I knew it. I didn't actually know it, but I knew it. And though I started to say it yesterday, I declined, dismissing it as what is clicheishly known as idle speculation. But last night, Politico confirmed what I--and millions of others--already knew: Nancy Pelosi jumped from smartly relegating Trey Gowdy's Benghazi committee to the purely partisan, witch-hunting joke that it is to appointing five Democrats to the wretched thing, because ... that's what the Clinton camp wanted. It's always about the Clintons.
Clinton emissaries launched a back channel campaign, contacting several House Democratic lawmakers and aides to say they’d prefer Democrats participate, according to sources familiar with the conversations. Pelosi’s staff said they have not heard from Clinton’s camp.... Pelosi told reporters Wednesday that she doesn’t think Clinton or Kerry needs the help of House Democrats, but that she moved to appoint members to the panel for all the other people whom Republicans might call.
Pelosi's first instinct--that of no committee appointments--was as correct as her subsequent denial is weak. Said a "Democrat close to Clinton world": "Republicans are making it clear they plan to use the power of the Benghazi Select Committee to continue to politicize the tragedy that occurred in Benghazi, which is exactly why Democratic participation in the committee is vital.... [It] will help restore a level of sanity to the hearings, which would otherwise exist solely as a political witch hunt."
Hillary Clinton's political advisers are renowned for their miscalculations; they thoroughly botched her Iraq contrition by never offering it in 2008, and for Pete's sake they didn't even know how to add up convention delegates, or understand whence they came. For such a powerful, cash-laden, networked political machine, it thrives only despite itself. Pressuring Dems to join the Benghazi committee--to defend Hillary--is yet another instance of almost comic ineptitude.
As noted many times before, here and elsewhere, Democratic participation will counterproductively add a sheen of legitimacy to House Republicans' frisky Inquisition. But more than that, Democratic participation will prolong the Inquisition's sensationalism. The political media, being the political media, would in short order have become bored with Gowdy's titanically conspicuous partisan witch hunt--left, as it would have been, to its own pathetically transparent partisan devices. Now, however, every day of the Benghazi hearings will offer up emotive, Democratic counterpoints. This will be but media bait that will keep Republicans fishing in a sea of abundant coverage.
I mentioned the other day that "The GOP's hurling of Hillary-invective has been hurled for more than 20 years. No one listens anymore." I still subscribe to that theory, and hold that Republicans' Benghazi efforts will do very little as far as voter persuasion goes. But this--Democratic participation--was both unnecessary and foolish. Why assist the GOP in achieving the media circus it so desires?
No doubt Republicans, the media, and the Clinton camp are all overjoyed at Pelosi's announcement yesterday. But the joy will last for only two of those groups. Guess which ones?