Benghazi-Gate: The Feverish Fixation Of Fox News On Finishing Off Obama

The compulsive, gnawing yearning is palpable. Fox News is so obsessed with terminating the presidency of Barack Obama that they are veritably bursting at the seams of their shrunken skulls. They are dripping with flop-sweat over the self-manufactured prospect of evicting from the White House the man they failed twice to defeat democratically.

Fox News

It is truly an embarrassing demonstration of puerile covetousness as Fox’s leading mouthpieces gush inane and irrelevant comparisons that only serve to advance their deepest desires for political payback. Having realized that the American people refused to go along with their electoral smear campaigns, Fox is now throwing a tantrum as a desperate tactic to get what they crave so furiously.

The daft predictions served up by Fox are not only ludicrous and unfounded, they are as far removed from the comparable historical associations they are trying to jam into the public mind as is imaginable. The tragedies that took place in Benghazi are not impeachable, and they are not remotely similar to the Watergate scandal that brought down Richard Nixon. Nevertheless, Fox has been pushing this theme, without success, since nearly the day after Benghazi erupted.

Fox Nation

As I wrote last September, after Fox had embarked on a massive campaign of propaganda and lies (something that Fox Nation lives for), there is nothing analogous about Benghazi and Watergate.

Ever since the mid-1970’s scandal that drove Richard Nixon from office, partisans have been attempting to slap a “gate” at the end of any controversy. But it should be remembered that Watergate was not simply some government gaffe. It was an intentionally criminal act that included breaking into Democratic headquarters, paying off accomplices for their silence, and lying to investigators from law enforcement and congress. All of that unlawfulness was in pursuit of personal political benefits to the Nixon White House and reelection effort.

What occurred in Libya was tragic, but it was certainly not the result of someone in the White House pursuing personal gain. Nor was there any hint of corruption or clandestine plots to sabotage a political foe. Nor were there any attempts to covertly mask unlawful activity. In other words, there is nothing in this story that remotely resembles Watergate.

Nothing has changed since then. There has been no new evidence. There have been no new revelations. Even the hearings being held today offer nothing censurable. The affair was exhaustively reviewed by an independent board led by Ambassador Thomas Pickering and Admiral Michael Mullen, career public servants who worked in the administrations of both Republicans and Democrats. And the myths proffered by right-wing pundits and politicians have been repeatedly debunked. Consequently, all of the hubbub produced by Fox and their congressional comrades is a conspicuous waste of time when the country has critical issues to resolve.

So all of this yammering about driving Obama from office is just the wishful thinking of whiny Republicans who couldn’t get what they wanted at the ballot box. The American people rejected them forthrightly, so now they are whimpering about it and demanding that their cries be heeded. They want an impeachment and, damn it, they will hold their breath until they turn red to get it.

Like so many other things in the GOP run House, their motives are purely political. They will hold the nation hostage to defend tax breaks for billionaires. They will harm the economy, even resulting in a downgrade of the nation’s credit rating, in order to make points with Teabaggers. They will filibuster executive appointments and judges and even bills they previously sponsored, if it will hurt the President. And now they are making irresponsible calls for impeachment that are not based on any credible facts.

This is the sort detachment from reality, and the American public, that has cost them two elections and lost them seats in both houses of congress. And it comes at a time when there are more urgent and pressing matters of importance to the American people. The Republican Party and their PR division at Fox News are betraying the people. It is interesting to note that no one would celebrate the downfall of Obama more than Al Qaeda. Obama is the man who terminated their leader. If it were possible to impeach Obama, which is highly unlikely, the GOP and Al Qaeda could save considerable expense by pooling their resources and throwing a joint party to commemorate the realization of their fondest shared dreams.

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36 thoughts on “Benghazi-Gate: The Feverish Fixation Of Fox News On Finishing Off Obama

  1. So it was that Youtube video after all.
    Thanks for clearing it up for me.

  2. Breaking News!

    “News Corpse Gate”

    More later in the broadcast.

  3. And not only that, it didn’t occur at the Watergate complex so it’s just not right to “-gateify” the attack on the consulate in Benghazi and the subsequent actions of those in the State Dept. and White House.

  4. “…propaganda and lies…”

    That’s exactly what Mark and this website peddles in 24/7. Funniest part of this idiotic screed is when Mark posted a link to the dishonest website Media Matters.

