We won't know truth about Benghazi unless House, Senate leadership changes in 2014
We won't know truth about Benghazi unless House, Senate leadership changes in 2014
By Michael Ingmire
Published December 30, 2013FoxNews.com
I approach the 2014 elections with an element of hope and a personal agenda. I believe that if we have a change in the leadership of both the House and the Senate, we may finally get to the truth about Benghazi and the other blatant Obama scandals that we have yet to get any real answers about.
With the change of leadership we also must support our senators and congressional representatives when they propose or support a piece of legislation that aims to establish an atmosphere of truth and accountability and that which benefits the American people.
We also must hold our representatives accountable when they perpetuate lies, half truths and cover-ups. Simply, keep them in office when they do their job and vote them out when they are taking up space.House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Harry Reid belong in the category of those who need to be removed from their current position.
House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Harry Reid belong in the category of those who need to be removed from their current position.
As a family member of a Benghazi murder victim, nephew Sean Smith, I have contacted many Congressional and Senatorial offices on several occasions asking that they consider supporting the creation of Independent Select Committee to fully investigate Benghazi. These calls also include calls to House Speaker Boehner and to Senator Majority Leader Reid.
In the House, we currently have Congressman Frank Wolf’s Bill, House Resolution 36. House Res. 36 wishes to establish an Independent Select Committee to investigate Benghazi. An Independent Select Committee would have subpoena power and the authority to read classified documents. House Res. 36 currently has 179 co-sponsors, 180 including Congressman Wolf. That is over two thirds of the majority of the House of Representatives.
House Speaker John Boehner’s office has told me on more one occasion that he is satisfied with the movement in the five committee that are currently investigating the attack on the diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, on September 11, 2012.
As a family member the slow drip of truth from these committees is maddening and, at times, insulting.
Overall, John Boehner has been an ineffectual House Speaker and needs to be removed. He has failed to unify even his own party.
On the Senate side, we have a newer piece of legislation which is Senator Ted Cruz’s legislation, Senate Resolution 225. Senate Res. 225 currently has 25 co-sponsors and wishes to establish a Joint Select Committee to investigate Benghazi. Senator Majority Leader, Harry Reid, while stating on November 16, 2012 in a letter to Senator John McCain and other concerned Senators that, “Examining the events of Benghazi is an imperative of the utmost importance,” has treated Benghazi as a “partisan agenda” that is merely being used by the Republicans to embarrass the Obama administration.
Senator Reid seems somewhat embittered by the political process and may need to retire. He is perhaps one of the most divisive Senate Majority leaders in the history of the Senate.
Embarrassment and accountability may be the operative principles that need to be embraced by the Obama administration when addressing the deaths of the four dead Americans from the Benghazi attack.
The other scandals plaguing the Obama administration such as IRS targeting of conservative Americans, the NSA wiretaps, Obama Care, among others, also need to have the light of the truth shone upon them.
Perhaps we need a broader based Independent Select Committee to investigate the various scandals that have become like a nuclear cancer on the Obama Administration.
Lastly, I want our Congressional Representatives and Senators to start standing by the legislation that they propose and co-sponsor. They also need to be aware of the efforts of their colleagues.
For example, I called New Hampshire Democratic Congresswoman Ann Kuster’s office a few months back asking for support for Congressman Frank Wolf’s House Res. 36.
Her office was unaware of the bill and the Congresswoman demonstrated a lack of real knowledge of the workings of the bill on November 25th at a meeting of the Jewish Federation of New Hampshire.
To be fair, New Hampshire Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte failed to mention that she was a co-sponsor of Senate Resolution 225 on the December 16 edition of the Fox News program, “Special Report with Bret Baier” when she was asked about the movement of the Benghazi investigation in Washington.
There was a time when ethics, honesty, constitutional dedication, and accountability were not arcane myths in Washington D.C. For the sake of America, I hope that we embrace those sort of principles again in the near future. Perhaps, 2014 may be the year that we start turning things around.
America, make your vote count and call your Congressional Representatives and Senators about Benghazi or any other policy issue that concerns and disturbs you. That is your right as a voting citizen.
Michael Ingmire is the Uncle of Sean Smith, one of the four Americans killed during the attacks in Benghazi on September 11, 2012.
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/...anges-in-2014/
