Is it out of stupidity or malevolence?

Is it out of stupidity or malevolence?

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With today's GOP, it is typically both. This Benghazi BS couldn't make that more clear. Check out these poll results, and Attaturk's take below.
A whopping 41 percent of Republicans polled think the Obama administration’s handling of Benghazi is the greatest scandal in U.S. history. “One interesting thing about the voters who think Benghazi is the biggest political scandal in American history,” PPP adds, “is that 39% of them don’t actually know where it is. 10% think it’s in Egypt, 9% in Iran, 6% in Cuba, 5% in Syria, 4% in Iraq, and 1% each in North Korea and Liberia with 4% not willing to venture a guess.”
Greatest.Scandal.Ever.  Say the living embodiments of Comic-Book Guy. Yeah, it's like 12 Benedict Arnolds; 9 XYZ Affairs; 88 Nullification Crises; 35 Mexican-American Wars; like 55,000 Civil Wars; 3,000 Credit Mobiliers; 875 Spanish Flus; 300 Teapot Domes; 84,000 Great Depressions; 9 Million Pearl Harbors; 3,400 Tonkin Gulf Resolutions; 4 billion Watergates; 9 Trillion Iran-Contras; a mere 1.05 Monica Lewinskis; an infinity of Iraq War Resolutions over WMD; and 456 Bankster Induced Economic Collapses -- ALL WRAPPED UP INTO ONE.

Thursday Open Thread [5.16.13]

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Steve Benen:
Rachel [Maddow] noted on the show last night that the controversy surrounding Benghazi effectively "went away" yesterday, and given the latest information, it's hard to imagine how any serious person could disagree. The White House yesterday afternoon released the inter-agency communications that went into crafting the "talking points" requested by Congress last September. Lawmakers already saw these materials months ago -- they found nothing controversial at the time -- but Republicans and the media decided it was time to see them again. So, the administration, eager to put the matter to rest, released the documents. In turn, we learned what we already knew: there was no cover-up; State and the CIA engaged in a predictable bureaucratic "tug of war"; and this: The internal debate did not include political interference from the White House, according to the e-mails, which were provided to congressional intelligence committees several months ago. And with that, everything Republican conspiracy theorists desperately wanted Americans to believe -- there's a scandal; there's a cover-up; there's evidence the White House manipulated and lied about a crisis for political ends -- suddenly evaporated before our very eyes.
And anyone still saying there is or was a cover up today is simply a liar. I am looking at you Rusty. If you want to get a synopsis of what the emails revealed yesterday, you can go here. In the meantime, Republicans can use this open thread to offer their heartfelt and sincere apologies to the American people.
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., May 16, 2013

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., May 16, 2013

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Your last legislative fix for almost three weeks, so savor it! In a Dog Bites Man story, Sen. Colin Bonini sided with the oil polluters, casting the only 'no' vote against legislation eliminating a monetary cap on company liability for damages caused by an oil spill. Bloviator Bonini has suffered a precipitous decline in ink this session, having ceded his senatorial Hot Air Hegemony to Monsignor Greg Lavelle. I, for one, feel sorry for the disheartened former champion, and intend to do everything within my power to rehabilitate his diminished stature (I'm speaking figuratively, of course). The Comedic Gods demand it. Probably the biggest news of the day is what didn't happen: 1. Bill adding 2 more casinos doesn't make it out of committee. Nobody has clean hands in this game. Just read today's News-Journal article about it. Which I can't link. Because even though we still buy the dead trees edition, the online access is screwed up, and I'm still limited to only 5 articles a month. Except the month doesn't begin and end at the beginning and ending of the month. Hate to say it, but this enterprise has earned obsolescence, alienating the few of us who still believe in newspapers. But, I digress. Williams claims to have the support of Governor Markell, but the Executive branch provides weasel words instead (I'm typing this word for word from today's print edition):
"The Governor always looks forward to discussing proposals with the sponsors and supporters to understand how proposals might add to the state's revenue and economy."
Which raises this question: Rep. Dennis E. Williams, overly-optimistic or delusional? For better or for worse, I don't think this bill is going anywhere.