    I doubt this scandal (and it is a real scandal) will unseat Barack Obama. But it is going to sink Hilary’s chances to run for president again.

    • There’s no propaganda and lies HERE. You’re thinking of Fox News.

      I find it sad that you’d call Media Matters dishonest.

      Because that means you’ve locked on to the lies you believe in with a death-grip.

      Presented with the truth; systematically SHOWN that the GOP claims are unfounded, you still persist in believing them, and you have the gall to call the people presenting actual FACTS, “dishonest”.

      Because you’re determined to believe your favorite lies no matter what.

      There were more than a DOZEN attacks on American Embassies under G.W. Bush.

      And there was no outcry. Democrats didn’t use the tragedies to insist that G.W. Bush was “weak on terrorism”, or that he was covering up the events.

      You know why? We had REAL crimes to complain about !

      Waterboarding ! Rendition ! Outright Torture !

      The DELIBERATE exposure of a CIA operative because her husband the Ambassador wouldn’t go along with the Bush Administration myth about “yellow cake” uranium !

      You have probably forgotten what REAL crimes are like, in your tilting at windmills.

      • William,

        You somehow assume that once a person watches a little bit of FOX News, he falls under that network’s evil spell and can’t tell fact from fiction. That spell is so strong that you believe those poor people aren’t capable of reading or watching any other news medium.

        There’s nothing wrong with disagreeing with a given ideology or media perspective. It’s terrific to expose inaccuracies and stupidity as well as bias and outright lies of a given media outlet, be they right or left.

        Although I am a conservative, I find FOX News annoying, biased and self righteous. I also know that every word they utter isn’t a lie. They definitely look at the world from a conservative perspective, but that does not necessarily mean that everything they report is a right wing conspiratorial lie.

        Media Matters is likewise a left wing media outlet that shades its stories to propagandize the virtues of the Left and the evils of the Right. To believe otherwise would demonstrate an inability to recognize propaganda and bias when it smacks one in the head.

        Your statements about Media Matters suggest you don’t wear a helmet to protect your head from the trauma of regular propaganda head smacks.

  5. Embassy deaths under George W. Bush: 37.

    • Cover ups and/or misdirection as a result of those deaths under George W. Bush: 0.

      • Congressional Oversight Committe hearings on the Bush administration lying to the American people about WMD’s in Iraq with a republican controlled House resulting in the deaths of over 4500 American military people and over 100,000 Iraqi’s – 0.

        • Scores of Democrats fully believed that Saddam still had WMD’s – including Hilary Clinton and John Kerry. When your own CIA director tells you the Saddam-still-has-WMD’s question is a slam dunk, you tend to listen to him.

          • When you’re presented with lies and false evidence of WMDs by Bush, Cheney, Bolton and the rest of the chicken hawks on a 24/7 timeline, Clinton and Kerry and other Democrats can’t be blamed for believing the torrent of hysterical misinformation emanating from the Cheney / Bush adminisration. They are war criminals, plain and simple

            • You are lying, plain and simple. These senators all had access to sensitive information. Period.

            • Tom, You are quick to call for the heads of the Bush Administration for lying about WMDs, when not only our own intelligence indicated such (and the likes of Hillary Clinton and John Kerry were included in briefings), but the international intelligence community was saying the same thing.

              But now that some of the actions (or inaction) of those with whom you sympathize are called into question, especially in the light of testimony from within the State Dept. that indicates maybe there’s something to this Benghazi hysteria and should be investigated, you’re just a little uncomfortable.

              Would you be comfortable with me calling Hillary Clinton a war criminal?

        • Tom,

          You can switch topics if you like, but the House of Representatives was under the control of Dems from Jan. 2007. They certainly had the opportunity to call for hearings. After all, they were so misled and outraged by the outright lies of the Bush Administration that they chose not to do……….nothing at all.

          • The Democrats took control of the House 4, that’s F O U R years after the illegal invasion of Iraq. Got it? The Dems took the House 4 years later. Say it out loud – 4 years later. The Democrats wanted to move forward with important issues facing America. It’s called legislating. Also Darrell Issa, leading the Benghazi hearings, is a convicted criminal and the only suspect in the torching of his competitor’s car alarm business. Got it. Darrell Issa is convicted criminal. Don’t believe me, turn off Fox Nooze and Google it!

            • Once again, if the war crimes of GWB and his cronies were such a major issue, they could have held hearings even while they were moving forward with the important issues facing America. After all, the Democrats are the party of being able to walk and chew gum at the same time.

