GOP reprises ’90s scandal playbook

[DonViejo]

With zero self-awareness, Beltway conservatives and journalists are salivating over a return to Clinton scandals

BY JOAN WALSH

First things first: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton never said “Who cares?” about how four Americans died in Benghazi. Sen. John McCain either misspoke or flat out lied about that on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.

“Remember when she said, ‘well who cares how this happened,’ in a rather emotional way?” McCain asked guest host Martha Raddatz. “A lot of people care.” It’s too bad Raddatz didn’t tell the senator that no, she didn’t remember that – because Clinton never said it.

Remarkably, I’ve seen no one follow up on McCain’s misstatement today either. (I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong.) Instead, reporters are breathlessly parsing each new GOP charge on Benghazi (while also decrying the very real abuse of the IRS over-scrutinizing the tax-exempt status of conservative groups.) The National Journal’s Ron Fournier Tweeted “Welcome to the 90s,” with no apparent irony or self-awareness about the role of the media in ginning up that decade of phony scandals that paralyzed our last popular second-term Democratic president, Bill Clinton.

In fact, Fournier contends Benghazi will hurt Clinton and President Obama, even though he acknowledges the GOP’s claims are overblown. “If nothing else, Benghazi is a blow to the credibility of the president and his potential successor, then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. This could be big…Credibility is Clinton’s vulnerability, dating to the unjustified financial accusations that triggered the Whitewater investigation. Doubts persisted about her veracity and authenticity throughout the 2008 presidential campaign.”

full article
http://www.salon.com/2013/05/13/gop_reprises_90s_scandal_playbook/