Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
Stumble
Monday, Oct. 22, 2012 | 2:01 a.m.
Another view?
View more of the Las Vegas Sun's opinion section:
• Editorials - the Sun's viewpoint.
• Columnists - local and syndicated writers.
• Letters to the editor - readers' views.
Have your own opinion? Write a letter to the editor.
The Republican congressional hypocrisy is unbelievable and would be a sad joke if it wasn’t so pathetically entrenched in current Washington, D.C., policymaking.
This month, Rep. Darrell Issa and his committee held a hearing allegedly to look into security lapses in regard to the attack on the consulate in Benghazi, Libya, which killed four Americans.
Issa and his Tea Party cohorts, who have slashed the State Department’s security budget since 2010 by nearly half a billion dollars, need only look in the mirror and stop wasting taxpayers’ money on this circus hearing.
The fake outrage by Issa and his committee is nauseating and merely a blatant diversion in hopes we all forgot about their scorched-earth approach to budgetary allotments.
Guess what, GOP? You get what you pay for, and for all the folks out there who want small government and don’t want to pay for needed services such as security for diplomatic missions, the attack on Benghazi is just a classic example of what small government looks like up close and personal.
And a precursor of what's to come should we allow them to take over.
Wake up people!
Elaine says "Tea Party cohorts, who have slashed the State Department's security budget."
---
The Democrats have not passed a budget in the 4 years that Obama has been in office. Harry Reid and Obama only pushed thru Continuing Resolutions each year.
There is no Republican house budget that got through the Senate
AND The State Department stated they had plenty of money.
No money is a canard foist by desperate Democarts
-----
Obama called the Ambassadors death "A Bump in the Road" and not "Optimum"
Obama did not answer his 3:00 am call. Obama failed to protect America.
We watched them die
We had video from a drone in the sky that watched.
We had a live feed from inside the consulate
We watched them die for seven hours
We had no response. Nearby help was not sent in.
OBAMA FAILED
---
It has already come to light that money was not a factor in the decision not to provide additional security in Benghazi. The person in the State Department that made the decision said that money considerations were not part of the decision.
People who do not want smaller government should just make that case without attempting to 'manufacture' reasons to support that view.
Michael
Perhaps we should save some of the outrage we're showering on each other for the murderous terrorists who were really responsible.
I'm a politicalal junkie. I can't get enough of the back and forth. I relish it. I have an unwaivering belief in the strength of this country and its people. The US moves by its own momentum, regardless of who is in charge. God bless the USA.
CarmineD
Carmine: I confess that I too am addicted to the political drama this year, far more than in previous cycles.
To all: VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE! No matter your affiliation, VOTE!
Hypocrisy seem to be a trademark of Republicans. As examples:
They beat their chests patriotically about supporting our troops but refuse to pay an additional dime in taxes to support those same troops.
They wring their hands about passing debt to the next generations but will not support paying $1 in additional taxes for every $10 in spending cuts.
They lament that 47% of us don't take responsibility for our own lives, but view refusal to insure we can pay for our own healthcare as a Constitutional right.
They favor less government regulation for business and more government regulation for women.
I could go on, but you get the idea.
The hypocrisy in all this Libya mess is coming from the Democrats who would be singing a different tune if this had happened on George Bush's watch or any Republicans watch for that matter. All we have to do is look how Democrats politicized Hurricane Katrina to know this is their standard operating procedure. Remember, this is the party who believes, "never let a crisis go to waste".
If it were up to republicans our embassy security would have long ago been surrendered to the lowest bidder, much like our airport security prior to 9/11 was pawned-off on the airlines.
Same old story. They slash and burn important programs then cry foul when their recklessness draws American blood.
The GOP has fillibustered in record numbers since President Obama took office.
Their leader McConnell stated that the Repulican's #1 goal was to make sure that President Obama was a one term president.
Two years ago, when the Republicans gained seats in Congress, Boehner stated that their #1 objective was JOBS..JOBS...JOBS!!! Where are the jobs Mr. Boehner?
Are we now supposed to believe Mr. Romney when he says he'll create jobs???
I'm the last person that would say the DEMS have all the answers, but if the Republicans don't get off of their obstructionist agenda, and quit playing politics with people's lives, I can't and won't vote for them.
Osama is dead and so is our ambassador.
Funding wasn't the issue here.
Obama's State Deparment decided that buying Chevy Volts was more important then providing security for our ambassador.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012...
There is an interesting article in the NYT by Eric Shmitt this morning regarding Libya. In it the WH is blaming intel and the CIA is two-stepping. The interesting point for this discussion is that finances are not mentioned as an issue. Until we can be honest with each other about what is happening within our government, we will only make negative progress.
