Inevitable: New Hillary ad stars … Kevin McCarthy
posted at 10:01 am on October 6, 2015 by Ed Morrissey
It’s not just Hillary Clinton’s new national ad, it’s her first national TV spot. In “Admit,” Team Hillary focuses on Kevin McCarthy’s remarks about the impact of the Benghazi Select Committee on Hillary’s polling numbers:
Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign is seeking to capitalize off of Republicans’ comments linking her political performance with the House committee investigating the 2012 violence in Benghazi, Libya.
A new ad released by the campaign on Monday evening features a clip of No. 2 House Republican Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) giving the special House panel credit for damaging her poll numbers.
The 30-second spot is the first one that the campaign is running nationally on cable television, underscoring the political gold mine that Clinton’s team senses in McCarthy’s comments.
“The Republicans finally admit it,” a male narrator says in the video, before a clip of McCarthy’s comments.
We all knew this kind of argument would be made, but why make it in the very first national ad buy? Usually that gets used to introduce a candidate, to allow her to define herself. This only defines Hillary as a victim, and an ersatz one at that. McCarthy’s comments aside, the FBI probe into exposure of classified material through the secret Hillary server isn’t a partisan witch hunt. The decisions and policies that led to the deaths of four Americans have never been fully explained either — certainly not in that shameful whitewash provided by the laughably named Accountability Review Board, which never had access to those e-mails from Hillary and her team.
Of course, Hillary needs no introduction after nearly a quarter-century on the national stage, but that’s also a curious point. Her track record shows that she didn’t need the select committee to end up with bad favorability numbers in this election. Why not spend the money on trying to shore up her image with a soft-focus summation of her most appealing aspects?
I suspect the answer to that question is in the intended audience of this ad. It’s not independents or Republicans, but Democrats. Hillary’s risk right now is with her own party and its voters, who are looking for alternatives to the disaster her candidacy has become. That’s why she wants to lead off as a victim of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy Mark IV — to shame them into rallying to her defense and abandoning the myriad of better options. Well, er, a couple of options that are marginally better, anyway. Will it work? At this point, the VRWC victim card may be all she has left.
Related Posts:
Breaking on Hot Air
Open thread: The biggest, classiest New Year’s Eve thread ever
Crumble: Ben Carson’s campaign manager, communications director quit over “internal [expletive]”
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
Comment pages: « Previous 1 2
I’m talking about the video that Hillary and Obama lied about being the reason for the coordinated attacks on the consulate annex.
Fist, it wasn’t an embassy. It was a consulate annex. Second, it’s cute when you don’t know, or don’t want to know, when you’re being lied to.
If Nixon was a democrat he’d still be president.
blink on October 6, 2015 at 3:15 PM
Because Obama and Hillary must be protected at all costs!
This administration’s efforts to obstruct justice is much worse than anything that happened under Nixon.
blink on October 6, 2015 at 3:17 PM
Why not? She certainly has no good excuse for her many, many lies, evasions, incompetencies, callousness, and outright criminal behavior. It makes sense her first instinct would be to establish that she’s a victim, so that as the scandals continue and new ones erupt, she can say, “Well, they’re just out to get me.”
What’s the alternative? She’s well beyond any other plausible political spin.
There Goes the Neighborhood on October 6, 2015 at 3:17 PM
…obstruct and cover-up.
Ha ha. That completely ruins your initial claim on here. Thanks for doing that.
Pro Tip: Don’t ever take the stand in your own defense.
blink on October 6, 2015 at 3:19 PM
And you think he’s wrong. Here’s what you wrote:
You’re worse than McCarthy.
blink on October 6, 2015 at 3:20 PM
everdiso,
Was Hillary’s pathetic lack of email security the reason why the attack organizers knew that Chris Stevens would be at the annex that night?
Have you seen the emails that were being sent through unsecured email systems that discussed his travel plans?
