Benghazi...To paraphrase the left from several years ago...

[mcpapa]

You're right. The events weren't exactly equivalent. However, they shared two very big things in common:

 

1) Neither was supposed to happen. US soldiers aren't supposed to kill US soldiers. Ambassadors aren't supposed to fall under attack and be killed.

2) Neither administration wanted to suffer the fallout and chose to cover up what had happened instead of dealing with the problem in a straightforward manner.

 

Fairly stated.

[mcpapa]

It was never proven to have reached that level. Key word: proven.

 

There is, however, a letter from then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld that was issued prior to Tillman's death stating that he was a special man that they needed to keep an eye on. And the Department of Defense had already been making every effort (albeit against Tillman's wishes) to use Tillman's choice to leave an NFL contract to enlist as an advertisement for what a "true American hero" should be. However, when it comes to the circumstances surrounding Tillman's death and the cover-up that followed, Rumsfeld was curiously hit with a case of the "I don't recalls" and "I have no recollections".

 

Where have I heard that before *cough Iran contra cough*?

 

I might be an old liberal, but it's equally troubling to me when something is swept under the rug for political expediency regardless of who is wielding the broom.

[All Tell]

I just reviewed some information on the Tillman death. Here's where the similarities end. The cover-up of the Tillman death was mostly a case of the classic I don't recalls by people in the defense department. The Benghazi fiasco now appears a concerted effort by the highest levels of the Obama administration to mislead the public on exactly what happened as well as to cover up information that some or all of the deaths may have been prevented had actions been taken. Big difference.

[All Tell]

Where have I heard that before *cough Fast and Furious cough*?

 

I might be an old liberal, but it's equally troubling to me when something is swept under the rug for political expediency regardless of who is wielding the broom.

 

Fixed it

[mcpapa]

^ As someone who was coming of age during the Nixon administration (with Spiro T. Agnew as my governor a scant few years before that), I've grown to expect shenanigans from the right-hand side of the aisle for 40 years.

 

It's very distressing to me when "my side" does the same.

[Bluegrasscard]

Spiro and crew were crooks but they never shipped arms to drug cartels in Mexico that led to deaths of hundreds of civilians.

[All Tell]

The Watergate cover-up brought down a president and all that happened was a burglary. Is this enough to bring Barry down? My best guess is that he tries to throw Hillary under the bus like he did Susan Rice but there's no way she and Bill take that without a nasty fight.

[All Tell]

^ As someone who was coming of age during the Nixon administration (with Spiro T. Agnew as my governor a scant few years before that), I've grown to expect shenanigans from the right-hand side of the aisle for 40 years.

 

It's very distressing to me when "my side" does the same.

 

Please tell me you don't believe that this is the first time the left has done something underhanded since Watergate. I was entering my teen years when that fiasco went down and it seems I remember one other President facing impeachment since then over his ability to tell the truth.

[Hatz]

Spiro and crew were crooks but they never shipped arms to drug cartels in Mexico that led to deaths of hundreds of civilians.

 

No. They just invaded Cambodia and wrecked the infrastructure that led to the Khmer Rouge's reign of terror.

 

Look, there's enough evil to hand out to everybody in power and the Obama administration is the one who is deservedly on the hot seat right now.

 

Going into the past and somehow making Spiro and Tricky Dick less guilty than the current administration is in their current coverup is denigrating into partisanship I think. The truth is both are seemingly as corrupt as the other.

[Hatz]

The Watergate cover-up brought down a president and all that happened was a burglary. Is this enough to bring Barry down? My best guess is that he tries to throw Hillary under the bus like he did Susan Rice but there's no way she and Bill take that without a nasty fight.

 

Actually it wasn't a burglary that brought Nixon down. It was the coverup and the abuse of his powers to keep a lid on the event and the trail.

[75center]

Actually it wasn't a burglary that brought Nixon down. It was the coverup and the abuse of his powers to keep a lid on the event and the trail.

 

True and it appears no administration since then learned anything from it. Sad.

[Habib]

This is false equivalency run amok. Watergate led to 43 persons sent to prison from charges ranging from obstruction of justice to conspiracy, including Nixon's Attorney General, the President's Chief of Staff, the President's Council, the Directors of the President's re-election campaign, members of the CIA and FBI, and likely the President himself if he weren't pardoned. It just isn't comparable to any scandal since. There have been scandals, terrible decisions, and a lot of lying, I'm sure. But, comparing every negative thing to Watergate is just false equivalency.

 

I'll likely tune into the latest Benghazi hearings today, but I haven't had anyone yet tell me what illegal activities took place or are alleged to have taken place in this case.

[Randy Parker]

Actually it wasn't a burglary that brought Nixon down. It was the coverup and the abuse of his powers to keep a lid on the event and the trail.

 

Before my time, but that's how I've always understood it.

[75center]

This is false equivalency run amok. Watergate led to 43 persons sent to prison from charges ranging from obstruction of justice to conspiracy, including Nixon's Attorney General, the President's Chief of Staff, the President's Council, the Directors of the President's re-election campaign, members of the CIA and FBI, and likely the President himself if he weren't pardoned. It just isn't comparable to any scandal since. There have been scandals, terrible decisions, and a lot of lying, I'm sure. But, comparing every negative thing to Watergate is just false equivalency.

 

I'll likely tune into the latest Benghazi hearings today, but I haven't had anyone yet tell me what illegal activities took place or are alleged to have taken place in this case.

 

No illegal activities have been alleged that I know of. As mentioned, Watergate was not about a two bit break in to photograph documents that would not even have had an effect on the election. As you point out, it was about the coverup and obstruction.

Just as prior administrations, it appears that this current administration did not learn from Watergate. The current hearings will hopefully shed some light on what happened, who did what, who knew what and has anyone been dishonest in their dealings with the investigation.

[FarBeyondDriven]

This is false equivalency run amok. Watergate led to 43 persons sent to prison from charges ranging from obstruction of justice to conspiracy, including Nixon's Attorney General, the President's Chief of Staff, the President's Council, the Directors of the President's re-election campaign, members of the CIA and FBI, and likely the President himself if he weren't pardoned. It just isn't comparable to any scandal since. There have been scandals, terrible decisions, and a lot of lying, I'm sure. But, comparing every negative thing to Watergate is just false equivalency.

 

I'll likely tune into the latest Benghazi hearings today, but I haven't had anyone yet tell me what illegal activities took place or are alleged to have taken place in this case.

Illegal? Maybe, maybe not. Incompetent? Yes. Untruthful? Yes.