House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is the frontrunner to take over the House speakership from John Boehner after he steps down in October — or at least he was until he seemed to acknowledge last week that the House special committee investigating the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, was essentially aimed at keeping Hillary Clinton from becoming president. That widely panned gaffe is the centerpiece of this new ad from the progressive Agenda Project Action Fund.
"Just like Joseph McCarthy before him, Kevin McCarthy and his fellow Republicans are using their constitutionally granted powers not to advance the interests of the America people, but instead to try to destroy their political enemies," AP Action communications director Erik Altieri said in a statement. Trying to tie the two Republicans together by the common Irish last name isn't a new idea — Stephen Colbert made the same point, with a lighter touch, on Friday. You can watch the ad below. Peter Weber
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