Chris Stevens

Rand Paul And Ron Johnson: The Disgrace Of The Senate!

Ronald 30 Comments

Unfortunately, the US Senate, while populated by some great figures, and some ordinary personalities, also has the misfortune of having the Tea Party Caucus, with two of its most prominent members, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul and Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson. making a total disgrace of themselves yesterday in the Benghazi, Libya Hearings in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Aggressively grilling Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a disrespectful manner, Ron Johnson implied that Clinton was putting on an emotional acting job in her sincere upset over the loss of four diplomats, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, and seemed to expect Clinton to read 1.4 million cables personally!

Paul went further, saying if he had been President, he would have removed Clinton as Secretary of State immediately, because of the attack by terrorists in Libya, and her handling of the issue.. This excuse for a Senator has the gall to attack Hillary Clinton’s credentials, when he has worked with Johnson and others in the Senate, as well as House Republicans, to cut the budget for embassy security around the world.

What hypocrisy, what grandstanding, for the benefit of their own egos, particularly for Rand Paul, who is openly considering running for President, an office he will never attain, and if he the nominee of the GOP, he will have that party wishing for the days of Mitt Romney and John McCain, who at least were sane and had stable personalities, while Paul is a loose cannon, an embarrassment to himself and even to his more stable father, former Texas Congressman Ron Paul.

All that came out of this hearing was that Hillary Clinton handled herself well, came across as professional and intellectual, and Johnson and Paul just demonstrated that they are pygmies by comparison, lightweights intellectually, and show what happens when states elect US Senators who scrape the bottom of the barrel in their character and ethics.

Obscene, Crude Behavior By Republicans And Conservative Ideologues: No Common Decency!

Ronald 2 Comments

Republicans and conservative ideologues have no limits as to their obscene, crude behavior.

Witness the news that Speaker of the House John Boehner, passing by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, uttered “Go F—Yourself”, which startled Reid, and Boehner repeated it. This was done, all because of the frustration of Boehner with Reid and the Democrats over the difficult bargaining on the “Fiscal Cliff”. It is certainly believable that anyone can have such thoughts, and might even state so to his friends and colleagues about someone else, but to use such language directly eye to eye with the person being attacked by such invective, is totally unacceptable, totally crude and obscene, totally unbecoming of a Congressional leader or anyone else in the public eye! Boehner needs to apologize publicly to Reid, but is unlikely to do so, but this makes further communication and negotiation with political rivals all that much more difficult! As a public figure, Boehner needs to set an example of good and appropriate behavior!

Let us not forget that during the George W. Bush Administration, Vice President Dick Cheney said the same words that Boehner utiliized against Reid, against Senator Patrick Leahy in the Senate chamber, and never apologized, and in fact bragged and gloated about his misbehavior and lack of class!

But it is not just foul language as mentioned above, but also the attack on Hillary Clinton by Republicans and conservatives who think her concussion and hospitalization with a blood clot is a lie, designed to prevent her from having to testify about the Benghazi, Libya terrorist attack on September 11, which killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others.

So fun has been made, and accusations have been uttered, that Hillary is not really sick, that it is all a cover up!

Among those saying this on camera are:

Former Florida Congressman Allen West
Former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton
Conservative ideologue Laura Ingraham
Charles Krauthammer of Fox News Channel
Bill O’Reilly of Fox News Channel
Sean Hannity of Fox News Channel
Rush Limbaugh, radio talk show host

And this is just a short list of cynics, who have no common decency, no compassion, no humanity, and know very well that the Libya matter is all conjured up, not a real issue. But it is the view of the right wing wingnuts that they must attack Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Joe Biden and other Democrats, simply because they are alive and breathing!

Nothing will stop the nasty, insulting, disgraceful behavior of Republicans and conservative ideologues in their mission to destroy America through character assassination of our political leaders, as long as they are Democrats!

The Hillary Clinton “Bubble” For President Likely To Fade

Ronald 1 Comment

There has been so much speculation about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton being a candidate for President in 2016, with many ready to “crown” her without a primary race and a general election on the way to her becoming President.

Let’s begin by saying to just forget such a scenario, as no one is going to “drop dead” for Hillary! No one is going to decide to avoid running for President, whether on the Democratic side or the Republican side. Hillary, if she ran, would have severe competition, and it would not be pleasant or nice in any fashion!

