Jay Carney Tries to Spin the New Benghazi Documents

Jay Carney tries to answer questions regarding the documents obtained by Judicial Watch  (Benghazi 4-7-14, 2014), through a Freedom of Information Act request. These documents identify that former White House Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes gave former U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice the Benghazi talking points which attributed the attack on the Benghazi compound to a video-inspired protest (Newly Released Documents Show White House Pushed Video, 2014).  Carney tries to say that these talking points were not about Benghazi. This seems entirely disingenuous. Was this originally an intentional act to focus attention on an internet video? Is this now an attempt to spin the released documents that were only released after Judicial Watch brought a lawsuit against the State Department for failure to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request back on October 18, 2012?

Figure 1  (Jon Karl vs. Jay Carney on Benghazi, 2014)

Bibliography

Benghazi 4-7-14. (2014, April 28). Retrieved April 30, 2014, from Judical Watch Document Archive: http://www.judicialwatch.org/document-archive/1919_production-4-17-14/

Jon Karl vs. Jay Carney on Benghazi. (2014, April 30). Retrieved April 30, 2014, from You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Nszcn0-9eTM

Newly Released Documents Show White House Pushed Video. (2014, April 30). Retrieved April 30, 2014, from Political Contrast: http://politicalcontrast.blogspot.com/

Newly Released Documents Show White House Pushed Video

      Judicial Watch, through a Freedom of Information Act request, received documents that identify who in the White House gave former U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice the Benghazi talking points which attributed the attack on the Benghazi compound to a video-inspired protest (Benghazi 4-7-14, 2014). These documents show former White House Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes in an e-mail to former U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice and others with the purpose of preparing her for a later phone call listed the following:

Goals:

•  To convey that the United States is doing everything that we can to protect our people and facilities abroad;

•  To underscore that these protests are rooted in an Internet video, and not a broader failure of policy;

•  To show that we will be resolute in bringing people who harm Americans to justice, and standing steadfast through these protests;

•  To reinforce the President and Administration's strength and steadiness in dealing with difficult challenges.

Top-lines:

•  Since we began to see protests in response to this Internet video, the President has directed the Administration to take a number of steps. His top priority has been the safety and security of all Americans serving abroad.

•  First, we have significantly increased security at our diplomatic posts around the globe, with additional resources from across the government. The safety and security of our personnel is paramount and under constant review.

•  Second, we have reached out to governments in the region to make sure they are cooperating closely with us, and meeting their obligations to protect diplomatic facilities as best they can. For instance, we've seen cooperation from Yemen and Egypt cooperate significantly after President Obama called those leaders.

•  Third, we've made our views on this video crystal clear. The United States government had nothing to do with it. We reject its message and its contents. We find it disgusting and reprehensible. But there is absolutely no justification at all for responding to this movie with violence. And we are working to make sure that people around the globe hear that message.

•  Fourth, we've encouraged leaders around the globe to speak out against the violence, and you've seen very important statements in the Muslim world by people like Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey, President Morsi of Egypt, and others who have condemned the violence and called for a peaceful response.

•  I think that people have come to trust that President Obama provides leadership that is steady and statesmanlike. There are always going to be challenges that emerge around the world, and time and again he's shown that we can meet them.

      Probably the most incriminating statement is the goal “to underscore that these protests are rooted in an Internet video, and not a broader failure of policy” (Benghazi 4-7-14, 2014). These documents also show that “Several top White House staffers, including political strategist David Plouffe and press secretary Jay Carney, were involved in these emails” (Adams, 2014). This e-mail further underscores the multiple revisions of the talking points where all references of terrorism and al- Qa’ida were removed.

      Why was there this intentional attempt to redirect American’s focus away from terrorism and al-Qa’ida? Perhaps, in the lead up to the 2012 election, it was because as of November 1^st, 2012 “President Barack Obama has described al Qaeda [sic] as having been ‘decimated,’ ‘on the path to defeat’ or some other variation at least 32 times since the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, according to White House transcripts (Lucas, 2012). This shows, as many have believed, an intentional attempt to downplay the term terrorism and the role of al-Qa’ida in the attack on the Benghazi compound.

Bibliography

Adams, B. (2014, April 29). New White House Emails Reveal Effort to Portray Benghazi Attack as Being ‘Rooted’ in an ‘Internet Video,’ Protect President’s Re-Election. Retrieved April 30, 2014, from The Blaze: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/04/29/new-emails-reveal-effort-to-portray-benghazi-attack-as-being-rooted-in-an-internet-video-protect-presidents-re-election/

Benghazi 4-7-14. (2014, April 28). Retrieved April 30, 2014, from Judical Watch Document Archive: http://www.judicialwatch.org/document-archive/1919_production-4-17-14/

Lucas, F. (2012, November 1). Obama Has Touted Al Qaeda’s Demise 32 Times since Benghazi Attack. Retrieved November 30, 2014, from CNS News: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/obama-touts-al-qaeda-s-demise-32-times-benghazi-attack-0

President Obama said “You can keep your doctor; You can keep your Health Care plan”

        On numerous occasions President Obama stated: “if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor;” “if you like your health care plan, you can keep your plan;” and “if you like your health insurance, you can keep your health insurance.”

