Republicans spotlight Benghazi for 2016 vote
Libyan attack accounts give GOP political opportunities for next presidential election
WASHINGTON — Steady drips of information about a horrific night in Libya are fueling Republican arguments and ads designed to fire up the conservative base and undercut the Democrats’ early favorite for president in 2016.
Strategists in both parties disagree on the issue’s power to influence elections next year and beyond. But after eight months of trying, Democrats are still struggling to move past the terrorist attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi last Sept. 11 that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
Democrats insist that an independent inquiry, the dismissal of several State Department officials, and nine congressional hearings leave little new to say on the matter. But Friday turned up the sort of nuggets that feed conservative activists’ belief that a major scandal may be at hand.
Newly revealed communications show that senior State Department officials pressed for changes in the talking points that U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice used a few days after the Benghazi attacks. These senior officials expressed concerns that Congress might criticize the Obama administration for ignoring warnings of a growing threat in Libya.
The White House has contended it only made stylistic changes to the intelligence agency talking points, in which Rice suggested that spontaneous protests over an anti-Islamic video set off the deadly attack.
Rice and others eventually acknowledged that the Benghazi assault was a premeditated terrorist attack. Republicans say her Sept. 16 televised remarks were just the start of administration efforts to mislead Americans about what happened.
The incident was heavily politicized from the start, occurring less than two months before President Barack Obama’s re-election and while Hillary Rodham Clinton was secretary of state.
Benghazi hands Republicans some political opportunities, although none without complications. It may be difficult for voters to sift through the chronology, assess blame or even follow the logic of GOP arguments.
Republican strategist Kyle Downey said Benghazi has exposed a trove of Democratic vulnerabilities, which might grow as inquiries continue.
“Republicans are a desperate party right now, trying to do whatever they can to dirty up the president to make some gains in 2014, and to dirty up Secretary Clinton because they’re terrified she’ll walk into the White House,” said Democratic consultant Doug Thornell.
White House press secretary Jay Carney has spent hours trying to dismiss GOP accusations, including those that Obama sought to hide the fact that Islamic terrorists were behind the Benghazi attack.
“The whole effort here by Republicans to find some hidden mystery comes to nothing because the president called it an act of terror,” Carney told reporters Friday.