But the odds are growing that Hillary will NOT run! She looks really tired, worn out, exhausted, and has aged dramatically, at age 65. To believe that after a year or two off, that she is ready emotionally for a rough two years campaigning like a “maniac”, as she did in 2008, is not living in the “real” world! And then to have four to eight years of constant stress at the age of 69 to 77 in the White House just does not seem very appealing.

After all, Hillary could make tons of money writing and lecturing, with very little criticism, and loads of praise and adulation. Who would not like that? And she is likely to become a grandmother through her daughter Chelsea, and would want time to adore her grandchildren without the burdens of office!

And beyond all that, the report condemning the State Department handling of the killing of Ambassador Chris Stevens in Benghazi, Libya, is an opportunity for criticism of her handling of the State Department, after so much adulation and praise from most sources. She has already been accused of avoiding testimony so far, with the report of her having suffered a concussion while sick with a stomach virus, with many wondering if such a report is true.

Hillary will face lots of attacks in the future for the Libya mess, and that will only add to her conviction that she has done enough for her country, and that it is better to retire and become an admired figure, out of the political fray.

So expect, eventually, that Hillary will decide NOT to run, and will open the field to others, much younger and a new generation, with maybe the exception of Vice President Joe Biden!

The Susan Rice Controversy: The Final Disgrace Of John McCain And Lindsey Graham!

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The announcement by Susan Rice, the United Nations Ambassador, that she is withdrawing her candidacy to be Secretary of State, due to the controversy over the Libyan terrorist attack in Benghazi, which killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others on September 11, is a great tragedy.

It is the character assassination of a woman who has devoted her career to public service, and was only stating what was known on September 16, five days after the attack.

If anything, the CIA head, David Petraeus, now disgraced by an affair with his biographer, should be held accountable for this mess, but of course, he is so much idolized by many that he is given a free pass by politicians, and just allowed to resign, when he should be investigated for the danger he represented as our chief spy, allowing himself to be compromised!

It is not a question of whether Susan Rice is the best qualified person to be Secretary of State, as this author truly believes that Senator John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic Presidential nominee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, is the best person available.

But to trash the reputation of Susan Rice over something she was not responsible for is a human tragedy, and shows how far Republicans are willing to go to destroy others in their desire to damage President Obama, even after his second term victory!

Senator John McCain and Senator Lindsey Graham both had reasonable reputations before now, but what they have done is enough to destroy their historical image and their effectiveness for the rest of the time they might serve in the upper chamber!

They are two bitter men who have become negative forces, and are part of the problem of the Republican Party for the future!

If these two men have become destructive forces, that is a sign that the Republican Party is dying, and will soon be replaced by a new, moderate centrist party!

Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Dwight D. Eisenhower are all in deep mourning in the afterlife, wondering how their beloved party became so self destructive and hateful, and the dirty deeds of McCain and Graham will, likely, be two of the final nails in the coffin of the “Grand Old Party”!

And the best thing Barack Obama could do now is select Susan Rice to be National Security Adviser, a position not subject to the whims of the US Senate for confirmation! Prove that John McCain and Lindsey Graham have been upended by putting Rice in a position on an equal footing with the Secretary of State, and make the Republicans scream and yell in protest! It would be just desserts!

The Susan Rice Controversy: Much Ado Over Nothing, And Making John McCain, Lindsey Graham And Kelly Ayotte Look Ridiculous!

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The continuing controversy over UN Ambassador Susan Rice and her statements on Sunday talk shows about the events in Benghazi, Libya, which led to the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others on September 11, has been blown so out of proportion that it borders on the ridiculous at this point!

A Fox News Channel and Mitt Romney inspired incident, it has led Senator John McCain to look like a total fool; Senator Lindsey Graham to look as if he is seeking for an issue to hold off Tea Party opposition to his reelection in South Carolina in 2014; and Senator Kelly Ayotte to come across as a freshman woman Senator who is hitching on the issue to make herself noticed, but in an embarrassing way that will trivialize her hope to become a national figure, after she was passed over by Mitt Romney to be his running mate for Vice President. Meanwhile, Senator Joe Lieberman, usually part of the “gang of three”, but now retiring, has decided NOT to join this cry for Rice’s head, showing some real intelligence as he leaves the Senate, but with Ayotte replacing him, to her degradation!

