The Consulate Thread

[Azrael]

A_QB is right in that 100 percent of the blame goes to the perpetrators of this crime.

Agreed.

But with the stipulation that we don't know who the perpetrators were.

 

[Azrael]

Can we not get this one locked?

 

[Dick Whitman]

Yet you have those who are not so subtlety trying to take political advantage of the situation and blame the current leadership for it, or, make a historic comparison that holds absolutely no water whatsoever.

Why is it wrong for a politician to try to gain political advantage, based on the response of our President to a crisis?

If he feels the response was poor, shouldn't he point it out?

I'm no flag-waver, but to try and mine political gain out of this is pretty damn unpatriotic.

Really? Questioning the patriotism of someone you disagree with? I thought that was really frowned upon by folks on the left. They're always crying about it, even when no one has questioned it.

Can someone update me? I thought Romney completely botched this last night. Didn't he? Wasn't the release about the video put out well before the attack? What am I missing?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/09/when_you_learn_theyre_not_ready.php?m=1

Yeah, I read that, along with similar sentiments expressed by people other than Marshall. (I think he's right here, but, like Krauthammer or Lowry, I always have to cross-check his assertions.)

 

[cranberry]

Yet you have those who are not so subtlety trying to take political advantage of the situation and blame the current leadership for it, or, make a historic comparison that holds absolutely no water whatsoever.

Why is it wrong for a politician to try to gain political advantage, based on the response of our President to a crisis?

If he feels the response was poor, shouldn't he point it out?

I'm no flag-waver, but to try and mine political gain out of this is pretty damn unpatriotic.

Really? Questioning the patriotism of someone you disagree with? I thought that was really frowned upon by folks on the left. They're always crying about it, even when no one has questioned it.

Can someone update me? I thought Romney completely botched this last night. Didn't he? Wasn't the release about the video put out well before the attack? What am I missing?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/09/when_you_learn_theyre_not_ready.php?m=1

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/12/romney-camp-tries-to-manage-fallout-from-libya-response/

 

[Boom_70]

Yet you have those who are not so subtlety trying to take political advantage of the situation and blame the current leadership for it, or, make a historic comparison that holds absolutely no water whatsoever.

Why is it wrong for a politician to try to gain political advantage, based on the response of our President to a crisis?

If he feels the response was poor, shouldn't he point it out?

I'm no flag-waver, but to try and mine political gain out of this is pretty damn unpatriotic.

Really? Questioning the patriotism of someone you disagree with? I thought that was really frowned upon by folks on the left. They're always crying about it, even when no one has questioned it.

Can someone update me? I thought Romney completely botched this last night. Didn't he? Wasn't the release about the video put out well before the attack? What am I missing?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/09/when_you_learn_theyre_not_ready.php?m=1

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/12/romney-camp-tries-to-manage-fallout-from-libya-response/

So based on that timeline Obama denounced Romney last night and the evil doers this morning.

 

[YankeeFan]

From dre's link:

In fact, according to all available press reports and the account of the State Department, the press release in question came from the US Embassy in Egypt and preceded the attacks. So to claim it was a response to the attacks was simply false. So while American diplomats were dying in the field, Romney pops up with an egregious attempt to politicize the deaths with a flat out lie.

I'm not sure why this is supposed to be some great exoneration of the State Department's actions.

This statement was put out in response to something, right? The movie had been "out" for months (and shown in a theater exactly once).

It was put out because they knew a rally/riot was planned.

So, in response to a planned riot, they expressed sympathy with the sentiments of the rioters, instead of warning them that any breach of our sovereign soil would be met with deadly force.

Such cowardice a limp response could only have served to embolden those would choose to attack our embassy in Cairo, and our Ambassador in Libya.

 

[Bubbler]

Yet you have those who are not so subtlety trying to take political advantage of the situation and blame the current leadership for it, or, make a historic comparison that holds absolutely no water whatsoever.

Why is it wrong for a politician to try to gain political advantage, based on the response of our President to a crisis?

If he feels the response was poor, shouldn't he point it out?

His response to what? An unprovoked attack? How does one respond to an unprovoked attack?

Oh right. It was the apology's fault. I'm sure that emboldened it all.

I'm sure these thugs were sitting around in Benghazi wondering, "Damn, I don't know if we should storm the American consulate today. Might be risky ... wait, word has come down that the Americans apologized for the film? That tears it. Let's get them!"

It's stretches the bounds of logic to, on one hand, blame of a bunch thugs for their ignorant actions and rake them over the coals for a bastardized interpretation of their own religion, but in some magical osmosis that I'll never understand, give the administration as much or greater blame for it too.

All for political gain. All before the bodies are even cold.

So yes, I do question the patriotism of those who spout those views. Show some respect for those who unwittingly died for their country and channel your anger in the right direction (i.e. the thugs who did it and the apparent ridiculously lax Libyan security on the ground) before you go for your political red meat. It's damn disgraceful.

And in saying that, I really don't care if that gives you jollies for some imaginary scoreboard you're chalking up against folks on the left.

 

[Bubbler]

Who will be apologizing for this?
Suddenly it's 1979 all over again. Cue up Donna Summer and Gloria Gaynor

It's funny and it's sad.

A_QB is right in that 100 percent of the blame goes to the perpetrators of this crime. He may be reading all kinds of nonsense into others' questions about how it happened, but at it's core, he's absolutely right.

Yet you have those who are not so subtlety trying to take political advantage of the situation and blame the current leadership for it, or, make a historic comparison that holds absolutely no water whatsoever. See linked post.

