If this is the best Rove can do on Hillary and Benghazi, he should stick to math

[ProSense]

If this is the best Rove can do on Hillary and Benghazi, he should stick to math

by Jed Lewison

So Karl Rove and his pals at American Crossroads have a new web video on the Benghazi attack and just like Wednesday's hearing, target number one is Hillary Clinton. It's basically the GOP's 90 second explanation of how Benghazi is going to sink Hillary Clinton in 2016, and as you might expect, facts are the first casualty.

The video begins by claiming Gregory Hicks, the deputy ambassador to Libya, told Secretary of State Clinton on the night of the attack that al Qaeda-linked terrorists were responsible for the violence. The transcript:

VOICEOVER: September 11. Benghazi, Libya. Terrorists linked to al Qaeda kill four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is briefed at 2:00 AM by the Ambassador's deputy that it was, in fact, terrorism.

HICKS: I briefed her on the developments.

For the moment, let's set aside the question of what the implications of this would be if it were an accurate rendition of the facts—because it's not. The reality is that the focus of the 2:00 AM conversation wasn't whether or not the attackers were terrorists, it was about finding Ambassador Stevens and protecting the Americans still in Benghazi. We now know Stevens was already dead, but at the time, Hicks and his State Department colleagues were still searching for him, a fact that Hicks made clear in the rest of his statement:

HICKS: I briefed her on developments. Most of the conversation was about the search for Ambassador Stevens. It was also about what we were going to do with our personnel in Benghazi, and I told her that we would need to evacuate, and that was -- she said that was the right thing to do.

So while Rove's video claims that Hicks was informing Clinton that that al Qaeda was behind the deaths of Ambassador Stevens and three other Americans, the reality is that neither Hicks nor Clinton yet knew that Stevens was dead. Instead, they were trying to find him—and protect other American personnel.

As you might guess, Rove's first distortion was designed to establish the basis for a second distortion: The claim that Clinton personally blamed Benghazi on an internet video despite knowing that it was actually the work of religious extremists. Follow the below fold to continue exploring Rove's attempted sleight-of-hand.

- more -

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/05/10/1208196/-If-this-is-the-best-Rove-can-do-on-Hillary-and-Benghazi-he-should-stick-to-math

Republicans have gone batshit crazy over Benghazi.

Presenting the talking point revisions that GOPers hope will destroy Hillary (spoiler: they won't)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022825190

Rand Paul: Hillary Clinton ‘Should Never Hold High Office Again’
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022824947

[randome]

1. No, no, no. He should stick with what he does best: lose.

[hr]
[font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font]
[hr]

[Berlum]

2. The Repubbies have a stanky sick Mommy obsession with Hilary

[madrchsod]

3. everyone is watching the cleveland story

only fox is running the witch hunt in the morning.

[mick063]

4. His delivery is tiresome and predictable

Write some numbers on a white board, hold it up to the camera, and lie.

Somehow, he thinks it gives special impact like delivering a presentation in a board room.

His "magic" has worn off. Only the dimmest folks fall for it.