Yesterdays confrontation at the House's Foreign Affairs committee hearing "Benghazi and Beyond" was inevitable since the GOP needs a contrived crisis to try to appear relevant.
Congressional Democrats appear to be having none of the nonsense that GOP "lawmakers" are trying to stir up. Gary Ackerman made it clear they're in for a fight if the GOP continues to go down this McCarthyesque trail (my bold).
"The stench of hypocrisy that hangs over this city today emanates from this room," Ackerman said. "I've listened to my colleagues talk about the President of the United States and others in the administration using [the] terms 'deliberate', 'lies', 'unmitigated gall', 'malfeasance,' which is malicious and knowing evil-doing, 'disgust', 'coverups'."
He continued, "If you want to know who is responsible in this town, buy yourself a mirror!"
Ackerman went on to say that Republicans had "the audacity to come here" when the administration requested, for worldwide security, "$440 million more than you guys wanted to provide. And the answer is that you damn didn't provide it! You REDUCED what the administration asked for to protect these people. Ask not who the guilty party is, it's you! It is us. It is this committee, and the things that we insist that we need have to cost money."
He added, "Could you tell me which of my colleagues on this committee was as bodacious in their insistence that we provide more money for American security in the State Department budget. I would appreciate it."
Ackerman then asked them to raise their hands and gave them a count of five to do so. None did.
http://firstread.nbcnews.com/...
UPDATE below the squiggle...
UPDATE:
1. It's been on Maddow, Ed Schultz and many other places, but I wanted to include a bit more detail with regard to Rep. Ackerman's accusation of hypocrisy. This is from Dana Milbank:
For fiscal 2013, the GOP-controlled House proposed spending $1.934 billion for the State Department’s Worldwide Security Protection program — well below the $2.15 billion requested by the Obama administration. House Republicans cut the administration’s request for embassy security funding by $128 million in fiscal 2011 and $331 million in fiscal 2012. (Negotiations with the Democrat-controlled Senate restored about $88 million of the administration’s request.) Last year, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned that Republicans’ proposed cuts to her department would be “detrimental to America’s national security” — a charge Republicans rejected.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
2. Also see
coolelegans' terrific diary "Petraeus exonerates the White House on Benghazi" about the testimony from Gen. Petraeus at the House Intelligence Committee (a different committee).
3. h/t jazzence. See about 2:00:
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