I'm no flag-waver, but to try and mine political gain out of this is pretty damn unpatriotic. Using a situation where a bunch of thugs attacked a U.S. embassy/consulate to give yourself a hard-on by comparing Obama to Carter before the bodies are even cold is odious.

At least A_QB focuses his ire in the right direction.

Who has compared Obama to Carter?

Who me?

 

[LongTimeListener]

Bubbler -- that is tremendous.

 

[Armchair_QB]

Who will be apologizing for this?
Suddenly it's 1979 all over again. Cue up Donna Summer and Gloria Gaynor

It's funny and it's sad.

A_QB is right in that 100 percent of the blame goes to the perpetrators of this crime. He may be reading all kinds of nonsense into others' questions about how it happened, but at it's core, he's absolutely right.

Yet you have those who are not so subtlety trying to take political advantage of the situation and blame the current leadership for it, or, make a historic comparison that holds absolutely no water whatsoever. See linked post.

I'm no flag-waver, but to try and mine political gain out of this is pretty damn unpatriotic. Using a situation where a bunch of thugs attacked a U.S. embassy/consulate to give yourself a hard-on by comparing Obama to Carter before the bodies are even cold is odious.

At least A_QB focuses his ire in the right direction.

For a dead-deer-****ing Brewers fan, you're ok.

 

[Boom_70]

Yet you have those who are not so subtlety trying to take political advantage of the situation and blame the current leadership for it, or, make a historic comparison that holds absolutely no water whatsoever.

Why is it wrong for a politician to try to gain political advantage, based on the response of our President to a crisis?

If he feels the response was poor, shouldn't he point it out?

His response to what? An unprovoked attack? How does one respond to an unprovoked attack?

Oh right. It was the apology's fault. I'm sure that emboldened it all.

I'm sure these thugs were sitting around in Benghazi wondering, "Damn, I don't know if we should storm the American consulate today. Might be risky ... wait, word has come down that the Americans apologized for the film? That tears it. Let's get them!"

It's stretches the bounds of logic to, on one hand, blame of a bunch thugs for their ignorant actions and rake them over the coals for a bastardized interpretation of their own religion, but in some magical osmosis that I'll never understand, give the administration as much or greater blame for it too.

All for political gain. All before the bodies are even cold.

So yes, I do question the patriotism of those who spout those views. Show some respect for those who unwittingly died for their country and channel your anger in the right direction (i.e. the thugs who did it and the apparent ridiculously lax Libyan security on the ground) before you go for your political red meat. It's damn disgraceful.

And in saying that, I really don't care if that gives you jollies for some imaginary scoreboard you're chalking up against folks on the left.

Bubbler you are mixing up the two on going stories and timelines.
Better do some reading.

 

[Dick Whitman]

From dre's link:

In fact, according to all available press reports and the account of the State Department, the press release in question came from the US Embassy in Egypt and preceded the attacks. So to claim it was a response to the attacks was simply false. So while American diplomats were dying in the field, Romney pops up with an egregious attempt to politicize the deaths with a flat out lie.

I'm not sure why this is supposed to be some great exoneration of the State Department's actions.

This statement was put out in response to something, right? The movie had been "out" for months (and shown in a theater exactly once).

It was put out because they knew a rally/riot was planned.

So, in response to a planned riot, they expressed sympathy with the sentiments of the rioters, instead of warning them that any breach of our sovereign soil would be met with deadly force.

Such cowardice a limp response could only have served to embolden those would choose to attack our embassy in Cairo, and our Ambassador in Libya.

I think even if you can justifiably criticize the administration's response early in the day, before the attacks had taken place, Romney self-immolated in completely botching the timeline. Amateur hour. That's what, I think, most undecideds will take from it. That's just a big honking mistake to make, considering the gravity of the circumstances, and the date.

 

[Azrael]

So the administration doesn't project enough strength?

Or the administration generates too high a body count?

Can't have it both ways.

 

[cranberry]

More on those pesky timelines....

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2012/09/12/fox-scrambles-timeline-to-excuse-romneys-embass/189849

Fox News is falsely reporting that Mitt Romney's statement last night criticizing President Obama over attacks on U.S. diplomatic missions in the Middle East was released before it was known that Americans had been killed in those attacks. In so doing, Fox is attempting to excuse that campaign's actions, which have been widely criticized, including by Republican foreign policy experts. In fact, Romney's statement itself referenced the death of an American consulate worker in Libya.

 

[Boom_70]

Seems like many posting on this thread are juxtaposing two different events.

 

[Dick Whitman]

It is fair to recall that almost all of the chatter about whether the bin Laden raid was executed legally came from the right, and it was pretty swift.

And I feel comfortable pointing that out, because I was on the right's side in that instance, well-documented on this board.

 

[Boom_70]

So the administration doesn't project enough strength?

Or the administration generates too high a body count?

Can't have it both ways.

I think they have it just about right when compared to Bush who was too heavy handed and in-sighted Muslims to rise up around the world.

 

[The Big Ragu]

FYI, for anyone upset, I locked it. First post, Moddy asked you to stay away from Obama sucks/Romney sucks. The posts the last two pages turned to Obama and Romney. Maybe it is, or isn't germane to the topic, but we are trying to keep Obama and Romney away from the board for now. Sorry. We are trying to figure out a plan that will allow those who want to scream "My guy," No my guy" at each other to their heart's content. Just not yet.