From Benghazi to Bondi – the New GOP Turnout Machine – RedState


Earlier this month, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the arrest of Zubayr Al-Bakoush, one of the suspected leaders of the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya.
Fourteen years after the deaths of Chris Stevens, Sean Smith, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods, and the serious injuries of mission security personnel David Ubben and Mark Geist, this accountability is long overdue, but greatly welcome.
READ MORE: Breaking: FBI and DOJ announce capture of Benghazi suspect
Scandals The liberal DC media would like you to forget
In 2014, I was part of a group pushing for answers to the Benghazi disaster. We dubbed it the “Benghazi Accountability Coalition” and, through a House of Representatives “select” committee that was created to investigate the attack, we continued this “accountability” in the months that followed, but with little effect against an arrogant Obama administration and a totally – and generally – indifferent mainstream press.
This month’s apprehension is a perfect microcosm of the maddening, unrelenting frustration — not just of conservative activists like me — but of the American people. And it is this arrogance and disdain for elites (as has been frequently noted over these years) that led to the primal political cry of 2016 that led to the election of Donald Trump.
The blatant failure of leadership by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama led directly to the Benghazi debacle. They haven’t responded yet. Or the Hillary email scandal. Or the IRS’s targeting of conservative groups. Or the DOJ’s “Fast and Furious” gun-trafficking scandal. Or the Russian hoax. Or choose from a good half-dozen scandals, or even more euphemistic scandals.
So, forgive me if Pam Bondi and DCUS attorney Jeanine Pirro making hackneyed claims about tracking down violators ring hollow. Where is John Brennan’s indictment? James Clapper? Pierre Strzok? (Meanwhile, Strzok even got a government settlement for invasion of privacy!) His FBI co-conspirator/cuddly adulterer Lisa Page? The promised re-indictment of James Comey? Once again, the list seems endless.
Washington Republicans are in the typical midterm panic of a majority party. They are pinning their hopes on a rebound in the economy that will carry them into November. A few uncomfortable reminders: bad economies did not torpedo Barack Obama in 2012 or produce the much-vaunted anti-Biden midterm “red wave” in 2022.
People are tired of seeing the “big guys” get away with it. Some commentators have noted that it may not have been a coincidence that this arrest was announced on the same day that Hillary and Bill Clinton reached a deal to testify about their dealings with Epstein before Congress. Maybe – maybe not. But as we’ve seen over his two terms, Donald Trump is the epitome of the little guy’s middle finger to the establishment. If Republicans know what’s good for them, they better hold Bill and Hill to the fire on Epstein, and this testimony better be broadcast everywhere. And Trump, through Bondi, must put politicians in the dock and issue subpoenas and indictments in time to get results – ideally, verdicts. You might call it Republican Lawfare.
A recovering – and ideally booming – economy is the standard political panacea. But we don’t live in standard times – THIS is certainly an “80 percent poll question,” as is the popular reference today. Trump is no longer available as a choice in November, so for Republicans to become his proxy, voters need to see evidence.
As the president often stated during his first campaign, it is HIGH time for him and the Republicans to “lock them (the Democrats) up!” »
This is the REAL machine to participate in Republican elections.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 midterm elections will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both houses of Congress.
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