Below is a video collage of the statements made by President Obama:

Figure 1 ("If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan." Barack Obama Supercut, 2013)

        In one of President Obama’s more emphatic statements he said, “That means that no matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise to the American people: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period. If you like your health-care plan, you'll be able to keep your health-care plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what” (Fournier, 2013). In fact, PolitiFact “found at least 37 times since Obama’s inauguration where he or a top administration official made a variation of the pledge that if you like your plan, you can keep it” (Jacobson, 2013).

 

        However, it seems there is ample evidence that the President’s statements are false. Here are some examples:

• Kentucky Department of Insurance spokeswoman Ronda Sloan said individual policies for about 130,000 people will be discontinued, as will small group policies for about 150,000 more” (The Associated Press, 2013). 
• Blue Shield of California sent termination letters to 119,000 customers last month whose plans don't meet the new federal requirements. About two-thirds of those people will experience a rate increase from switching to a new health plan, according to the company (Terhune, 2013).
• HMO giant Kaiser Permanente is canceling coverage for about half of its individual customers, or 160,000 people, and offering to automatically enroll them in the most comparable health plan available (Terhune, 2013) (Crawford, 2013).
• Insurer Highmark in Pittsburgh is dropping about 20 percent of its individual market customers, while Independence Blue Cross, the major insurer in Philadelphia, is dropping about 45 percent (McCormack, 2013).
• In Florida, Florida Blue, is terminating about 300,000 policies, about 80 percent of its individual policies in the state. (McCormack, 2013) (Crawford, 2013).
• Nancy Thompson, senior vice president of CBIZ Benefits, which helps companies manage their employee benefits, says numbers in this market are hard to pin down, but that data from states and carriers suggests “anywhere from 50 to 75 percent” of individual policy holders will get cancellation letters (Myers & Rappleye, 2013).
• Nearly 2 million Californians have individual insurance, and several hundred thousand of them are losing their health plans in a matter of weeks (Terhune, 2013).
• According to health policy expert Bob Laszewski, roughly 16 million Americans will lose their current plans because of Obamacare (McCormack, 2013).
• Four sources deeply involved in the Affordable Care Act tell NBC News that 50 to 75 percent of the 14 million consumers who buy their insurance individually can expect to receive a “cancellation” letter or the equivalent over the next year because their existing policies don’t meet the standards mandated by the new health care law (Myers & Rappleye, 2013).
• The U.S. individual health insurance market currently totals about 19 million people. Because the Obama administration's regulations on grandfathering existing plans were so stringent about 85% of those, 16 million, are not grandfathered and must comply with Obamacare at their next renewal (McCormack, 2013).

NBC News (Myers & Rappleye, 2013), CBS News (Crawford, 2013), FOX News (Angle, 2013), Newsmax (Beamon, 2013), The Weekly Standard (McCormack, 2013), the Los Angeles Times (Terhune, 2013), and the Kaiser Health News (Gorman & Appleby, 2013) among a multitude of others have all reported that people are losing their health care plans or that the plans they have are changing.

        FactCheck.org, among others, tried to obfuscate this Presidential dishonesty by saying “that President Obama was over-simplifying and over-promising” (Jackson, 2013) and “people would “lose” their plans all the time, with or without the ACA” (Robertson, 2014). Or they try to say that your plan is really bad so we can’t continue to allow you to have it because it doesn’t meet our high standards (Linkins, 2013). These individuals and organizations conveniently forget the point is that intentionally misleading is defined as a lie regardless of the intent.

        Then, amongst a flurry of backlash, President Obama on November 4^th 2013 tried to change his previous statements when he said “If you had one of these plans before the Affordable Care Act came into law and you really liked that plan, what we said was you can keep it if it hasn't changed since the law passed" ( Barack Obama: 'What We Said Was, You Could Keep' Your Health Care Plan, If - Organizing for America , 2013). However, PolitiFact “never found an instance in which he offered the caveat that it only applies to plans that hadn’t changed after the law’s passage” (Jacobson, 2013) prior to his statement on November 4^th.

Below is a video where President Obama offers his new explanation:

 Figure 2 ( Barack Obama: 'What We Said Was, You Could Keep' Your Health Care Plan, If - Organizing for America , 2013)

Finally, amongst more backlash, President Obama in an interview on November 7^th 2013 apologized for misleading the American public when he said, "I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me” (Todd, 2013). Furthermore, it has come to light that as early as July 2010 “the administration knew that more than 40 to 67 percent of those in the individual market would not be able to keep their plans, even if they liked them” (Myers & Rappleye, 2013).

        Therefore, not only did President Obama mislead or lie to the American public when he or his administration stated, no less than 37 times, “a variation of the pledge that if you like your plan, you can keep it,” (Jacobson, 2013) but he lied again when he said, “what we said was you can keep it if it hasn't changed since the law passed" ( Barack Obama: 'What We Said Was, You Could Keep' Your Health Care Plan, If - Organizing for America , 2013).  I also find it interesting that Harry Reid, as I have previously written (Johnson, 2014) equated dishonesty with being un-American when speaking of the Koch brothers and encouraged Americans to speak out against this dishonesty (Memoli, 2014); however, I have yet to hear him speak out on this obvious dishonesty.

