. Clinton instead of placating people who write things like "In any case, it just provided another reason to conclude that a) Hillary has been lying and b) she is unwilling to admit she (and her boss) sacrificed lives to maintain political appearances"?

Do I need to quote the House Majority Leader?

 

[laughing dog]

You still think this investigation is about embarrassing Mrs. Clinton instead of placating people who write things like "In any case, it just provided another reason to conclude that a) Hillary has been lying and b) she is unwilling to admit she (and her boss) sacrificed lives to maintain political appearances"?

Do I need to quote the House Majority Leader?

I don't what you need to do. The investigation started out to embarrass Mrs. Clinton, but after all this time and effort for bumpkiss, if these people think they are going to embarrass Mrs. Clinton, then they are massively dumber than I could ever imagine. Somehow, I don't think even these clowns are that incredibly stupid.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

No, they're that stupid.

 

[maxparrish]

I thought this was about the Republicans politicizing the deaths of four Americans for political gain against Hillary Clinton. We didn't have this many commissions after the terror attacks on US homeland soil that led to the deaths of 3,000 people. And certainly nothing that could be considered anything near as recklessly partisan.

What is being talked about in this thread is how yesterday, Hillary Clinton, despite years of targeted attacks against her, was calm, collected, and shot down the Republican Commission, and ironically (actual irony), helping her to become President in an attempt to try and prevent it.

No, this is about how and why Clinton and Obama let embassy staff die, and why they tried to cover it up with claptrap about move-makers and apologisms for Muslim rage.

If Hillary had the character to own up to her gross negligence and intentional coverup, and the administration and Hillary had provided ALL her emails these hearings would have ended long ago.

I realize that asking Hillary to apologize and be honest is like asking her husband to turn down sex with interns, but one hopes it is possible.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

I thought this was about the Republicans politicizing the deaths of four Americans for political gain against Hillary Clinton. We didn't have this many commissions after the terror attacks on US homeland soil that led to the deaths of 3,000 people. And certainly nothing that could be considered anything near as recklessly partisan.

What is being talked about in this thread is how yesterday, Hillary Clinton, despite years of targeted attacks against her, was calm, collected, and shot down the Republican Commission, and ironically (actual irony), helping her to become President in an attempt to try and prevent it.

No, this is about how and why Clinton and Obama let embassy staff die, and why they tried to cover it up with claptrap about move-makers and apologisms for Muslim rage.

If Hillary had the character to own up to her gross negligence and intentional coverup, and the administration and Hillary had provided ALL her emails these hearings would have ended long ago.

I realize that asking Hillary to apologize and be honest is like asking her husband to turn down sex with interns, but one hopes it is possible.

You're right, they shouldn't be hiding stuff like this. There should be some kind of Congressional inquiry into the matter to expose their actions.

 

[Ford]

And while we're at it, what are the right wing media doing today? Sulking!

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/10/conservative-media-hillary-clinton-benghazi-committee/412117/

One place to start is Fox News, where Ed Henry spoke with Greta van Susteren even as the hearings crawled along to their finish, 11 hours after they began.

“In terms of the narrative on Benghazi, there was no major new development that rocked her side of the story, that changes this in some way,” he said. “What you have here is another big test for Hillary Clinton, and another big test that she appears to have passed.”

Henry cited a source inside a top GOP presidential campaign who said Clinton “looked presidential and was in command” and called the hearings a “total wipeout” for GOP members. Van Susteren agreed...

Ouch!

The Boston Herald, a right-leaning tabloid, blared that “HILLARY SKATES THROUGH MARATHON BENGHAZI HEARING,” with a picture of a bored-looking Clinton resting her chin on her hand.

Zing!

In general, however, the scorecard in conservative media looks a lot like what everyone else is saying. It’s also generally in agreement with the way other Republican members of Congress judged the proceedings, Robert Costa notes, while Gowdy himself said, “I don't know that she testified that much differently today than she has the previous time she testified."

Fox News, Red State, Washington Examiner, Weekly Standard, all chiming in with grudging respect for the Secretary, and disdain for the proceedings.


Clearly, a liberal plot?

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

You're right, they shouldn't be hiding stuff like this. There should be some kind of Congressional inquiry into the matter to expose their actions.

At least a dozen dozen of them there Republican led commissions!

- - - Updated - - -

Fox News, Red State, Washington Examiner, Weekly Standard, all chiming in with grudging respect for the Secretary, and disdain for the proceedings.

Clearly, a liberal plot?

Yup. Anything outside the bubble is a conspiracy.

 

[Ford]

At least a dozen dozen of them there Republican led commissions!

- - - Updated - - -

Fox News, Red State, Washington Examiner, Weekly Standard, all chiming in with grudging respect for the Secretary, and disdain for the proceedings.

Clearly, a liberal plot?

Yup. Anything outside the bubble is a conspiracy.

An ever-expanding conspiracy!

Rep. Mike Pompeo’s (R-Kan.) attempt to badger Clinton, John Podhoretz, a prominent conservative writer and former Republican speechwriter, said on Twitter, “Why doesn’t Pompeo just go over and swear her in for president now – if he goes on like this he’ll practically get her elected.”

The Daily Caller’s Matt Lewis wrote midday, “Unless something happens, it’s starting to look like Hillary Clinton won’t merely survive this hearing – she will have come out on top.”

Hot Air’s Jazz Shaw said, “This hearing is turning into a disaster on wheels,” adding, “Jesus, I spend half my day criticizing Hillary Clinton and even I find this set of questions embarrassing.”

Oh noes! The liberal MSM has taken over!!!