January 23, 2013

Ron Johnson — by raising his voice, getting testy, and interrupting — tricks Hillary Clinton into losing her modulation.



My interpretation of this is that Clinton had prepared for this question and practiced getting indignant, but she was not quite ready for the tension cranked up by the wily Wisconsinite Johnson. So the workshopped outrage flipped out over the top. Great theater.

ADDED: "It was theatrics... she didn’t want to answer questions so she makes a big show of it," said Ron Johnson afterwards.

68 comments:

chickelit said...

No Althouse, I rewatched the clip. He didn't "trick" her--he needled her. And she lashed out. Drudge has it essentially right.

You should be proud of Johnson.

chickelit said...

If you want to invoke "trick" I d say that Candy Crowley's stunt is a better example.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

What difference does it make if we told the truth or not?

jacksonjay said...

An agent at Walter Reed? Hmmmmmmm? Who knew?

I guess it does make a difference to Abu Bin Youtube!

Bob Boyd said...

"How dare you try to hold me accountable? Don't realize the magnitude of my screw up?"

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Stop pestering me with these questions.

traditionalguy said...

Amazing chutzpa from Clinton. She is waiving the bloody shirt now to shame those who dare to ask about the propaganda lies pumped ot pre-election. Why someone died Senator Johnson, so how dare you ask about what happened.

Either the Dems really are convinced the Americans want to be lied to, or they are convinced that we are too stupid to understand English.

Mogget said...

Either the Dems really are convinced the Americans want to be lied to, or they are convinced that we are too stupid to understand English.

I think many Americans do want to be lied to, especially if the alternative is to have to think about something that is unsettling or that contradicts their worldview. Particularly frightening is the idea that progressivism might not be the sole or most moral choice.

Shouting Thomas said...

Respect My Authortah!

Chip S. said...

I see that we've now entered the "that's old news" stage of the Benghazi firewall.

Too bad the administration wasn't able to defend the consulate as well as it defends itself.

Nonapod said...

I truly dislike people who use bluster and outrage to shut down dissension, debate, and inquiry. It's such a transparent trick that it pains me that so many people seem to fall for it.

gerry said...

Egad. You had no fucking idea what was going on? Your boss arrested a guy at his home in the night and blamed his sorry ass video for causing it all, even though you had no idea what was the cause, whether it was a few guys who'd decided to kill Americans, or an organized protest?

Why the fuck are you in charge?

Jake said...

He missed an opportunity too. She said "what difference does it make? It is our job to figure out what happened and stop it from happening again." Or something to that effect (Video at 2:50)

If it's your job to figure out what happened, then it matters whether this sprang from a protest or something else. Her own statements put the truth to her lie. Johnson could have nailed her, but didn't. Her Biden-esque rant intimidated him.

bleh said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
3john2 said...

Too bad the administration wasn't able to defend the consulate as well as it defends itself.

Yeah, if the Administration could have sent in Media Team 6 then those four people would be alive today. And invisible.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

The video is blocked for me so I can't watch it but I'm going to give Secretary Clinton the benefit of the doubt and assume she stopped short of giving Senator Johnson the full Joey Welch.

Original Mike said...

"Understanding what happened is less important than to find these militants and bring them to justice."

Yeah, how's that goin'?

bleh said...

And what difference does it make? Really? Gee, it might be nice to not scapegoat some nobody who, although low and disreputable, was still a private citizen. It might also be nice not to stage a midnight knock/photo op.

I so desperately wanted my government to say, "yeah that video happened, and fuck you." A vulgar response, true, but still more mature and appropriate than what did happen.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

What difference does it make if it was Saint Thomas More or if it was Sir Thomas More?

Its old hat anyways.

test said...

traditionalguy said...
Either the Dems really are convinced the Americans want to be lied to, or they are convinced that we are too stupid to understand English.


OR,

Democrats know that 80% of their voters only believe what the Democratic Party tells them and the other 20% wouldn't care if Clinton personally waterboarded Stevens to death as long as abortions are legal.

ricpic said...

"What difference did it make?!" So I lied, big deal, I'm ruling class and that's an end to it!

Bob Boyd said...

