GOP fundraises off Benghazi attack

With the help of John Bolton, House Republicans looks to cash in on the terror attack

Published May 14, 2013 4:45PM (EDT)

John Bolton        (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)
John Bolton (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)

Because no good scandal should go to waste, the National Republican Congressional Committee has enlisted John Bolton to turn the Benghazi attack into cash for Republican congressional campaigns.

"As an Under Secretary of State during the September 11, 2001, attacks, and later as Ambassador to the UN, I saw very closely what a terrorist event looks like," Bolton wrote in an email solicitation sent to supporters this morning. "What's happened with Benghazi is not how it's supposed to be handled and I think it could be a hinge point for the Obama administration."

Then came the ask: "Will you give $5 to support the NRCC in their goal to hold the administration accountable for Benghazi? Your $5 will go a long way. Americans deserve an explanation -- please help out," Bolton wrote.

This is the second such solicitation from the NRCC, which on Friday set up a fundraising page to “demand answers" about the "coverup." And it seems to be working -- the group said yesterday that the Benghazi page was the most trafficked in the history of its website. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who has been one of the most outspoken Republicans on the issue, ran a Web ad on the Benghazi attack last year, and the Karl Rove-linked American Crossroads has its own Web video.

As Ari Melber asked, "If the Benghazi hearings aren't politicizing a tragedy, why is the GOP fundraising off them?"

One might also ask how electing House Republicans almost two years from now will help get to the bottom of the Benghazi scandal now, but these kinds of non-germane nationalized issues are par for the course in political fundraising, especially for House races in off years when few are paying attention to actual candidates.


By Alex Seitz-Wald

MORE FROM Alex Seitz-Wald


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Benghazi Conservatism Fundraising John Bolton Nrcc Tea Party