As more information that comes out of the Middle East, it looks more and more like amateur hour for the Obama administration…..
White House Propaganda Minister, Jay Carney was given the unenviable job of easing off the regime’s position that the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya was purely a spontaneous reaction to a YouTube video, not a pre-planned attack meant to mark 9/11. Now, other factors besides the video are said to be under investigation. Some day, if given enough time, and with the full resources of the US government, they may actually be able to determine what most of us have already figured out.
“The cause and motivation behind (the attacks) will be decided by that investigation,” Carney said. “There are other factors that were involved in the violence that ensued – other factors that are involved that are under investigation.”
Last week, he said: “It was video that cause the unrest in Cairo and the unrest in Cairo that precipitated the unrest in Libya and elsewhere.”
Carney continued to claim that “we do not have any indication at this point of premeditation or pre-planned attacks,” but went on to say: “we’re not making declarations ahead of the facts here.”
Perhaps significantly, Carney did not go so far as U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice in detailing what the administration thinks happened. In doing so, Carney appeared to acknowledge that the investigation could offer a different version of events.
It would seem that Susan Rice, the Obama administration’s top diplomat to the United Nations, and Carney himself, were previously “making declarations ahead of the facts.”
The Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi was in fact “a terrorist attack” and the U.S. government has indications that members of al Qaeda were directly involved, a top Obama administration official said Wednesday morning.
“I would say yes, they were killed in the course of a terrorist attack on our embassy,” Matt Olsen, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said Wednesday at a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, in response to questioning from Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-CT) about the attack that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
As for who was responsible, Olsen said it appears there were attackers from a number of different militant groups that operate in and around Benghazi, and said there are already signs of al Qaeda involvement.
“We are looking at indications that individuals involved in the attack may have had connections to al Qaeda or al Qaeda’s affiliates; in particular, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb,” he said.
The U.S. government just isn’t sure yet whether the terrorist attack was pre-planned or whether it was an example of terrorists taking advantage of protests against an anti-Islam film, Olsen said.
And at AoSHQ, we are reminded of the Obama clip from 2001 that was aired in October 2008:
The previously reported — but never adequately reported — 2001 statement that the liberal movement had to focus more on non-court power to bring about “redistributive change.”
Ace shares an interesting back story about how he had helped Andrew Breitbart out with his Drudge headline so that he wouldn’t be accused of misrepresenting the convoluted clip.
Incidentally, the quote was accurate, and couldn’t be attacked. There was no misrepresentation: I just locked on the key bits. So it wasn’t hackery or anything. It was what the man said.
Not that the media was interested in an accurate, newsworthy quote. Not that the media was interested in all in exploring the thoughts and beliefs of this elegant cipher called Barack Obama.
No one attacked Drudge’s headline and quote; they just ignored it entirely.
PROTECT
OBAMA
You know what, though? The corrupt media isn’t as good at covering up news that is damaging to their precious as they used to be – and they are bleeding readers because of their naked partisanship as John Nolte noted today at Big Journalism: Newspaper Ad Revenues Collapse to 1950 Levels:
Something else to make you feel better: The media is putting everything they have into destroying Mitt Romney, and he could still win this thing. That wouldn’t have been true four years ago. But New Media is keeping him alive, and not because we’re fighting the media, but because we are on offense against Barack Obama.
You see, there are two narratives now. The corrupt media has their narrative and New Media has its own narrative.
Sure, we fight the media on defense — mostly because it’s fun. But the real impact New Media has is not in fighting the media but in creating our own counter-narrative that pushes stories out there the corrupt media won’t tell. I’m talking about talk radio, blogs, Drudge, Fox News… And people are paying attention.
And Mitt Romney is making sure that negative Obama news gets out by commenting on it, himself – pretty savvy of him, I must say:
Who can forget how Obama in April of 2008 condescendingly dismissed small town voters in PA and the Midwest by saying, “it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”
The reason Obama still gets flack for that statement, today, is because it revealed his very poor grasp of what motivates conservative voters. Obama simply doesn’t have a clue.
Mitt Romney, on the other hand is taking major flack for frankly speaking some inconvenient truths at a private reception with wealthy donors in a leaked video via Mother Jones:
During a private reception with wealthy donors this year, Mitt Romney described almost half of Americans as “people who pay no income tax” and are “dependent upon government.” Those voters, he said, would probably support President Obama because they believe they are “victims” who are “entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it.”
Of course, libs are calling this Mitt’s “clinging to guns and religion moment.” Instead of guns and religion, I guess Obama voters would be clinging to their Welfare and food stamps, and who can disagree with that? Democrat policies are designed to put people in a position of voting in their own self interests rather than in the country’s best interest. Is this supposed to be controversial? Shocking? Offensive? How about none of the above.
Last night, Romney answered questions about the leaked fundraiser video. He told reporters that the video was from a question and answer session where he was asked about how he planned on winning the campaign this year.