Hillary is leaving her Sec.State job before anybody can call for her to step down. Good timing. Onward and upward.
I don't think the Republicans really want to open this can of worms. They'll be posturing in these hearings, but they won't get serious about answers.
And the press? Well...shit.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

How about, IF you don't know what happened or it isn't clear......SHUT THE FUCK UP and stop making up stories.

Instead, of making a simple....we are shocked shocked statement and we are investigating it right now, the decided to make up fairy tales, lies and broadcast it all over Oprah and the morning talking heads shows where they KNEW that they would not be questioned by their leg humping trained chihuahuas in the media.

Hillary....GO TO HELL.

mark said...

"How dare you complain about my cover-up! You see this dead body I'm holding up, have a heart. He died for his country and to keep you safe. See how I can make him wave at you, it's cause he's dead! Dead! How dare you complain about my deeply loved body shield that was formerly a man with a family and a name.

I'm going to go practice crying on demand with the Speaker of the House. You heartless heartless war mongers."

Strelnikov said...

Her performance reminded me of David Fry's great Nixon from back in the 70's: "I accept all of the responsibility...but none of the blame."

Bill Harshaw said...

TR had a great piece on second guessers.

Strelnikov said...

Hillary learned the lesson of Dick, Bill and Jimmy: Never admit fault, never resign under a cloud. Without the media behind it, no effort to out a good liberal politician can succeed. And the media will never again, post Jimmy, get behind any such effort, regardless of the facts.

edutcher said...

For those who haven't seen it, Hillary's new campaign poster.

She now has something to sit beside Willie's, "Ah did nawt have sex with that woman, Mizzzz Lewinsky".

Anonymous said...

What difference does it make? It's important to know if the current crew in charge was incompetent and lied to the American people to cover-up their incompetence, particularly when you have a chance to vote in an election and put competent people in charge. It's better to install competence to make sure this type of thing never happens again instead of hoping for incompetence to change.

Rumpletweezer said...

Picture Hillary as a child. A lamp has been broken. Shortly before that her mother told her to play outside with the ball.

"What difference does it make, mother? The lamp is broken. It's up to us to figure out who did it and see that they are punished. I'll go get Hugh and Tony."

Rabel said...

"I certainly did not know of any report that contradicted the IC talking points at the time that Ambassador Rice went on the TV shows."

That was immediately preceded by "I think this is accurate, Sir."

Bill taught her well.

virgil xenophon said...

"What difference did it make?"

Hillery's statement is the equivalent of a bank robber, having finally been caught after spending all the loot and questioned as to where it is, answering by saying "What difference does it make?" The answer is straightforwardly true, but totally misses the point. If law enforcement operated by the standards implied by Hillery's overly smug answer every thief would, upon being apprehended,
be quickly released; the deed being seen as "old news" and water over the dam not worth trifling about..

GOD that woman is despicable..

Methadras said...

You know Bill and Hillary rehearsed this like a debate don't you?

bagoh20 said...

We sure know how to pick em.

Original Mike said...

"Without the media behind it, no effort to out a good liberal politician can succeed."

Remember way back at the beginning of all this, when the media jumped all over Romney, until the ever worsening story made that line of attack untenable?

Aridog said...

Hillary Clinton on 15 September 2012 ...in WAshington DC, in her capacity as Sec of State, 4 days after the Benghazi attack.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

What difference does it make?

As long as the right people are in charge.

These people are drunk with power.

Original Mike said...

"What difference does it make?" It makes a great deal of difference, given that they peddled that lie in furtherance of their electoral prospects.

Aridog said...

Jay Carney and Susan Rice on 16 September 2012
. The fact both Carney and Rice claim the same thing, following Clinton the day before, answers the question about the entire administration lying intentionally.

This Kabuki theater today is just a waste of time. The same players, Carney and Clinton, have told us it doesn't make any difference.

Translation: Move on now, you impudent peasant bug fuckers...you're in our way.

Mary Beth said...

Even if she didn't feel that her people should ask questions of the survivors before the FBI did, shouldn't the FBI have been reporting what they found to the White House? Why then would they have sent Rice out to tell the video story?

Uncle Pavian said...

Yah. "Great theater." But let's not forget that that's all it is.

Titus said...