Do you care that Hillary violated national security laws with respect to classified information?
blink on October 6, 2015 at 3:23 PM
i told you once that you were really, really bad at this….but still you try. weird.
mccarthy’s comments were about this current committee. that has always been about hilary’s election chances, not obama’s.
but yes, you were correct to point out that the benghazi issue way back at the start was the republicans’ hope for an october surprise against obama.
everdiso on October 6, 2015 at 3:29 PM
good, we’re talking about the same video which inspired protests around the arab world at the same time, were included in all cia reports, and were directly referenced by the guy who coordinated the attack.
everdiso on October 6, 2015 at 3:31 PM
if she violated those laws, and the evidence is clear – why are 5he investigations ongoing?
everdiso on October 6, 2015 at 3:32 PM
I’m not gonna vote for Hillary and am not yearning for her becoming the Prez.
But just as I can be clear that Jeb Bush was completely taken out of context for his recent ‘stuff happens’ comment, I am clear what motivates these benghazi hearings.
verbaluce on October 6, 2015 at 3:35 PM
This committee is merely an extension of the previous committees which were obstructed.
The benghazi issue has always been to try to cut through the obstruction and cover-up. The long the obstruction and cover-up continue, the longer the investigation takes. It’s really, really simple.
Surely, by “really bad at this” you mean that I’m great at destroying your stupid arguments…
blink on October 6, 2015 at 3:35 PM
The video that caused protests in certain other areas – which is why Hillary and Obama thought they could lie to use it as cover. Yes, that video.
Again, it’s cute that you think you weren’t lied to about who coordinated the attack, everdiso.
blink on October 6, 2015 at 3:37 PM
She most certainly violated national security laws with respect to handling classified information.
Sadly, democrats love when democrats obstruct and cover-up for each other.
blink on October 6, 2015 at 3:39 PM
What motivates these benghazi hearings is the all the obstruction and cover-up occurring.
blink on October 6, 2015 at 3:40 PM
everdiso and verbaluce, don’t slack off. You should know that defending Hillary is hard work.
blink on October 6, 2015 at 4:07 PM
Not defending Clinton so much as pointing out what truly motivates the GOP with these ‘investigations’.
But of course I’ve saying that for years.
It’s just that now, McCarthy is acknowledging it.
verbaluce on October 6, 2015 at 4:15 PM
The Select Committee was in existence before the campaign started. Clinton insists on running in the face of her own duplicity and lying. Typical left/liberal, must have her own way regardless of her personal shortcomings.
grumpyank on October 6, 2015 at 4:48 PM
This is a rather odd claim, since the last I heard, the one guy they arrested as being involved in the attack (Ahmed Abu Khattala) had denied involvement, and the people who did claim responsibility (AQ, natch) said it was a retaliatory attack for the drone strike against al-Libi.
Oh, and then there’s the fact that there was no protest in Benghazi that day.
And that the CIA’s initial assessment, dated 12 September, said the attack was an intentional assault.
The Schaef on October 6, 2015 at 4:57 PM
You keep pretending you’re, “pointing out what truly motivates the GOP with these ‘investigations’.” Even though all you can come up with is, that it is purely political.
Yet you haven’t pointed out why it is ok for her to not answer directly, to obfuscate, to withhold requested information and communications all while enduring investigations that you admitted were a result of her and her staff’s mistakes.
You mean you’re not gonna vote for Hillary yet. You will if she is the D nominee.
Neitherleftorright on October 6, 2015 at 4:59 PM
Really? So, they weren’t offended by all the lies, cover-ups, and obstruction?
There’s zero doubt that you’d be saying the same exact thing about the true motivations with these watergate investigations if Nixon had been a democrat.
blink on October 6, 2015 at 5:00 PM
Good luck getting them to think about that contradiction…
Tlaloc on October 6, 2015 at 5:16 PM
I have to apologize, I pointed out to blink that he’s really not very bright during some abortion debates that he could barely follow much less contribute to and ever since then he’s had a huge chip on his shoulder. Hence his acting out here.
