A secret audio tape of a May 8th meeting of the conservative group “Groundswell” (a total nightmare amalgamation of creatures mostly bearing Southern drawls, birther conspiracy beliefs and a reliable paranoia of being persecuted) shows the group using their collective power (media, sleeping with SCOTUS, money, evangelical base/money, GOP Congressional aides) to pressure elected Republicans into making something out of the now debunked Benhazi scandal.
They want a special committee or else.
If they don’t get it, they warned Speaker Boehner (R-OH) and Obama fake scandal manufacturer Darrell Issa (R-CA), the two could face a loss of support and financial backing.
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Birther Frank Gaffney made it clear on the tape that he told the puppets to play ball or else! He told the group that he had reminded Boehner and Issa that their donors are getting restless (aka, deliver us an Obama scandal or your PAC gets it), “I’m somewhat encouraged that they’re taking this thing very much to heart and we really impressed upon them that there’s a lot of restiveness on the part of folks like us, and some of their donors as a matter of fact, about what — what’s happening here.”
Jerry Boykin of the Family Research Council told the group of conspirators that in their secret meeting the night before, Speaker Boehner warned them that the media would see this as an attempt to bring down the Obama administration (gee, ya think?). But, have no fear, patriots, “We got an ugly baby here and it’s going to get ugly today. We are not backing away from our call for a special committee with subpoena power… We’re not backing away from a special committee, but we kinda have a pledge from Issa and the Speaker.”
The tape of the meeting was published on Crooks and Liars by Karoli, who writes that the source wished to remain anonymous. The meeting was led by Catherine Engelbrecht, a founder of True the Vote. True the Vote is the organization found guilty of illegally aiding Republicans by operating like a PAC instead of a non-profit, and the very same organization trotted out by Darrell Issa and the media as just one example of Obama’s IRS picking on conservatives. Naturally, that wasn’t true, but it didn’t stop the media or the Republicans from running wild with their fictional accusations.
Among those present at this meeting were Ginni Thomas (wife of sitting Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas), former Republican Representative Allen West and of course, Stephen Bannon of Breitbart News, who was on hand to instruct everyone how to handle the talking points (keep repeating that you are just interested in the “TRUTH”).
Karoli broke it down:
Benghazi “Scandal”
At 3:45, Jerry Boykin advises the group of the meetings he and Frank Gaffney had with Speaker John Boehner and Rep. Darrell Issa concerning Benghazi on the evening of May 7th about how the Benghazi investigation is progressing. This was the night before the last Congressional Oversight Committee hearing was held on Benghazi, where the so-called whistleblowers were to testify.In the late-night meeting with Gaffney and Boykin, Boehner advised both that they needed to allow the regular order of committee meetings to play out before he would push for a select committee. Issa told him the same thing. Boykin and Gaffney reported this to the group, along with a promise that there “would be answers.” Both reiterated that they and former Rep. Allen West were very concerned about the lack of a military response and assured the group that “what we’ll find today is that Hillary Clinton made some egregious decisions and the president was basically absent from his post and did not make the decisions that as the Commander-in-Chief he should have been making…because he was focused on some other things.”
This reeks of collusion.
Did you miss David Corn’s frightening breakdown last week? Conservative “journalists” at Breitbart News, Washington Examiner, National Review and of course the Daily Caller are colluding with Republican activists and Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas, and even Republican Congressional aides to push their agenda.
One of their agendas is to create a scandal out of Benhazi. And now we know how they did it.
Just imagine this—the party that calls everyone else a Nazi is meeting in secret to use their collective power of media, money and power to pressure elected Republicans to carry out their orders.
Sure, this is outrageous, and given the Republican whining about imagined offenses of liberal judicial activism and a liberal media out to get them, it’s a joke. But underneath the outrage is a secret. Only losers have to coordinate their message so carefully; losers who can’t afford the truth to get out. Propagandists who are losing their war even as their battle efforts are successful would be wise to regroup.
Elect a Republican, and you are not getting that Republican – you are getting THIS group, and ALEC, and the Koch Brothers. You are getting a puppet, who will be manipulated and controlled by corporate interests. Naturally, their message will be crap, and so it will have to be dressed up and repackaged and sold under all kinds of shiny objects. This will necessitate a willing conservative media (check), plants in the mainstream media (check), Republican elected officials with no morals or ethics (check), corporate money to push agenda (check), and a numb electorate distracted with phony scandals and lies (check).
The real scandal has been right under their noses the entire time — it’s them.
Listen to the full tape at Crooks and Liars.
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Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.
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