Romney then went on to explain his free market vision for America versus Obama’s big government approach that has put more people on disability than in jobs. He was brilliant. He put the focus back on Barack Obama’s failed policies.
What Romney and all conservatives understand, is dependence on government gives the left power.
The ever-growing American welfare-state also continues to be of little concern to the mainstream news pundits. One of the tenets of socialism is the creation and expansion of the welfare-state, which is key to promoting a dependency class. In his essay, “The Law”, Frederic Bastiat talked about how government enacts legal plunder based upon greed and misconceived philanthropy. Such is the case with the leading liberal progressive in America, whom I believe is President Barack Obama.
I caught a lot of flak recently when I stated that I believe President Obama wants economic dependency. I said that I believe the President’s kind of democracy is a form of enslavement. Harsh words perhaps. But the truth hurts, and facts are a killer. The question is, will the American people accept the truth or just march forward as mindless lemmings to the death of our constitutional republic?
Via IBD, here are just a few recent reports about the alarming growth in dependency:
• In the second quarter of 2011, 107 million Americans were receiving some kind of government welfare — not including Medicare or Social Security — according to a new study from the Senate Budget Committee. That’s up from 97 million just over two years ago.
• In the last three months, more people have applied for Social Security disability payments than found jobs in the private sector, federal data show.
• New Census data show 43% of all immigrants remain on welfare 20 years after arriving in the U.S., a stunning statistic suggesting the old model of immigration being a path to opportunity may have broken down in the Age of Obama.
• A new economic study says almost half of Americans die with less than $10,000 in assets — a sad comment on how government has displaced personal initiative and private savings in preparing for retirement.
• IRS data show that almost half of all Americans — 49.5% of us — pay no income taxes at all.
• In today’s federal budget, 70% of all spending now goes to aid for individuals such as housing, food, income, student aid or other forms of welfare.
• Still another study estimates that total U.S. long-term debt now stands at $211 trillion, up $11 trillion in just one year, thanks to growing red ink from out-of-control entitlement spending.
Let these numbers roll around in your head for a bit, and you start to realize we’re now on our way to a European-style welfare state. This is the ugly reality of Obamanomics. It fosters dependency in exchange for financial security. But that security is a mirage.
My only quibble with Romney is that among the increasing numbers of people who have fallen into Obama’s expanded welfare safety net, (due to his lousy economy) there are certainly many among them who don’t want to be there and despise Obama’s policies. Those people shouldn’t be written off.
In another supposedly shocking and disqualifying moment from Mother Jones’ undercover video, Romney stated an inconvenient truth about Palestinians, namely that they have “no interest whatsoever in establishing peace” and want to obliterate Israel.
One of the most enduring anti-Israel slanders is the charge that it is persecuting non-Jews and destroying Muslim and Christian holy sites. These dubious claims continue to be made not only by international organizations, but by U.S. groups like American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and the Council on American-Islamic Relations(CAIR).
Coming at a time when Christians are under direct attack from Muslims in Egypt, Nigeria and in other Muslim states, promulgating such fantasies serves only to incite hatred and violence against Jews.
***
Hamas and the more “moderate” Palestinian Fatah organization have accused Israel of a laundry list of crimes against non-Jews, ranging from drinking Muslim blood to attempting to steal Jerusalem’s “Islamic-Christian religious history.”
As I said yesterday, progressives live in a universe of lies. They are allergic to the truth – so much so – they react to it like a vampire reacts to a crucifix. Hence the firestorm of disapproval over Romney’s remarks.
President Obama has been an utter failure and the focus right now should be on the Middle East which is on fire – and a US ambassador was ASSASSINATED!!!! for the first time since the Iran hostage crisis – plus the economy is in the toilet. If you have concerns about the optics of things Romney says – his press conference on Egypt was too early, it shouldn’t have blamed Obama, the 47% quote is bad – even if you truly believe this stuff, even if you think these issues are of Romney’s own making and he is a bad candidate, I must say to you right now: STFU!!!!!
The world is burning. Our credit has been downgraded again. Debt is at $16 trillion and rising like a rocket. 23 million Americans are out of work, or working part-time instead of full-time (against their wishes), or have simply given up searching for work at all.
Now, given the facts, I have no question why Obama and the media want this to be a comparison of the respective campaigns (and gaffes!). Apparently Romney Said A Dirty Word at a fundraiser; the media is very, very insistent we talk a lot about that.
Never the facts. Never what’s actually happening.
The NYT’s media correspondent, for example, was very mad that Fox was covering the Islamic riots instead of Romney’s “gaffe:”
As of 10:15pm, Fox News has not mentioned the leaked Romney video once. Its focus is on anti-American protests overseas.
Let’s talk about everything except the facts. Let’s talk about everything except the current economic and international-relations facts.
Rev. Jeremiah Wright was back in the news bashing Jews and whitey back in 2010. He told a college class that whites and Jews are controlling the flow of worldwide information and oppressing blacks in Israel and America.