As an aside: Last week President Obama announced that the sales figures for last quarter for GM and Chrysler were the best they have been in over 4 years. I find it interesting that he knows the sales figures for these two auto companies yet was unaware of the security problems facing our ambassador in Libya.
@Elaine Harman, of Las Vegas, Nevada.
In addition to outright partisanship on display by Darrell Issa, he released documents with the names of individuals who where not known before.
Plus, this committee chair by Issa comes out of recession to attack on an issue the Father of Mr. Stevens say should not be a political issue, and wait until all the facts are in before making a decision.
President Obama wins re-elections by 6 to 8 points.
It's pretty clear that the WH knew the attack was an organized salafist terror attack on the aniversay of 9/11 and had nothing to do with the video they kept blaming for two+ weeks. DoS screwed up -- they should have more security inplace or kept the Ambassador in Tripoli. WH screwed up -- blaming a video no one's seen and no one cares about for what was clearly a terrorist attack timed to coincide with 9/11.
Obama's foreign policy is in disarray and he's lost -- the mideast is in flames and salafist groups are ascendent almost everywhere, Iran thumbs it's nose, the Russian "reset" is a joke, China's pushing on our allies in Asia while continuing to manipulate its currency to gain unfair trade advantages over us (which means jobs), the drug war in Mexico continues unabated, and our debt & deficit continues towards a Greece-style crisis. It's not working folks, the Dems have no plan other than more of the same, and under a re-elected Obama admin it's not going to get any better! Romney in 2012!
@PISCES41,
"They wring their hands about passing debt to the next generations but will not support paying $1 in additional taxes for every $10 in spending cuts." (Jim Weber)
Just wanted to say your thoughts are reasonable, and should generate a response from reasonable people.
This is a reasonable argument. Good stuff. I like it!
It should be noted that the request from the US Department of State in their 2010 budget request included a decrease of about 50% under the heading of Embassy Security, Construction, and Maintenance for the line item of Worldwide Security Upgrades. The cut was roughly $900M. So, they had requested a significant drop in 2010 and the amount requested in that category has been flat to decreasing their requests. So, try to blame the Republicans, but the White House has actually be requesting less money in that area. Even as they have at times wanted larger increases in the budgets for State, they have been holding down the numbers in security.
Michael, how can money be no factor in a decision? If you have just so many Dollars in your budget to work with, it will inevitably shape your decision -- whether consciously or unconsciously.
A letter of irony coming from a backer of a party that wants to pull troops out of every place possible and let others fend for themselves. It makes no sense you can not have it both ways.
@petef,
"A letter of irony coming from a backer of a party that wants to pull troops out of every place possible and let others fend for themselves. It makes no sense you can not have it both ways" (Peter Fritz)
Mr. Fritz, would you say your statement is extreme? No supporting information?
Are you associating America troop withdraw in the Middle East to letting others fend for themselves?
Where is the information to support your position?
Hypocrisy!?
Yeh I know Fast and Furious and Libya are Bushes fault.
Ms. Harmann you are the hypocrite and Issa'a outrage is not fake as is mine and millions of others. The outrage is that you and those like you think that this is a witch hunt. Tell that to the families of those that were murdered.
chuck "Tell that to the families of those that were murdered."
When will republicans tell the families of the 4400 soldiers killed in Iraq, as well as the many thousands maimed for life that, uh oh, it was all a big mistake based on neocon lies?
Anyone? Bueller?
The statements made in this editorial are simply false. That the Sun fails to do even the most rudimentary fact checking is inexcusable.
The current State Dept budget was NOT "slashed" by Republicans nor was it cut half a billion dollars ... these are outright lies.
The current budget was passed with STRONG bipartisan support:
"While the GOP-led House has pushed to reduce the budget for embassy security, construction and maintenance, Congress, which included support from Democrats, ultimately agreed on a $1.54 billion budget. That's more than the $1.43 million committee Republicans recommended, though 5 percent less than the 2011 figure. The budget was $1.63 billion in fiscal 2011 and $1.82 billion in fiscal 2010 ... the U.S. government is also trying to deal with severe budget constraints at a time of trillion-dollar deficits, and that last budget was passed on a bipartisan vote -- by a hair, more Democrats ended up supporting it than Republicans in the House. Cummings was among the 149 Democrats who voted yes, along with 147 Republicans. "
Comment removed by moderator. Name Calling
AScott -- This is not an editorial. It is a letter to the editor, written by a reader.
Comment removed by moderator. Inappropriate
You sound like a hit squad for Hugo C.