              By the way, the important issues the Dems were addressing for America at the time involved making statements like, “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are doing just fine” (or something to that effect), the mortgage situation is just fine and should even be extended to include more low income families so they, too, could realize the American dream.

              Darrell Issa’s deep dark criminal past is now worse than that of Barney Frank, who headed up the all important House Finance Committee and made the famous remarks I referred to above? Look it up — Google might be a good place to start.

  6. Republican dirty tricks have a signature on them that is a positive connection to a certain kind of political maneuvering. We see that signature on the Benghazi killings. The lie that is too horrible to be true. The Republicans themselves are in some way responsible for this atrocity, engineered specifically to provide a basis for the publicity they are giving it.

    • Prove it. Or else we expose you as a loon worthy of birther and 9/11 truther mockery.

    • This is the ultimate. The Left, unable to just explain this away, is resorting to victimhood at the evil hands of the Republicans? Wow!

      • John, would you at least agree that Karl Rove should have been prosecuted for his involvement in the outing of CIA undercover agent Valerie Plane which undermined the security of the United States and the lives of American undercover agents and our allies? You can at least agree Karl Rove is a traitor, all for his evil political machinations.

        • I can say that, for all his political machinations, Karl Rove is no traitor. Who would you throw under the bus from the Obama Administration for their political machinations over the past several years? Don’t answer that…it’s not necessary. Besides, at this point, “WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE”?

  7. Benghazi was a Tip of the Spear CIA Mission,

    The U.S. effort in Benghazi was at its heart a CIA operation, according to officials briefed on the intelligence. Of the more than 30 American officials evacuated from Benghazi following the deadly assault, only seven worked for the State Department. Nearly all the rest worked for the CIA, under diplomatic cover, which was a principal purpose of the consulate, these officials said.

    Of course, REMFpublicans have no problem outing CIA operations if it serves them politically, but what would really be telling is asking each hair-pulling chest beating Conservative to name the 4 Americans killed…

    • It’s difficult to be civil when guys like Mark and you constantly throw out epithets that serve only to insult those with whom you disagree. You guys need to grow up.

      Perhaps it’s that since often there isn’t much substance behind what you have to say, the derogatory names provide the added emphasis you think you need to convince others of your position. Or perhaps you really just hate those who think differently from you.

      It’s a shame because this blog presents valid points to ponder, whether one agrees with the political position or not. We can argue all day long about positions, but when it descends into insults and name calling it’s tough to maintain proper decorum on a reply. (Suffice it to say I am on the edge of an outburst as I write this! You will never know how many keystrokes I have made, followed by an equal number of backspaces.)

      By the way, what does the ‘REMF’ in ‘REMFpublicans actually mean? It’s a new one for me, but in context I know it can’t be a term of endearment.

      • John, please reference these epithats. You are the one trying to smear someone like retired Congressman Barney Frank by referencing his name to Darrell Issa. Barney Frank was never criminally charged, nevermind convicted of any felony unlike Darrel Issa who wsa charged and convicted of a felony and the ONLY suspect in the torching his competitor’s business.

        • Just from this article, “Fox News is so obsessed with terminating the presidency of Barack Obama that they are veritably bursting at the seams of their shrunken skulls.”

          I’m not going to waste my time showing you the obvious. Take a read of any of Mark’s articles and for the words ‘Republicans’, ‘conservatives’ or ‘tea party’, substitute ‘your mother’ or ‘your family’ and see if how Mark refers to them might not just spark a little displeasure.

          Beyond that, the mocking, arrogant tone he uses just oozes with disdain for those lesser beings and poor lost souls.

          Come on, Tom. You know it’s true. That’s one of the reasons you enjoy reading Mark’s blog.

          • If you find Mark’s tone arrogant and mocking, why do you spend time here? Nothing can compare with the nasty, racist, homophobic bile spewed at sites like Fox Nation, The Blaze, Red States, WND, Breitbart etc. I wouldn’t spend a second at any of the right wing sites.
            Issa has been charged with Grand Theft Auto at least twice, even throwing his brother ‘under the bus’.
            And if you find Media Matters dishonest, then you find Fox News, Beck, Limbaugh, Levine et al dishonest because the mission of Media Matters is to provide the video and transcripts of what these people and news site say or spew. Nothing more.