For anyone to be held so accountable for what he or she says on Sunday talk shows as Susan Rice is being held, is totally off the wall, and by that standard, Dick Cheney would have been impeached and removed from the Vice Presidency; Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell would have been drummed out of office, or in the case of Rice, denied the chance to be Secretary of State; and McCain and Graham themselves would be forced out of the Senate for past incorrect, inaccurate, or stupid comments!

Susan Rice is perfectly qualified to be Secretary of State, and instead has been pilloried in a manner unbecoming her distinction, her education and academic accomplishments, and her distinguished public career. Her education and brilliance, when compared to the measly such accomplishments of McCain, Graham, and Ayotte, makes them all look more like the jealous competitors for academic excellence who decide to downgrade their successful competitor by spreading innuendo, rumors, character assassination, and ridicule, because they have nothing else to offer.

All three Senators should apologize profusely to Susan Rice, stop their bull “feathers”, and get down to serious business serving their constituents, and stop seeking the limelight. And if Kelly Ayotte, the only one with serious long term potential, wishes to be seen seriously, she had better abandon these two Senators past their prime, and stake out her own identity, or become totally irrelevant, and a “joke” in Senate circles!

John McCain Losing All Respect And Credibility Over Benghazi–Susan Rice Controversy

Ronald 3 Comments

Senator John McCain of Arizona, the 2008 GOP Presidential nominee, once was treated with great respect, but it is apparent that he is now on a tirade against the Obama Administration in a way that reflects on him in a horrible manner.

McCain has totally politicized the tragedy of the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens, along with three others, in Benghazi, Libya, at the American Consulate in that city on September 11.

The fact that United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice, in an interview on a Sunday talk show, gave information from the Central Intelligence Agency that turned out to be inaccurate, has been used as a weapon by McCain, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, New York Congressman Peter King, and many other Republicans as an excuse to question Susan Rice’s qualifications to be a potential Secretary of State in the second term of Barack Obama, with McCain claiming that Rice is not very smart, and ridiculing her credentials in a very dismissive manner.

President Obama has come to her defense, and has made it clear that he might elevate Rice to the State Department, and has clearly expressed his disgust with McCain, Graham and others for their personal attack on a good public servant, who was simply reporting what the CIA head, David Petraeus, had told her the weekend after the tragic event.

McCain has said he would personally block her nomination to be Secretary of State, so there may be a confrontation in the making.

This massively insulting and stupid behavior by McCain brings a few ideas to mind.

1. Is McCain still showing resentment and envy because Barack Obama defeated him in 2008?

2. Does McCain realize how ridiculous he sounds, regarding Rice’s not being smart and having a lack of qualifications, when he had the temerity to give us Sarah Palin as his Vice Presidential running mate, creating the fear of this supremely unqualified woman being a heartbeat away from the Presidency, and still defends his terrible choice to this day?

3. Also, McCain’s increasingly erratic behavior, and his growing anger and rage, and irrational stands on many issues, can make one wonder if he is starting to lose it mentally, and is in early stages of Alzheimers Disease. It makes one thankful he did not win the Presidency four years ago, and also makes one remember the thought at that time that his well known temper tantrums could be a sign of mental illness, caused by his imprisonment and torture in North Vietnam forty years ago during the Vietnam War.

The point is that there is a case that can be made that John McCain has passed his prime, and should consider resigning, due to his advanced age and weird behavior!

Two September 11ths—One Unifying, One Politicizing

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On September 11, 2001, the greatest attack on American soil took place, and the nation united around George W. Bush. Only much later were there political debates surrounding that tragedy.

Eleven year later, on September 11, we saw the horrible attack on our consulate in Benghazi, Libya, with the resulting death of four Americans, including our Ambassador Chris Stevens. Instead of uniting around this tragedy, which as bad as it was, is far less of a tragedy than the killing of 3,000 Americans in 2001, instead the opposition Republicans have utilized it as a way to weaken the image of Barack Obama in an area that he has a reputation of great success—foreign policy!

If it were not for this unfortunate attack, the Republican Party and Mitt Romney would have no leg to stand on in the foreign policy debate tonight in Boca Raton, Florida.

As it is, polls show that President Obama has favorable ratings in foreign policy, and the hope is that tonight, Obama will show the inadequacies of Mitt Romney to be our Commander in Chief in charge of foreign policy for the next four years!