***UPDATE: RACHEL MADDOW LOVES THIS LINE OF ATTACK***
Jason Chaffetz has voted to cut funding for US embassies around the world however the bill didn’t go anywhere because of the Senate. Regardless of that, O’Brien tries to suggest that because Chaffetz and others voted to cut spending, the State Dept. felt pressure to cut spending and that’s why the decreased security in Libya.
But Chaffetz responds with what seemed obvious to me, that we have over 200 embassies around the world and the State Dept. should prioritize spending where they need it most, and Libya was one of those places. As Chaffetz points out, there have been bombing and assassination attempts in Libya which promotes it to a much higher priority.
Watch below:
UPDATE: Apparently Rachel Maddow saw this interview too and loves this line of attack from Soledad:
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has scheduled a fairly high-profile hearing today on security lapses at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. There’s one nagging problem, however, that might cause Republicans some trouble.
For example, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), a member of Issa’s committee, told Soledad O’Brien this morning that he expects to hear testimony about security that “didn’t meet the basic, minimum standards required for a facility such as the one we had in Benghazi.” Chaffetz added that policymakers have to “make sure it doesn’t happen in other places around the world.”
Asked if he’d voted to cut federal funding for security at U.S. embassies and consulates, Chaffetz responded, “Absolutely. Look we have to make priorities and choices in this country…. When you’re in touch economic times, you have to make difficult choices. You have to prioritize things.”
Hmm. Those “priorities” apparently don’t include security at U.S. diplomatic outposts abroad.
Um Rachel, did you watch the rest of the interview? Chaffetz said that the House went with regular funding of embassies through a continuing resolution. Even so, he also made a competent argument regarding prioritization.
Ugh, the Left never wants to blame Obama for anything. They are always looking for a way to blame Republicans even when they had nothing to do with it.