Pelosi protests new Benghazi committee by declining to appoint Democrats to it -- for now

You can read the full text of the letter she sent to Boehner at the Examiner. Fox News heard from its sources a few hours ago that she was thinking of appointing a single Dem to the committee, which makes sense. She and her caucus want to show people that they think it’s illegitimate, which counsels a boycott, but they also don’t want GOP members having a field day with Democratic witnesses on TV with no Dems on the committee to push back, which counsels participation. Obvious solution: Partial boycott. Let Elijah Cummings participate, rant about a witch hunt and show trial and “evil tree” or whatever, and leave the other Democratic seats on the platform empty. I still think that’s the way they’ll go.

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But for now, we’re at an impasse.

Sounds to me like those three elements in the first paragraph are her demands for full Democratic participation. If Boehner refuses, then she’ll only send one or two members. (I’d be shocked if they skipped it entirely.) But that raises a question: What would Boehner like to see happen here? Does he want a Dem boycott? Does he care either way? They’re going to screech that the committee’s bogus no matter what happens, in which case maybe Boehner figures that it’s better not to have them there at all. Let Gowdy and the rest of the GOP contingent have free rein to tee off on Democratic witnesses. After a few days of that, Pelosi will cave and appoint some Democratic members whether he agrees to her demands or not. I’m eager to see if he calls her bluff here.

Two vids for you. The first is of Pelosi at her presser today, complaining that people are either tired of Benghazi or “they never knew about it in the first place,” which … would seem to suggest that a select committee is needed. The second is the DNC’s first attempt to delegitimize the committee with advertising. Prepare for much, much more of this.

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Beege Welborn 5:00 PM | December 24, 2024
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