It is just theater. This is these representatives Academy Awards.

They are definitely not a pretty crowd though.

There are too many of them too-it looks like a huge chorus line-

Titus said...

Where is Code Pink running through with blood on their hands?

Guimo said...

Liar.

Guimo said...

No wait...pinche mentiroso.

Chip Ahoy said...

My internal defense mechanism suddenly activated and seized control of Central Command ordering my finders not to click and my eyeballs not to look. Great theater. For you. The reviews here are better for me. Thank you all.

Speaking of weird little shows.

Flashback to Grant Heights, an awful place apparently, I wouldn't know, I thought it was cool. First place everybody went in Tokyo, to be sorted, I guess. They said go see the puppet show! So we did, in the basement of the place, a large mall with areas broken out for different things we hardly had time to explore the whole place, but the puppets were Bunraku which were like, come on, the operators are right there! Fail.

Grant Heights is where I got into a fight and was slammed down so hard my head hit the curb and I learned what blacking out felt like. I always wondered about that. Always had a morbid curiosity about that, and now I knew. Then.

Paul said...

He just showed Hillary as Hillary is, not as the MSM tries to portray her.

She is in over her head and never was that good. Maybe good at politics but not good at the head of a very large and important part of the government. Just got by with the name Clinton, that's all, till people started dieing.

Jim Howard said...

It's clearly been a long time since anyone has asked Hillary a tough question.

sarge said...

haha too bad hillary can't shake her shoulders in righteous indignation like a 15 year old girl caught with her mom's smokes the way condoleeza rice did when the 9/11 commition got her to admit she'd been briefed that bin laden was going to attack us with airplanes.

no matter how you slice it 4 guys getting smoked in bengaizi is nuthing compared to 9/11 or even to all those marines reagan got killed in beirut after being warned of the security threat that would be caused by the new Jersey shelling druze and shiia positions

sarge said...

haha too bad hillary can't shake her shoulders in righteous indignation like a 15 year old girl caught with her mom's smokes the way condoleeza rice did when the 9/11 commition got her to admit she'd been briefed that bin laden was going to attack us with airplanes.

no matter how you slice it 4 guys getting smoked in bengaizi is nuthing compared to 9/11 or even to all those marines reagan got killed in beirut after being warned of the security threat that would be caused by the new Jersey shelling druze and shiia positions

Amartel said...

These administration people are so shouty and rude. Can you imagine a Republican Administration official, say, oidontknow, Condi Rice, bellowing at a senator like this? Or grimacing and adopting a pose of long-suffering impatience like she did with Rand Paul. And Obama the other day in his VERY LOUD Happy Entitlement Christmas War is Over speech. Or Michelle "Eye-Roll" Obama.

What are they thinking? Are they so confident/delusional that they don't care about appearances anymore? People notice attitude much more readily than they will deconstruct the meaning of the endless word-vomit that these people redistribute upon us.

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...

Hillary doesn't much act like she's willing to take responsibility for what goes on at the State Dept.

But then Obama doesn't much act like he's responsible for anything either.

Guess the same could be said for Treasury, Justice, ....

I keep sayin': If you don't like what they do with the power, then don't let them have it.

Libertarian.

Brian Brown said...

sarge said...
the way condoleeza rice did when the 9/11 commition got her to admit she'd been briefed that bin laden was going to attack us with airplanes.


Um, Rice was "briefed" on no such thing.

But of course we've already established fools like you enjoy being lied to.

KCFleming said...

A Japanese Noh play, masks and all.

harrogate said...

To non ideologues, though. In case any of them are even watching. Johnson comes across as a tool.

sarge said...

"sarge said...
the way condoleeza rice did when the 9/11 commition got her to admit she'd been briefed that bin laden was going to attack us with airplanes.

Um, Rice was "briefed" on no such thing.

But of course we've already established fools like you enjoy being lied to."

I beg to differ:

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=condoleeza+rice+briefing+on+bin+laden+attack&mid=6A2A0B411DB469BAA5456A2A0B411DB469BAA545&view=detail&FORM=VIRE7

the 9/11 wives look a bit pissy there in the back round as condoleeza lies her ass off after months of stone walling

admit it all the evidence shows bush and ride the national seccurity director rice dropped the ball and let thousands of americans die.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

So... if I got this right...

