Republicans using 'Benghazi' as cheap political tool? Well, duh.

"And in conclusion, Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi. See you next Sunday." It couldn't really be this simple, could it? No, it probably could.

If [U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice] is not picked, Kerry would be the logical next choice, and that selection would lead to a special election and a potential GOP pickup. Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.), who just lost reelection, would have a very reasonable chance of winning that special election, despite the state's blue lean. And, yes, Senate Republicans are well aware of that series of  dominoes.

In recent days, Republicans have begun a quiet effort to push Kerry for the job. Collins as well as Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) have all suggested Kerry would be a good pick, with Collins even saying that he would sail to confirmation if selected. 'I think John Kerry would be an excellent appointment and would be easily confirmed by his colleagues,' Collins said Wednesday.

The Benghazi conspiracy theories have always been thin, but the efforts to pin them on U.N. Ambassador Rice in particular has been outright ridiculous. Yes, John McCain is a terribly crabby person whose ability to influence foreign policy now exists primarily on the Sunday news circuit, and yes, it is true that we were probably due for a new conspiracy theory, since all the old ones about Obamacare coming to take your guns and replace them with black-helicopter-piloting manatees were getting a bit rusty, but could it really be that the "Benghazi conspiracy" attacks on Rice are primarily designed as a pointless little political stab at giving Scott Brown (R-PickupTruck) yet another chance to run for something in the fine state of Massachusetts? Could it be that transparent?

I'm going to go with "Yes. Yes it could." Not because I have any particular insight into the Republican senatorial brain trust, but because if the choice is between (1) John McCain and the others honestly believing their own conspiratorial crap or (2) John McCain and the others playing a shallow political game on behalf of their own party, I am going to take the charitable position of believing the thing that makes them seem slightly less stupid.