Tlaloc on October 6, 2015 at 5:18 PM
Because everditzy, Obama’s Dept. of (In)Justice will not initiate investigations into the doings of Obama or any of his minions without his express approval. Have you not been paying attention?
Neitherleftorright on October 6, 2015 at 5:18 PM
In other words-
it’s a huge conspiracy!!!!11!!
Tlaloc on October 6, 2015 at 5:20 PM
McCarthy should be run out of DC on a horse with a bucket over his head.
BKeyser on October 6, 2015 at 5:46 PM
No dimwit, only your side believes in vast conspiracies. It is called obstruction of justice. However, in your puny little mind justice is selective rather than blind.
Neitherleftorright on October 6, 2015 at 5:46 PM
Stand by what you say, Tlaloc
The Schaef on October 6, 2015 at 5:59 PM
What’s the contradiction? The investigation is ongoing through all the obstruction, coverup, and obfuscation continuing to reveal evidence. It’s your banana republic regime that refuses to take any real action.
blink on October 6, 2015 at 7:04 PM
Mr. Fake Engineer obviously isn’t smart enough to determine brightness.
Ha ha. I understood EXACTLY what you were trying to say with respect to abortion from the very beginning. That’s exactly why I exposed your incredibly broad statements and laughed for a week while you were forced to narrow them bit by bit. You continued to twist yourself like a pretzel trying not to contradict yourself.
But that didn’t work. I had a list of your contradictions, but you refused to comment on them in shame. I’m happy to link that one of those threads if you need to be reminded in detail.
I also completely destroyed the Fake Engineer when you claimed that wiped data could be recovered by linking to a paper that described why wiped data COULDN’T be recovered.
In fact, it’s so easy to destroy you that nobody really enjoys it anymore.
blink on October 6, 2015 at 7:10 PM
Obama and his AG refusing to order anyone to bring criminal charges against Hillary isn’t a conspiracy, Idiot.
blink on October 6, 2015 at 7:11 PM
The collusion of many hundreds or at least dozens of people non of whom breathe a word about their work? Sounds kind of like a conspiracy theory actually.
Tlaloc on October 6, 2015 at 8:29 PM
I’ll add ‘conspiracy’ to the list of things you don’t understand.
I’m having to write really tiny at this point, could you make some kind of effort to at least not advertise your ignorance?
Tlaloc on October 6, 2015 at 8:31 PM
People clamming up and Obama and AG turning a blind eye? Not conspiracy, Idiot.
blink on October 6, 2015 at 10:17 PM
Ironic, Fake Engineer. Aren’t you tired of getting humiliated by me constantly?
blink on October 6, 2015 at 10:18 PM
Is it your position that there is no other legitimate interest here? That influence peddling, unaccountable leadership and negligent treatment of national security matters are unimportant because “the wrong people” use it to political advantage?
But only these dead Americans… and maybe Kate Steinle. But the crass political exploitation of the dead of Newtown, and Oregon, and Ferguson, and etc… you’re all on board with it and want more.
Of course you would.
And yet you’d vote for her anyway.
But you’d never take to the leftist blogs and publicly criticize him for it I bet. You know, the way you routinely treat pretty much any Republican for pretty much anything he or she does that you disagree with.
And you were fully on board with him dancing in the blood to promote gun control before the bodies were even cold, much less before the facts of the incident were known.
Yeah… an amount roughly equal to .025% of the fraud in the Medicare system in 2011. So tell me how the left is all about trying to cut down on the waste of taxpayer money.
And if you object to it dragging on for years and costing so much, then surely you object to the Obama Administration’s foot-dragging and stonewalling on pertinent documents regarding these matters for three solid years, right?
Right? Hello?
You’re okay with one as President, are you not?
So you’re claiming that the very existence of Hillary’s personal server is a fiction thought up by the VRWC, that it doesn’t actually exist at all. Which of course begs the question of why Hillary (and Obama, and the FBI) is playing along with the fiction.
Do you even know what comes out of your mouth?
GrumpyOldFart on October 7, 2015 at 11:33 AM
Comment pages: « Previous 1 2