Republicans are demanding answers. Reality isn't cooperating.

Republicans are demanding answers. Reality isn't cooperating.

As two-year anniversary of Benghazi marked, answers remain elusive

Via Salon's Simon Malloy, a headline from Fox News that perfectly encapsulates the thinking of #Benghazi conspiracy theorists:Yeah, sure, the answer they want to hear do remain exclusive—but there's a reason for that, and it has everything to do with the questions they are asking.

The basic outline of the right's conspiracy theory has been in place for quite some time: They believe President Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton covered up the true nature of the attack to guarantee his re-election and boost her 2016 campaign. They believe that to achieve those goals, Obama and Clinton not only lied about the severity of the attack, but actually ordered the U.S. military to stand down during the attack, leading to the death of four Americans. And they of course believe that after the attack, Obama and Clinton conspired to cover up their actions.

It doesn't matter that the evidence doesn't support this theory, that's what they believe. And since they think they know what really happened, the questions they ask aren't about understanding what actually took place, they are about exposing the massive conspiracy that exists only in their head. But the conspiracy didn't and doesn't exist, which means they are asking questions which have no answer.

So yes, in a manner of speaking, the answers to their Benghazi questions remain elusive—in much the same way that we're still waiting for answers on how President Romney managed to win the 2012 election.