Chris Stevens Mother Tells GOP: Stop Exploiting My Son's Death https://t.co/Yo9qsSDYjO #tcot #UniteBlue #Benghazi pic.twitter.com/fWxYpjkoVd
— (((Beelzebabushka))) (@viciousbabushka) July 26, 2016
The mother of the U.S. ambassador killed in the 2012 attack in Benghazi has asked that Donald Trump and the Republican Party stop the “opportunistic and cynical” use of her son’s name and death. Christopher Stevens was among four Americans killed in the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi on Sept. 11, 2012…. “As Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens’s mother, I am writing to object to any mention of his name and death in Benghazi, Libya, by Donald Trump’s campaign and the Republican Party,” Stevens’ mother, Mary Commanday, said in a short letter published in The New York Times online Saturday…. “I know for certain that Chris would not have wanted his name or memory used in that connection. I hope that there will be an immediate and permanent stop to this opportunistic and cynical use by the campaign,” she said in the letter.
I’ve often wondered how many of those obsessed with the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, know anything at all about the four victims. The only victim I can name is Ambassador Chris Stevens, but I wonder how many who keep screaming “”BENGHAZI!!!” know even that much?
There’s little doubt but that the deaths of four brave Americans in a terrorist attack is, and remains, a tragedy. Those who perished should be remembered and honored for their lives and service. Republicans have succeeded only in turning the victims into political footballs, their memory useful only for whatever political advantage can be gained by exploiting the attack. Despite the pleas of first his father and now his mother, Ambassador Stevens’ death has been politicized, exploited, and turned into something not at all about the victims- if indeed it ever was.
Whether or not one believes Hillary Clinton is to blame- something multiple Republican investigations (and the expenditure of millions of tax dollars) have failed to prove- there can be little doubt but that the attack has been politicized well past the point of reason. Ms. Commanday appears to blame then-Secretary Clinton, and she’s free to her opinion, despite the fact that the takeaway from the Republican witch hunt is that Mrs. Clinton bears no culpability.
In truth, Benghazi is no longer- and never really was- about finding justice for the four Americans killed in the attack. From Day One, the investigation has been about using information learned to destroy Hillary Clinton. Republicans in truth don’t give a damn about Ambassador Stevens and his colleagues; they viewed their investigations as a golden opportunity to destroy a woman they despise. Those who perished are merely the means to an end.
Now that the latest exhaustive investigation has yielded no evidence of perfidy and/or dereliction of duty on the part of Hillary Clinton, perhaps Republicans could finally do the decent thing and honor Ms. Commanday’s request.
Then again, judging by Donald Trump’s blaming of Mrs. Clinton for the attacks, the truth counts for little…and Republicans will continue to exploit a terrible tragedy until they can no longer realize any political advantage from it. That’s the truly shameful aspect of the legacy of Benghazi. It’s too bad Republicans can’t be indicted for the millions of tax dollars they’ve wasted on a partisan witch hunt.