Bibliography

Barack Obama: 'What We Said Was, You Could Keep' Your Health Care Plan, If - Organizing for America . (2013, November 4). Retrieved April 15, 2014, from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY2_BdXpGwE

"If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan." Barack Obama Supercut. (2013, October 29). Retrieved April 15, 2014, from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCUpJDzyRnY

Angle, J. (2013, Novemebr 26). Almost 80 million with employer health care plans could have coverage canceled, experts predict. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from FOX News: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/11/26/evidence-shows-obama-administration-predicted-tens-millions-would-lose-plans/

Beamon, T. (2013, November 20). 100 Million More Could Lose Insurance Under Obamacare. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from Newsmax: http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/obamacare-lose-health-insurance/2013/11/20/id/537797/

Cannon, M. F. (2014, February 27). ObamaCare's Horror Stories Are All Untrue? Really, Sen. Reid? Retrieved April 15, 2014, from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelcannon/2014/02/27/obamacares-horror-stories-are-all-untrue-really-sen-reid/

Crawford, J. (2013, October 30). Policy cancellations, higher premiums add to frustration over Obamacare. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from CBS News: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/policy-cancellations-higher-premiums-add-to-frustration-over-obamacare/

Fournier, R. (2013, November 5). Lying About Lies: Why Credibility Matters to Obama. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from FOX News: http://www.nationaljournal.com/white-house/lying-about-lies-why-credibility-matters-to-obama-20131105

Gorman , A., & Appleby, J. (2013, October 21). Thousands Of Consumers Get Insurance Cancellation Notices Due To Health Law Changes. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from Kaiser Health News: http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2013/October/21/cancellation-notices-health-insurance.aspx

Jackson, B. (2013, October 29). Reality Confronts Obama’s False Promise. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from FactCheck.org: http://www.factcheck.org/2013/10/reality-confronts-obamas-false-promise/

Jacobson, L. (2013, November 6). Barack Obama says that what he'd said was you could keep your plan 'if it hasn’t changed since the law passed'. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from PolitiFact: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2013/nov/06/barack-obama/barack-obama-says-what-hed-said-was-you-could-keep/

Johnson, T. (2014, April 15). Harry Reid Says He Never Called ObamaCare Stories Lies . Retrieved April 15, 2014, from Political Contrast: http://politicalcontrast.blogspot.com/2014/04/harry-reid-says-he-never-called.html

Kelly, M. (2014, February 26). Sen. McConnell blasts Harry Reid's 'unacceptable rhetoric'. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/the-kelly-file/transcript/2014/02/27/sen-mcconnell-blasts-harry-reids-unacceptable-rhetoric

Linkins, J. (2013, October 30). What Obama Really Meant When He Said 'If You Like Your Plan, You Can Keep It' . Retrieved April 15, 2014, from Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/30/if-you-like-your-plan-you-can-keep-it-_n_4175715.html

Mass Tea Party. (2014, February 26). Retrieved April 15, 2014, from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC4EN1P_bio

McCormack, J. (2013, October 23). Millions of Americans Are Losing Their Health Plans Because of Obamacare. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from The Weekly Standard: https://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/millions-americans-are-losing-their-health-plans-because-obamacare_764602.html

Memoli, M. A. (2014, February 26). Harry Reid calls Koch brothers 'un-American' over Obamacare ads. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from Los Angeles Times: http://articles.latimes.com/2014/feb/26/news/la-pn-harry-reid-koch-brothers-unamerican-20140226

Myers , L., & Rappleye, H. (2013, October 29). Obama administration knew millions could not keep their health insurance. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from NBC News: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/other/obama-administration-knew-millions-could-not-keep-their-health-insurance-f8C11485678

Pear, R. (2014, February 20). Public Sector Cuts Part-Time Shifts to Bypass Insurance Law. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/21/us/public-sector-cuts-part-time-shifts-to-duck-insurance-law.html?_r=0

Robertson, L. (2014, January 3). Workers ‘Losing’ Employer Plans? Retrieved April 15, 2014, from FactCheck.org: http://www.factcheck.org/2014/01/workers-losing-employer-plans/

SASA NEWS. (2014, March 27). Retrieved April 15, 2014, from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EthOYxwIaC0

Terhune, C. (2013, October 26). Some health insurance gets pricier as Obamacare rolls out. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from Los Angeles Times: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-health-sticker-shock-20131027,0,4888906,full.story#axzz2j7tq3Hdn

The Associated Press. (2013, November 2). About 280,000 Kentuckians Losing Current Coverage. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from LEX18.com: http://www.lex18.com/news/about-280-000-kentuckians-losing-current-coverage/

Todd, C. (2013, November 7). Exclusive: Obama personally apologizes for Americans losing health coverage. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from NBC News: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/other/exclusive-obama-personally-apologizes-americans-losing-health-coverage-f8C11555216