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Young Voters Speak Out: RR.com spotlights politically-minded youth writers speaking their minds on the issues of the day. Young Democrats, Republicans and ‘Independent’ Americans are eager to be heard within the political arena.
Read K. Heidi Smucker's thoughts from a right-leaning perspective:
The halls of Washington seem more like the halls of Sweet Valley High these days. With a never-ending stream of rumors swirling around, I don't find it surprising that everyone in this country is completely whipped up into a frenzy over every little story. It doesn't help that our news outlets play right into the chaos and many times are the reason everything gets blown out of proportion. Therefore it did not shock me a bit when more liberal channels in the news media started pointing fingers over Republicans calling the General Petraeus scandal a potential cover up for the Benghazi hearings. If they would stop wildly throwing their own accusations about how crazy this theory was maybe they'd see how Republicans weren't saying it was a sure thing, merely that it was a possibility.
Suspiciously Timed
I couldn't have been the only person to see the timing of the scandal as extremely questionable. A big upcoming hearing on the Obama administration's first big international flub and suddenly a massive scandal involving those at the very tippy top of our intelligence community breaks. To make everything even more tumultuous, the man at the center of the scandal was the star witness at the hearings. Honestly, it doesn't get more suspicious than that. Actually, you could write a compelling crime novel using that plot. (You're welcome, John Grisham.) Not that I'm suggesting we all become conspiracy theorists, but do I think it's perfectly healthy for American citizens to question their government when something smells fishy.
Someone Please Call Them Out
In light of the strange timing, Republicans started asking questions, mainly ones pertaining to how General Petraeus' scandal would affect his testimony. Because they started asking questions suddenly they were all labeled as conspiracy nuts and dismissed by left-leaning media outlets. Perhaps they were a bit too vocal in their questioning but thank God someone was actually asking questions. The media acted as if it was silly to question things but it is absolutely not silly. Republicans pushed with their questions and in turn got an answer, even if it wasn't the one they were looking for.
Everyone Chill Out
In the end Petraeus was front and center at the hearings and everyone finally unbunched their knickers and calmed down. There does seem to be a trend of Republicans questioning every little decision made by the Obama administration but if the roles were reversed do you think Democrats would sit quietly and hold their tongues like well behaved school children? The answer to that is a big fat "no way." They would be crying wolf all over the place just the same as Republicans are doing now. I will say the finger-pointing has become more aggressive in the last six years and ultimately is making our lawmakers look like bratty children. But honestly, as a journalist I'm just glad people still ask questions, no matter how ridiculous they may seem. If we ever stop questioning things than we've become complacent and then our nation is definitely doomed.
Questions and Answers
The timing with both the Petraeus and Benghazi scandals was unfortunate but in the end it is pretty clear they weren't purposely planned that way. What was outrageous about the entire affair was the media coming down on people questioning that timing. They are entitled to ask questions and get answers and not be resented and laughed at for doing so. Sometimes it takes yelling and screaming your questions all over the place to get an immediate answer and if that's what it takes, then I say yell and scream away.