But that’s not all.
Wright’s church also has a history of supporting Hamas and Hezbollah. In the July 22, 2007, Trinity United Church of Christ bulletin, Jeremiah Wright reprinted an article by Mousa Abu Marzook, identified in the newsletter as a “deputy of the political bureau of Hamas.” Marzook is a senior member of Hamas living in Syria.
Obama’s church published an article by a senior member of Hamas.
Would you rather have a President who is not optimistic about a securing a peace agreement with entrenched radical Islamists, or one who is actually on their side?
Yesterday, the full Democrat-media industrial complex gave themselves heart palpitations over a leaked secret recording of remarks Romney made to prospective donors. A stenographer at Bloomberg hilariously declared the election “over.” By my count, this is about the 4th time this week someone in the chattering classes declared his candidacy dead. The media is missing a larger point, however. While some of Romney’s comments were inartful and somewhat misleading, the foundation of what he said is true. It is also in-line with the thinking of most Americans.
Many conservatives have long suspected that Mitt Romney is not really one of us. I have never agreed with this assessment; instead, I think Romney is a solid conservative who doesn’t come across as a fire-breather because of his lifetime as a buttoned-down businessman. Now, Romney can thank Mother Jones for outing him for what he really is: a true conservative.
In 2009, James O’Keefe released hidden camera videos of ACORN employees offering to help facilitate everything from child sexual slavery to tax evasion. Naturally, the media directed their pearl-clutching accusations of ethics violations and criminality at O’Keefe and Andrew Breitbart rather than the corrupt organization they exposed.
And now that selectively edited, hidden camera video of GOP nominee Mitt Romney just dominated the news cycle? The media are breathlessly reporting Romney’s campaign-ending missteps in the “devastating” video. All while gasping and eye-rolling at Romney’s request that Mother Jones release the full video.
What Romney video, you who do not spend 18 hours a day watching the never-ending journalistic beclownment that is the political news cycle may ask? Well, let me tell you. Back, in May, a couple of weeks before Mitt Romney clinched the Republican nomination, he held a fundraiser hosted by a hedge fund manager (Yes, I know, Democrats. Boo! We hate those hedge fund managers, well, except for George Soros who has funded the Democratic new media machine almost entirely by himself). During that fundraiser, he took a few questions and gave some off-the-cuff answers. Again, yes. I know. Mitt Romney and “off-the-cuff answers” go together about as well as Barack Obama and “taking any questions at all at a press conference”. Sometimes people do things you don’t expect, though. I don’t mean the President here either. He’s as likely to subject himself to the gentle kitty paw questions of the MSM as Fonzie was eager to admit he was wr-wr-wr…wr-wr-wr…wr-wr-wr.
As the faux outrage over Mitt Romney’s “47%” comments continue to barrel through the airwaves of the old media, a CNBC poll shows 75 percent of voters believe Mitt Romney was right when he said Obama supporters will vote for him no matter what due to dependence on the government.
As for his claim that 47 percent pay no income tax, it’s true but carries lots of caveats. Ramesh Ponnuru wrote an insightful piece about last year; this new article from National Journal is worth reading too. Two political difficulties here. One: While some Obama supporters may not pay federal income tax, they still pay federal payroll tax and may well pay state and city taxes. They do contribute something to government. Two: A lot of pro-Republican working-class voters pay no income tax due to the Earned Income Tax Credit, and a lot of pro-Republican seniors pay no income tax because most or all of their income is Social Security. Not sure how either of those groups will react to Romney’s critique of O’s fans, but my hunch is that Ben Domenech’s right in believing that no one really thinks they’re part of the 47 percent. Everyone thinks they’re a “maker,” not a “taker,” due to whatever little tax they pay, so when Mitt lays into freeloaders, even people who pay no income tax think he’s talking about someone else.
As Election Day draws nearer, the Obama campaign and its surrogates in the Fourth Estate have infested the political arena with an army of tactical and rhetorical rodentia. One week, it’s GOP presidential rival Mitt Romney’s high school hijinks. The next, it’s a heinous smear about Romney killing a steelworker’s cancer-stricken wife.
This week, it’s a “secret Romney video” shot undercover at a closed-door dinner with Florida donors in May. Unemployed Democratic operative James Carter IV (grandson of former president and malaise engineer Jimmy Carter) brokered the film to progressive Mother Jones magazine.
Now, the same media lapdogs who had conniption fits when the late Andrew Breitbart and conservative investigative journalist James O’Keefe used undercover video are tripping over themselves to publish glowing profiles of Carter the Fourth and his impressive “furtive efforts” to secure the Romney tapes.
Carter the Fourth found the cameraman on Twitter, invoked his family name, and convinced the mole to leak the tape to Mother Jones’s David Corn. To quote Joe Biden with all due sarcasm: BFD.
Nice Deb 