Something terrible happens... you are the department head in charge... you don't make a call to find out what happened?

Mutaman said...

"wily" ????

Revenant said...

that bin laden was going to attack us with airplanes

The thing I find funny about this belief -- aside from it not being true -- is the idea that it would have been useful information.

Bin Laden is going to attack us... with airplanes! Um, k. What's the follow-up, banning Arabs from being on planes within the United States? Yeah, I see that happening. :)

David said...

Hilary is a liar. She lied early and often in her public career, and proved that she will lie without batting an eye if it serves her interest.

She is lucky that it is considered bad form to point this out, especially within the press.

Of course the country keeps electing liars and cheats, and her husband Bill the congenital liar is one of the most popular persons in the country.

Our culture has gone fundamentally astray. Damn fool us.

jacksonjay said...

She definitely had her eyes did when she was recuping from her fall! The eyeglasses are to cover-up!

Once written, twice... said...

Take away--Hillary dominated and Republicans looked like kooks and fools. All and all a good day.

Amartel said...

Hillary cried
Credibility died*




*It was already dead but I know how lefties love a rhyme.

Chuck said...

The media is filled with characterizations of Johnson's questioning as being somehow unusually hostile and challenging.

Ron Johnson was in the midst of asking the most plain, unambiguous, media-worn question of the last six months in U.S. foreign affairs: Why did the Obama Administration come out with a false story in the first few days follwing the assasination of a U.S. ambassador?

I've seen much, much worse questioning, in deposition rooms, in courtrooms, and yes in congressional hearing rooms.

The real mystery to me is what prompted such an exrtreme frweaout on the part of Mrs. Clinton? I do think that her explosion was planned and rehearsed. It was completely out of all proportion with Senator Johnson's questioning. Unlike a lot of people in Congress, Johnson isn't even a prosecutor, as was Arlen Specter, Jeff Sessions, Asa Hutchinson and Lindsey Graham.

Is Johnson even a lawyer? Like the lawyer Hillary Clinton?

Unknown said...

She's pathetic. Her story is lame. Will we ever know what happened? No, and no Democrat cares.

Synova said...

Seems like she wants it to be about what happened at Benghazi... and I'm sort of... what difference does it make at this point? What difference does it make who planned the attack? Does it even make much difference why?

The next group may be someone else with different goals.

What matters "at this point" is the things that we have control over. Nothing else. Not really.

What we (as an amorphous US government entity) have control over is the decisions that WE make, that the president makes, that the secretary of state makes... about process, about policy, and at the moment the SHTF.

It doesn't matter so much why someone attacked the consulate as it matters why our government responded the way it did, and that includes the "official story" after the fact. It certainly includes decisions prior to the event that left no response teams on hand. It certainly involves decisions during the attack to respond or not and why.

But whatever. Obama got re-elected and we were all promised a full investigation and the truth.

It's not up to Hillary to decide what we the people, or Ron Johnson, ought to think matters.

PianoLessons said...

Someone talented - with time on their hands - needs to craft a manifesto for the next new America with the title "What Difference Does it Make?"

I'm too busy and not talented enough but surely there is someone out there.....

What difference does it make?

Hillary - you stood next to the coffins of dead American ambassadors and soldiers and lied to them and America to expedite and promote the election of an American President who wanted "clean hands" (like Pontius Pilate) for the treasonous denial of American strength when you and Obama and others lied to America vie your propagandizing and Orwellian media that the Benghazi attacks were triggered by a You Tube video.

Hillary - you will never - ever - ever - be able to escape these five words you spoke today....in obvious anger at the Wisconsin Senator who pressed you for an explanation (Ron Johnson).....

What Difference Does It Make?

Sure hope there are creative, engaged Americans out there willing to take up the title.

It says SO MUCH about the ends justifying the means, ethics in the current American Administration, our line to cross or not between moral relativism or Americanism.

And these two concepts are so distinctly different.

It's time for those who love our nation to start marginalizing those who do not.

Dante said...

I don't think the guy got the best of Hillary at All. She shut him down.

It's OK. She is a Democrat, PLUS she has a vagina.