Paul Ryan and Allies Dance on Grave of Slain U.S. Diplomat at Right-Wing Confab

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http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/paul-ryan-and-allies-dance-grave-slain-us-diplomat-right-wing-confab



In politics, as in war, the truth is often a casualty. But in the presidential election of 2012, the truth is targeted for assassination, placed on a hit list by the Romney-Ryan campaign and the Republican right.

There's nothing serendipitous about it. That was made clear today by Rep. Paul Ryan, the Republican vice presidential candidate, in a speech delivered to the Values Voter Summit, the annual gathering convened by the FRC Action, the political arm of the Family Research Council.

When, earlier this week, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney responded to the slaying of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens in Benghazi, Libya, by falsely accusing President Barack Obama of making common cause with the enemy, the liberal pundit class predicted those remarks had just cost Romney the election. Mark, overshot. Shark, jumped. Choose your metaphor.

I confess to having been among those who saw Romney's comments as, if not a game-ender, an unforced error.

In a prepared statement released on September 11, the night of the assault on the consulate in Libya, Romney said, "I'm outraged by the attacks on American diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt and by the death of an American consulate worker in Benghazi. It's disgraceful that the Obama administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks."