Kuster Caught Up in Benghazi Flap

U.S. Rep. Ann McLane Kuster, D-NH, has come under fire for remarks – or lack of remarks – concerning the Sept. 11, 2012, attack of the embassy in Benghazi, Libya, at a Jewish Federation of New Hampshire talk in Manchester last month, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader.

During a town hall meeting about a recent trip to Israel with other dignitaries, the freshman Congresswoman took a question from the audience about a house resolution that would authorize a special committee to be formed to investigate the attack, according to a video clip posted on YouTube.com.

While reading the question, Kuster’s voice trailed off, and she stated, “I don’t have … it’s a Senate, I think ... I don’t think we have anything about that in the House.”

A woman near the video camera that was recording the talk can be quietly heard stating, “Yes you do,” since it is a House resolution.

Kuster then said, “and the rest of this is also Benghazi.”

The woman in the video then asked, “Can you address Benghazi? What are you going to do about Benghazi? Why isn’t Benghazi at the top of your issue?”

“Well,” Kuster then replied, “I’m certainly not here to talk about it. We’re here to talk about the Middle East.”

Many in the crowd, including the woman heard in the video, said “that is the Middle East” and “this is a Middle East issue,” stunned by Kuster’s comment.

In the video, Kuster can be seen folding her arms silently and later, fumbled to put a microphone into its holder while the moderator of the town hall stepped in to tell attendees there were a lot of opinions about the issue and people should stick to the format of the event.

The video quickly went viral over the weekend and on Monday, both local and national Republicans pounced on Kuster for the presentation, blasting her for dodging the question and refusing to address constituent concerns about problems in the region.

Ian Prior, the Northeast Regional Press Secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee, in a blog post on Patch, called the display “pathetic” adding that her comments made her “unqualified” for the office of Representative to Congress.

Jennifer Horn, the chairwoman of the New Hampshire Republican State Committee, called the response to the question “sad,” adding that it showed she was “ill-informed” about the attack.

“Congresswoman Kuster's unwillingness to state her views on an important issue like Benghazi proves that she isn't living up to the standards that Granite Staters expect from their elected officials,” Horn said. “It's time for Congresswoman Kuster to stop dodging questions and start being up front and honest about her positions."

State Rep. Marilinda Garcia, a potential Republican challenger from Salem, said Kuster owed the state’s voters more “than a dismissive wave of her hand” when addressing the death of four Americans in the embassy attack.

“Congresswoman Kuster’s indifferent and ill-informed response to a constituent’s question about Benghazi raises concerns about her commitment to the men and women who serve our nation overseas and to the citizens of New Hampshire’s second district,” she said. “Let us never forget the bravery those Americans showed on that night. Elected officials must always support our servicemen and women abroad and never mislead the nation.”

Former state Sen. Gary Lambert, R-Nashua, another candidate seeking the GOP nomination for the Congressional seat, told WMUR-TV that it was “more of the same” from Kuster.

"Granite Stater's are so frustrated with the Washington games politicians like her have brought to New Hampshire,” he said. “We deserve better, when concerned citizens have questions for their member of Congress -- it is their duty and responsibility to answer them honestly."

Democrats were pretty much silent about the issue although some noted that Libya, while an Arab nation, was not considered part of the Middle East but is in fact, in Africa.

Dean Barker, the co-founder of the Blue Hampshire political website, Tweeted a history map showing the Middle East and wrote: “HAHAHA - Did you hear the one about the Democrat who didn't know #Benghazi was in the Middle East?,” while adding that he was not defending Kuster or the video while discussing the issue on the social media site.

Raymond Buckley, the chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, countered in a Tweet that U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte still hadn’t “apologized for spreading lies about Benghazi? CBS did, reporters suspended but Kelly never did. Why?”

UPDATE: Kuster's response

On Dec. 11, Patch received the following statement from Kuster's office: 

"Like all Americans, I was horrified by the tragic attack on our Embassy in Benghazi that killed four patriotic Americans. Our focus must remain on finding those responsible, bringing them to justice, and taking every necessary step to prevent an attack like this from ever happening again." - Rep. Kuster