Terrified of Hillary: Fox News and Darrell Issa Team Up for Bogus Clinton Benghazi Smear

The Republican Party is so afraid of Hillary Clinton that Fox News and Rep. Darrell Issa teamed up today on a bogus Benghazi smear campaign designed to slow the momentum of the potential 2016 candidate.

Here is the video from Fox and Friends:

To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.

Steve Doocy played video of former Sec.of State Clinton testifying on Benghazi and said, “That was then Secretary of State testifying under oath that she had zero knowledge of calls for more security before the Benghazi terror attack, but a new scathing government report from the House reports that that wasn’t even the truth. Congressman Darrell Issa led the investigation. Listen to this. Doocy then played tape of Rep. Issa on Fox News saying, “Well, the Secretary of State was just wrong. She said she did not participate in this, and yet only a few months before the attack, she outright denied security in her signature, in a cable, April 2012.” Doocy asked, “So was information withheld to protect the administration?” He then brought Peter Johnson Jr. into the conversation and said, “Peter, it looks like Hillary lied.”

It may look like Hillary lied, but Fox News and Darrell Issa are the ones who are really lying.

Foreign Policy reported that all State Department cables go out under the Secretary of State’s signature, ‘It’s not clear who in the State Department sent the April 19 response. But as a general rule, “every single cable sent from Washington to the field is sent over the secretary of state’s name,” a former State Department official noted, adding, “Though they are trying to make this new, it’s not. After 30+ hearings and briefings, thousands of pages, this has all been addressed.”‘

It may sound like the same old Benghazi attack from the right, but they’ve got a new target. Originally, Issa and right wing media thought that they could bring down President Obama with their conspiracy theory. After that resulted in a spectacular mix of failure and indifference, Republicans and their media are now focused on using Benghazi to destroy Hillary Clinton ahead of 2016.

The buildup to Clinton’s potential 2016 run is something that this country hasn’t seen since the Eisenhower in 1952. Like Ike, former Sec. Clinton is enjoying and sustaining a period of popularity that has made her the most liked political figure in the entire country. The latest Gallup poll found that Clinton has a 64% favorable rating. For the sake of comparison, Eisenhower’s approval rating over entire presidency, averaged 65%. Historically speaking, only President Kennedy has come close to matching Eisenhower’s popularity.

If she runs and wins, Hillary Clinton has the potential to be a very popular president. This is the sort of political doomsday scenario that Republicans fear most, so they and their television propaganda arm are doing what they can to try to stop Clinton’s momentum.

However, using Benghazi to stop Hillary Clinton is a lot like trying to stop a speeding train with a raw egg. It’s illogical, messy, and it definitely won’t work.

You may think it is too early to talk about 2016, but Fox News and the Republican Party are already campaigning against Hillary Clinton.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association