Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently contracted a stomach virus during a trip to Europe, which in turn left her dehydrated. Over the weekend, it reached the point at which Clinton fainted, struck her head, and suffered a minor concussion.
At least, that’s what they want us to think. The right has its doubts.
Do you hear that faint sound? It’s the grumbling of conservative pundits who are now churning out a theory that Hillary Clinton is lying about her concussion to avoid having to testify about Benghazi. Clinton had a concussion recently, her team said Saturday.
And The Daily Caller’s Jim Treacher isn’t sending the Secretary of State a get-well card until she proves she was really hurt. He writes: If she has a concussion, let’s see the medical report. Let’s see some proof that she’s not just stonewalling. If it’s true, then we can all wish her a speedy recovery. But it’s ridiculous to expect us to take her word for it.
Treacher added that if Mitt Romney was expected to produce his tax returns, it’s not “paranoid” of the right to seek the Secretary of State’s “medical report.” I’m not altogether sure how they’re comparable — and didn’t Romney end up hiding nearly all of his tax returns? — but when it comes to conservatives and Benghazi, logic disappeared a long time ago.
In fairness to Treacher, I should note that he’s not the only one who wonders whether Clinton pulled a Ferris Bueller to get out of the congressional hearing. As The Atlantic noted, Fox News commentator John Bolton and conservative blogger Lucianne Goldberg have raised related suspicions. Of course, after the David Petraeus conspiracy theories fell apart, the right’s credibility on off-the-wall Benghazi conjecture isn’t exactly strong. For the record, Clinton’s illness will not deprive lawmakers of answers — the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee will continue with their hearings, as planned, and hear testimony from William J. Burns and Thomas R. Nides, both deputy secretaries of state.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past." Recommended
