DNC Chair: Pelosi Should ‘Seriously Consider’ Boycotting Benghazi Panel

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Democratic National Committee chair and Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz told reporters Wednesday that her House leadership should “seriously consider” boycotting the GOP’s select committee to investigate the Benghazi attacks of 2012.

She called the panel “nothing more than a political ploy” designed to animate conservative voters and boost Republican turnout in the November congressional elections.

“That’s going to be a decision for Leader Pelosi and likely Whip Hoyer to make. I absolutely agree that the select committee, if it’s going to be fair, would be evenly split,” Wasserman Schultz said at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor in Washington, DC. “This is an investigative committee. If they want to ensure that the investigation … [is] fair there is no reason to reject the leader’s request to have the committee be evenly split.”

“And I do think that our leadership should seriously consider not participating if the process is not going to be fair,” she said.

Her remarks came one day after TPM and other news outlets reported that the Republican-led House committee would have 7 GOP members and 5 Democratic members.

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  1. I really don’t think they should. This is too good of a chance to beat the GOP over the head with how willing they are to waste time. A democrat should ask ALL of the main questions that get Teabaggers into a lather and preface them with :“Isn’t it true you answered this question on such and such a date?”

    Then look at the Speaker and say “What are we doing here? I havve constituents’ business to attend to.”

    THEN leave.

    ON CAMERA.

  2. No, I agree with Wasserman. Either an evenly balanced committee, or no Dem participation. Reps can get all their moldy talking points out again, fine, but no way can we spot them a majority to write the panel’s conclusions. Fair means balanced. (Now where have we heard that before?)

  3. There’s nothing to consider: either they boycott this bullshit or they’re lending it the false appearance of legitimacy by participating and allowing themselves to be railroaded by the deliberately imbalanced composition of the committee. Fuck…the GOP/Teatrolls should just write the damn decision tomorrow and skip all the pretending to conduct hearings and investigate. Their conclusions are foregone. They’ve already decided what they want to say in the “report” that comes out of the committee and they’re probably already planning the calls for impeachment or censure for either this coming October or sometime during 2016. They’ll issue a completely fantastical cartoon-rendition of the facts and then, not only will they yell and scream about impeachment or censure of Obama, but they’ll also try to retroactively censure Clinton.

  4. This is not a select committee this is a partisan committee. Democrats should boycott it. To be seated would mean that they agree with the premise put out there by the Republicans about Benghazi. If they do happen to be so reluctant and seat themselves on this committee, then they should have the courage at least to call Republicans out for the partisan politics they are displaying and tell Republicans what this committee is truly about. Impeaching the President of the United States and destroying their biggest rival for 2016. This is not about the deaths of 4 Americans, Republicans have already exploited those, along with 3,000 Americans on 9/11/2001, and 6000+ Americans who died in two unfunded wars.

  5. Democrats aren’t that clever, really when it comes to asking the 'gotcha" questions on committees. This committee will however be quite entertaining to say the least. I would be interested to see who, if any that Nancy Pelosi will appoint to this circus!!

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