            • Tom,

              I don’t always disagree with Mark. And he knows that. Most often I agree with his criticism of FoxNation and how the news is presented. In fact, there are things he presents that are absolutely true. I don’t think it’s necessary to ridicule people, though.

              Unlike you, I want to take in different perspectives on issues of the day. As much as you won’t watch, listen or read what right wing sites have to say, I prefer just the opposite. And when I disagree with something, sometimes I decide to voice it. I suspect you would prefer to conserve the purity of left wing thought on Mark’s blog.

              I’m well aware of Darrell Issa’s past, and even his car theft allegations. The charges were dropped in both cases. Continuing to mention them ins’t going to magically turn them into convictions.

              I’d like to respond to your MediaMatters comment, but it makes no sense.

              The left and right wing media outlets all have their own agenda. They lie, they color the truth, the skew, they misdirect. That includes Mark and News Corpse.

  8. Someone needs to get fired for mess

    • Sadly, even if all the right-wingers and REMFpublican Congressmen were fired there are still barrels full of these loud-mouth chicken hawk warmongering cowards available to say liberals hate america and love tear-a-wrists…

  9. Why do you feel the need to throw someone from President Barack Obama’s administration under the bus (tit for tat) just because Karl Rove, aka Bush’s Brain, is a traitor for exposing an undercover CIA agent in service to her country, putting her life in danger along with other undercover agents working for our country and our allies. It leads me to conclude that Turd Blossom and his defenders hate America.

    • Tom,

      I’m not throwing anybody under the bus. I asked who you would throw under the bus. You accuse Karl Rove of being a traitor, but couldn’t possibly consider someone in the Obama administration one if they were found to have essentially allowed those who were attacked at the consulate in Benghazi to fend for themselves and be killed. As I recall, nobody died as the result of the Valerie Plame incident. And it’s not like everybody just walked away without having to pay for that incident.

      Concerning Barney Frank, I only stated facts. He has been an outspoken advocate for the Community Reinvestment Act, which in no small measure precipitated the mortgage bubble that emerged and eventually burst. I’m not blaming Barney for the financial meltdown; I’m just reminding you of the important work of the nation that Dems were so fixated on instead of holding hearings about WMDs.

      Concerning Darrell Issa, there are certainly questionable things in his past. He pleaded guilty to what I believe was a misdemeanor (not a felony as you stated) for possession of an unregistered gun. The rest doesn’t count, just as it doesn’t for the venerable Barney Frank since there were no convictions.

      The point is that you can’t possibly justify any accountability for actions by those with whom you are aligned ideologically. And as concerns tit for tat, it was you who changed the subject from the Benghazi discussion to remind us all about WMD and the evil Bush administration. I believe that was your tit for my tat.

  10. As you recall, nobody was killed by the outing of Valerie Plane? So you are privy to our undercover agent’s missions, whether any undercover agent was killed in the line of duty? You are made aware of CIA operations around the world?
    Of the 30 or so people at the Benghazi Consulate, 7 worked for the State Dept. The rest were operatives NOT working for the State Dept.
    During the Bush years, there were 10 or more attacks on US Emabasies and a confusing number of deaths of State Dept employees, somewhere between 10 to 30.
    Plain and simple, this is a witch hunt against Hillary Clinton to damage her potential run for President. Also, to damage the President. I’ve never heard of so many calls for impeachment of Barack Obama by republicans for no reason at all. Mitch McConnell declaring his only interest is to make Obama a one term president?

    • Tom,

      I thought this entire Benghazi affair was a witch hunt against Pres. Obama. Now it’s one against Hillary Clinton. Eventually, it might be one against the security guard at the front door of the consulate in Benghazi because he forgot the secret password.

      You will consider this a witch hunt no matter what is involved. I recall supporters of Richard Nixon calling the investigation into the Dem HQ a witch hunt…until it wasn’t. There were those who called the follow up to Pres. Clinton’s lying under oath a witch hunt…until it wasn’t. This is also a witch hunt…until information is established that there is substance behind the apparent Republican hysteria and obsession with Benghazi.

      • Almost three months later, how’s that Benghazi conspiracy thingy going for you? Especially in light of revelations that Issa, at the direction of groups like Groundswell, omitted facts, massaged information, basically lying, all in his and the republicans never ending quest to take down the President. Why didn’t Issa investigate the attacks and deaths at American embassies and consulates under Bush. Issa and the republicans should be the ones investigated.

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