[guest post by Dana]
Two weeks, the Republican National Convention’s opening night theme was “Make America Safe Again”. Patricia Smith, mother of Sean Smith, killed during the attack on the diplomatic compound in Benghazi, gave a gut-wrenching speech in which she bared her grief and directly blamed Hillary Clinton for the loss of her son. She also argued that it was Donald Trump, not Hillary Clinton, who would keep our nation safe:
For all of this loss, for all of this grief, for all of the cynicism the tragedy in Benghazi has wrought upon America, I blame Hillary Clinton. I blame Hillary Clinton personally for the death of my son.
In an email to her daughter shortly after the attack, Hillary Clinton blamed it on terrorism.
But when I saw Hillary Clinton at Sean’s coffin ceremony, just days later, she looked me squarely in the eye and told me a video was responsible.
Since then, I have repeatedly asked Hillary Clinton to explain to me the real reason why my son is dead. I’m still waiting.
Whenever I called the State Department, no one would speak to me because they say I am “not a member of the immediate family.” Sean is my son.
Hillary Clinton is a woman, a mother and a grandmother of two. I am a woman, a mother and a grandmother of two. How could she do this to me? How could she do this to any American family? Donald Trump is everything Hillary Clinton is not.
…
And, when it comes to the threat posed by radical Islamic terrorism, he will not hesitate to kill the terrorists who threaten American lives.
He will make America stronger, not weaker. This entire campaign comes down to a single question.
If Hillary Clinton … can’t give us the truth … why should we give her the presidency.
Reactions to Smith’s speech ranged from expected compassion to frustration that Hillary Clinton, who once called Smith a liar, has been given a pass on Benghazi.
But then there was also this from the non-partisan and unbiased media:
And this from Chris Matthews:
“I don’t understand why the Republicans would choose to put this on prime-time television when they have such wonderful stories of American heroism to speak to the American people,” an emotional Matthews said. “I think it was wrong.
“I don’t care what that woman up there, the mother, has felt. Her emotions are her own. But for the country in choosing a leader, it’s wrong to have someone get up there and tell a lie about Hillary Clinton. It’s not true. It’s logically not true. I think it’s wrong that they ruined their evening with this.”
Last week at the Democratic National Convention, with his wife standing quietly by his side, the father of U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan pushed back against Donald Trump’s plan to limit Muslim immigration in the U.S. as he emotionally shared about his son who died in Iraq while saving the lives of fellow soldiers in 2004:
Tonight we are honoured to stand here as parents of Captain Humayun Khan and as patriotic American Muslims – with undivided loyalty to our country.
Like many immigrants, we came to this country empty-handed. We believed in American democracy; that with hard work and goodness of this country, we could share in and contribute to its blessings.
…
Our son, Humayun, had dreams too, of being a military lawyer, but he put those dreams aside the day he sacrificed his life to save the lives of his fellow soldiers. Hillary Clinton was right when she called my son ‘the best of America’.
If it was up to Donald Trump, he never would have been in America. Donald Trump consistently smears the character of Muslims. He disrespects other minorities; women; judges; even his own party leadership.
He vows to build walls, and ban us from this country. Donald Trump, you’re asking Americans to trust you with their future.
Let me ask you: have you even read the United States constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy. [he pulls it out] In this document, look for the words ‘liberty’ and ‘equal protection of law’.
Have you ever been to Arlington Cemetery? Go look at the graves of brave patriots who died defending the United States of America.
You will see all faiths, genders and ethnicities. You have sacrificed nothing and no one.
We cannot solve our problems by building walls, sowing division. We are stronger together. And we will keep getting stronger when Hillary Clinton becomes our President.
In conclusion, I ask every patriot American, all Muslim immigrants, and all immigrants to not take this election lightly.
This is a historic election, and I request to honour the sacrifice of my son – and on election day, take the time to get out and vote.
And vote for the healer. vote for the strongest, most qualified candidate, Hillary Clinton, not the divider. God bless you, thank you.
With rare exception, Khizr Khan’s speech was sympathetically received by both sides of the aisle — meaning Democrats and the MSM on one side, and Republicans on the other. How could it not be? Who can judge the pain and grief of the Khans and their profound loss? And yet, that same measure of respect and sympathy was not extended to Patricia Smith. In the eyes of a biased media, Smith’s loss was simply not as profound as the Khan’s. And that’s because in the eyes of a media hungry for any opportunity to push a political bias, all grieving parents cannot be seen as equal.
To their shame, this double-standard response and eagerness to climb on top of the dead bodies of two fine Americans to push a partisan bias only further cements the mainstream media’s collective state of woeful disgrace and reveals that it is they who are but decomposing corpses.
–Dana