Today's Stupid Witch Hunt Tweet

Two Republican former Secretaries of State can't be wrong (this one time, at least):

Colin Powell Called Benghazi A “Stupid Witch Hunt” — And Condi Rice Agreed https://t.co/Ihll5oWLVw

— andrew kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) September 14, 2016

Powell also called Trump "a national disgrace" and "international pariah," so we're guessing he won't be invited to Rump's next wedding.

Who's Dirty Now Cartoons of the Day

(click to enlarge)

(Robert Ariail, via gocomics.com)

(Tom Toles, once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle)

With Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin testifying to the discredited Benghazi Benghazi! BENGHAZI!! committee today, it's become clear to all but the most clueless that this was a naked attempt to undermine Clinton's candidacy for President.  Meanwhile, some families of the victims of the Benghazi attack expressed their anger over a scurrilous video produced by a right-wing, anti-Clinton PAC.

It's absolutely shameless and a sign of desperation that Rethugs are using both public funds and the memories of the victims to advance their attack on the likely Democratic nominee.

Former Benghazi!!! Investigator: Yeah, It's Politically Motivated

First,  Rep. Kevin "I'm Not A Pod Person!" McCarthy (R- Young Done) blabbered the truth about the Benghazi!!!  "investigation."  Now there's this:

A former investigator with the House Select Committee on Benghazi is accusing the Republican-led panel of carrying out a politically motivated investigation targeting former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton instead of the thorough and objective fact-finding mission it was set up to pursue.

Major Bradley Podliska, an intelligence officer in the Air Force Reserve who describes himself as a conservative Republican, told CNN that the committee trained its sights almost exclusively on Clinton after the revelation last March that she used a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state. That new focus flipped a broad-based probe of the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi on September 11, 2012, into what Podliska described as "a partisan investigation."  (our emphasis)

Surprise, surprise, surprise!

Republican Leader Admits Benghazi!!! Hearings A Political Attack To Weaken Hillary Clinton

Speaker- in- waiting Rep. Kevin "I'm Not A Pod Person!" McCarthy (R-CA) is already showing signs that he may be a source of unintended honesty.  Here's dimbulb McCarthy yesterday blurting out the real reason for the endless Benghazi!!! "investigations:"

“Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable right? But we put together a Benghazi Special Committee, a select committee. What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping," McCarthy said. "Why? Cause she’s untrustable. But no one would have known any of that had happened had we not fought and made that happen.”

The response from Hillary Clinton's press secretary:

Speaker-in-waiting confesses what the true goal of taxpayer-funded Benghazi Commitee is. https://t.co/62NgqyGpBE

— Brian Fallon (@brianefallon) September 30, 2015

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), the ranking member of the Benghazi!!! committee, had this to say:

“This stunning concession from Rep. McCarthy reveals the truth that Republicans never dared admit in public:  the core Republican goal in establishing the Benghazi Committee was always to damage Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and never to conduct an even-handed search for the facts.  It is shameful that Republicans have used this tragedy and the deaths of our fellow Americans for political gain.  Republicans have blatantly abused their authority in Congress by spending more than $4.5 million in taxpayer funds to pay for a political campaign against Hillary Clinton.”

Only fools (and the Clinton- hating Beltway media) would view the "investigation" as a straight- forward seeking of the truth.  Now that McCarthy has publicly acknowledged what every sentient person knows already, it's going to be even harder to treat this as anything but the charade it is.  But count on the media to continue to look for ways to abet the Republican nihilists.

They're Not Laying A Glove On Hillary Clinton

With the usual caveats (... mumble mumble election far away... mumble mumble... hasn't announced yet), the Republican/ media efforts to bring Hillary Clinton down a peg or two are still in the "FAIL" category:

... In the [CNN/ORC] poll's head-to-head match-ups, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul comes the closest to Clinton, but her 11-point lead over him, 54 percent to 43 percent, isn't what you'd call razor thin. 

After Paul, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio trails Clinton by a mere 13 points, 55 to 42, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is one more point back, drawing 41 percent to Clinton's steady 55 percent, and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie all poll 15 points behind Clinton, 55 to 40. Former neurosurgeon Ben Carson also polls at 40 percent, but Clinton gains an extra point on him, rising to 56 percent.

That's right:  the closest margin is 11 points!  As far as her "favorables/ unfavorables" compared to Republican candidates, it's pretty much the same ass-kicking story.  And this poll was taken last week, in the midst of the mediagasm over Clinton's State Department emails.

So expect the right-wing noise machine and "mainstream media" to re-double their efforts on "email-ghazi!!" and other phantasms that inhabit their lizard brains.

Letters We Wish We'd Written Dept. - Benghazi! Edition

From today's once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle print edition:

Regarding the May 5 news article “Benghazi attacks back at center of political stage”: 

I understand the urgency of House Republicans in continuing to examine the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. As they remain so focused on the response of Democrats to an unanticipated attack, I imagine they will soon turn to examine the events of Dec. 7, 1941, for which they, in their righteous wrath, will scrutinize the actions not only of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt but probably Hillary Clinton as well.  

Michael B. Lehrhoff, Gaithersburg

Let's not give them any ideas, sir.

It's All About Hillary Cartoon of the Day

(click to enlarge)

As House Rethuglicans convene their bogus Benghazi!! select committee to strengthen embassy security  operate in good faith subpoena Hillary Clinton and waste more time and taxpayer dollars on something that's been looked at exhaustively, it's becoming obvious even to the Beltway Village that it's a  "partisan stunt" with an eye toward 2016.  Here's hoping it backfires with the public big time.

(cartoon:  Jim Morin, Miami Herald via Gocomics.com)