NEWS AND OPINION:
“Despite the congressional report that found no wrongdoing over Benghazi, many still believe that the Obama administration acted improperly,” says Kathy Frankovic, an analyst with YouGov who is armed with the online pollster’s latest survey numbers. “The report has not convinced many. There is still a lot of skepticism, especially among Republicans.”
According to the poll, which was released Wednesday, 44 percent of Americans overall and three-quarters of Republicans do not believe the Obama administration “did all it could to rescue those trapped in the Benghazi consulate.” A third overall believe the administration “created phony talking points for White House national security adviser Susan Rice;” 66 percent of Republicans agree.
The investigations go on. The House Select Committee on Benghazi has scheduled its second hearing next week, simply titled “Reviewing Efforts to Secure U.S. Diplomatic Facilities and Personnel.” Rep. Trey Gowdy, South Carolina Republican and committee chairman, will hear testimony from two State Department heavyweights: Greg Starr, assistant secretary for diplomatic security, and Steve Linick, inspector general. Mr. Gowdy himself has been low-key and measured in his approach so far, but he appears to have a clear sense of mission.
On the anniversary of 9/11 in September, the lawmaker remembered both the victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks and the four Americans killed at the Benghazi compound two years ago. “It is for them that we must establish all of the facts of what happened in Benghazi, beyond any reasonable doubt. And it is for the American people, and those who serve our nation overseas — to restore their faith and confidence — that the committee will establish the facts in a fair and impartial manner,” Mr. Gowdy said at the time.
CLIMATE ACTIVISTS SEEK FERGUSON ACTIVISTS
The same organization behind the massive, gaudy, drum-thumping People’s Climate March that drew 400,000 protesters to the streets of New York in September wants to repeat their performance in the near future. Describing themselves as “climate schemers,” Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno, the point men behind it all, are already huddling, vowing to bring the noisy events to the next level. They have fired up something called an “Action Switchboard” with a presence on multiple social media outlets, which they describe as “a human-staffed online platform for organizing creative direct actions around specific, achievable goals. Start a scheme, get advice from real-live facilitators.”
SEE ALSO: Benghazi: CIA detected no ‘credible threat’ before terror attacks
But they have aspirations elsewhere.
“We stand with and deeply respect the important work happening around the country in support of Ferguson. While our initial campaign is focused on climate, if there are organizers reading this who want to use the Action Switchboard as a resource for developing ongoing, sustained creative actions for racial justice, please contact us and we can help you get started,” the pair advise in a mass email distributed Wednesday.
HOLA AMERICA
The much-coveted Hispanic vote will go to whichever candidate supports President Obama’s executive action on amnesty. So says a new poll of 405 registered Latino voters that uses possible presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton in a test scenario. The survey revealed that 85 percent of the respondents would favor her in 2016 if she supports Mr. Obama’s amnesty plan. “However, if Clinton indicates she would not renew the order, letting it expire, only 37 percent of Latinos voters say they would support her for president, while 55 percent would not,” the poll states.
“This survey makes it abundantly clear that Latino voters will support presidential candidates committed to keeping President Obama’s executive actions on immigration policy in place,” says Oscar Chacon, Executive Director of The National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities, which commissioned the survey with Presente and Mi Familia Vota Education Fund; all three are community organizations. “If Republican or Democratic presidential candidates hope to attract Latino voters to their respective camps in 2016, they will need to come up with just solutions to our broken, obsolete and inhumane immigration policy.”
TEXAS GOES IT ALONE
SEE ALSO: Lindsey Graham: House Benghazi report is ‘full of crap’
He’s putting the “lone” in the Lone Star this week. Texas. Gov. Rick Perry is emphasizing that his state is committed to securing its southern border “in the absence of adequate federal resources.” On Wednesday, the Republican governor announced he would use “all available tools” to do shore up his boundaries, and has now directed all state agencies to use the E-Verify system to check employment eligibility of current and prospective employees.
“Texas’ increased law enforcement presence in the border region is all the more necessary as the federal government continues to ignore the very real issue of border security in favor of political posturing on immigration,” says Mr. Perry. “It’s clear now more than ever that Congress must finally pass a bill that dedicates the necessary resources to securing our border, once and for all. Without border security, immigration reform is a fruitless exercise.”
Meanwhile, Texas Gov.-elect Greg Abbott sued the Obama administration over the amnesty proposals on Wednesday, with 17 other states signing on to the lawsuit that claims the action was a violation of the U.S. Constitution and federal laws “The president is abdicating his responsibility to faithfully enforce laws that were fully enacted by Congress,” says Mr. Abbott.
’STOP THE GOP’
The 2016 merchandising season has begun. The “Official Store of the Democratic Party” is now open for business, greeting prospective online customers with the pitch, “Our products are made right here in the USA, and all profits go to supporting Democrats at all levels of elected office.” It is not as aggressive consumer commercial outreach as the one proceeding the 2012 presidential election, when elite designers contributed their wares and hundreds of items bearing the Democratic message became available.
But there’s still some messaging available on the bumper stickers, magnets, T-shirts, tumblers and lapel buttons now up for grabs, priced from $5 to $30. They include: “I hate tea (parties);” “Stop the GOP;” “I lean Left;” “I vote for Democrats;” “Like this road? Thank a Democrat!;” “I love Obamacare;” “I’m a Democrat;” and “Like a Boss,” this last one accompanied by an image of President Obama.
POLL DU JOUR
• 20 percent of Republicans say they are most likely to support Mitt Romney in the presidential primaries — 25 percent of women, 20 percent of “independents,” 18 percent of conservatives, 15 percent of men agree.
• 10 percent of Republicans overall would support former brain surgeon Ben Carson; — 3 percent of women, 14 percent of “right-leaning independents,” 12 percent of conservatives, 3 percent of men agree.
• 9 percent overall would support Jeb Bush — 8 percent of women, 3 percent of independents, 8 percent of conservatives, 9 percent of men agree.
• 8 percent overall would support New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — 8 percent of women, 5 percent of independents, 6 percent of conservatives, 8 percent of men agree.
• 7 percent overall would support Mike Huckabee — 8 percent of women, 5 percent of independents, 6 percent of conservatives, 7 percent of men agree.
6 percent overall would support Sen. Rand Paul — 8 percent of women, 8 percent of independents, 8 percent of conservatives, 9 percent of men agree.
• 6 percent would support Rep. Paul Ryan — 7 percent of women, 8 percent of independents, 6 percent of conservatives, 5 percent of men agree.
Source: A CNN/ORC poll of 1.045 U.S. adults conducted Nov. 21-23; the sample included 510 Republicans and right-leaning independents.
• Querulous queries, snippy answers to jharper@washingtontimes.com.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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