What We Learned

Contrary to the consensus media narrative that nothing new was learned at [Thursday’s] Benghazi hearing, there were in fact a number of revelations. And before the media absolves former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton completely, remember that there is still an active FBI investigation that could result in Mrs. Clinton facing charges under the Espionage Act.

Here’s what I think deserves further attention. During a previous Senate hearing, Mrs. Clinton was pressed about the administration’s claim that a video was responsible for the attack. That’s when we got her famous outburst, “What difference, at this point, does it make?”

Well, that is precisely the question she should be required to answer. It became even more apparent during her testimony [Thursday] that the Obama administration thought it DID make a difference whether the attack was due to Islamophobia in a film or to terrorists “celebrating” 9/11.

Obama’s reelection campaign was running on several themes, including a foreign policy built on reaching out to the Islamic world, that the president had kept us safe and that terrorism isn’t an Islamic problem but a criminal problem. The video theory fit the left-wing narrative that jihadists aren’t the problem, but rather our Islamophobia.

Administration officials knew exactly what happened. And yet they misled not only to the American people, but the family members of those killed in Benghazi.

Hillary’s War

When the Libyan civil war began as part of the Arab Spring in March 2011, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton led the charge to intervene. In fact, The Washington Post dubbed the Libyan campaign, “Hillary’s War.”

When Muammar Qaddafi was killed in October, Mrs. Clinton jokingly paraphrased Julius Caesar, saying, “We came, we saw, he died.” It would be her “Mission Accomplished” moment.

Hillary Clinton wanted to make sure that everyone knew she drove our Libyan policy. She got this dictator, and it was all part of her “smart power” fundamental transformation of the Middle East.

But when Qaddafi’s removal led to a failed state, resulting in the chaos that led to the loss of four Americans a year later, suddenly the secretary of state had nothing to do with it. No longer was it her Libyan policy.

Here’s something else to consider. There were literally hundreds of requests for more security from Ambassador Stevens and other personnel stationed in Libya. Hillary Clinton claimed she never saw any of those requests. Clinton said she never even received a personal email from her friend, Ambassador Stevens.

But she was getting scores of emails, week after week, from Israel-hating Sid Blumenthal, who had financial interests in the overthrow of Qaddafi.

Planned Parenthood Next

In the wake of undercover videos exposing Planned Parenthood’s trafficking in baby body parts, the House of Representatives voted to establish a select committee to thoroughly investigate the nation’s largest abortion business.

[Friday], Speaker John Boehner named the Republican members of this new select committee. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) will serve as chairman. Joining her will be Representatives Joe Pitts (R-PA), Diane Black (R-TN), Larry Bucshon (R-IN), Sean Duffy (R-WI), Andy Harris (R-MD), Vicki Hartzler (R-MO) and Mia Love (R-UT).

The Battle For Iowa

Two polls in two days show that Dr. Ben Carson has pulled into the lead in Iowa by eight and nine points respectively over Donald Trump. Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Texas Senator Ted Cruz are essentially tied for third place at 10%. No other candidate received double-digit support in either poll.

Trump’s slide in Iowa is not terribly surprising. The Hawkeye State is known for having a strong evangelical base in the GOP, which has historically meant that candidates like Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum and even me do well there.

In other news today, the Bush campaign is dramatically slashing staff and salaries, hoping to cut $1 million a month in expenses.

On the Democratic side, the latest polls show Hillary Clinton leading Bernie Sanders by 7 and 11 points respectively — similar to the leads she had at this point in the 2008 race. Ultimately, she finished third in the Iowa caucuses.

Meanwhile, former Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee dropped out of the Democratic presidential race today. How long will Maryland’s Martin O'Malley stay in?