Democrats have attempted to paint the House Benghazi investigation as a partisan hit job, all but recycling then-First Lady Clinton’s “vast right-wing conspiracy” accusation against an earlier generation of Republican congressional critics.

While reporters and professional deniers (a more accurate description for White House spokesmen) argue over e-mail edits that attempt to envelop the Benghazi attack and administration response in a fog of confusion to frustrate the public into “moving on” and thus letting them get away with failures on multiple levels.

Only in a Hillary-centric universe could someone truly believe that is all about smearing her reputation, thus dashing her hopes of one day occupying 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in her own right and not “junior partner.”

So what is the purpose of holding the Benghazi hearings? Or to quote the ex-Secretary of State, “What does it matter now”?

This is about a White House that abandoned an ambassador and staff to the brutality of terrorists.

This is about a White House who deliberately misled the American public about the source of the assault in order to frame it within a convenient political narrative

This is about a White House who then proceeded to blithely dismiss the matter as “old news”.

And this is about a White House led by someone who declared itself “the most transparent administration in history” while fielding questions during a February 2013 Google “hangout” event yet his administration has been playing security clearance games to impede the testimony of potential “whistle blower” witnesses.

Mr. President, Benghazi cannot possibly be “old news” when the public only recently heard from witnesses on the ground during the attack, including the deputy to the slain ambassador to Libya.

First and foremost a thorough investigation should establish what happened in Benghazi and exactly how the federal government reacted to the attack. If there can be justice for free birth-control advocate Sandra Fluke, there should be justice for the men who were abandoned and died and the loved ones they left behind.

Secondly there needs to be an examination about why the consulate was not better secured, particularly on the anniversary of September 11th, the closest thing Islamist terrorists have to a Fourth of July. Was the vulnerability due to indifference and incompetence, or was the decision to reduce the presence of visible security personnel as part of a public relations a symbolic move to demonstrate to the Muslim world that the United States did not regard them with suspicion?

In other words, was our ambassador’s life jeopardized because of poor judgment or reckless “goodwill” politics?

Thirdly, it’s important to identify who were involved with the creation and dissemination of false stories about the attack and what internal actions were taken by administration officials to squelch, or rather obstruct the revelation of key information about the attack and the resulting cover up.

Democrats adopt a “let justice be done, though the heavens fall” attitude when chasing down a Republican administration yet when a member of their party is at the center of controversy, they quickly forget their former selves.

Finally, identify who were responsible for hatching the media campaign to deceive the public by circulating the unfounded and ridiculous “YouTube” video theory behind the attack, a casus belli that reeked of politics and falsehoods the moment administration officials trotted it out.

People don’t bring rocket propelled grenades to protests. Not even in North Africa.

Those who played a role in reducing security, blocking a relief force to repel the attackers and spreading the patently false narrative about the assault being a reaction to a web-video should have to defend their actions and be held accountable for them.

The Left has rushed out their coordinated Facebook talking points on the Benghazi, specifically pointing to attacks made on American diplomatic installations under President George W. Bush (it seems the “Blame Bush” narrative is still a favored call in the Democrats’ playbook).

However not all consulate/embassy attacks are equal.

The personnel in Benghazi were victims of both the Islamist terrorists who attacked them and a US government that abandoned their personnel and undermined attempts to bring their murderers to justice by hiding behind the You Tube falsehood by framing terrorists as “an aggrieved party.”

Yes Madame Secretary, Benghazi still matters.

Holding accountable officials who knowingly spread false information would help rebuild some of the trust between the people and the federal government, which has taken a battering in light of the scandal parade that has been rolling down Pennsylvania Avenue this week.