Popularity of 'Don't Tread on Me' plates in Virginia suggests Tea Party still strong

A Virginia license plate with the Tea Party-embraced “Don’t Tread on Me” logo is a big seller, suggesting the movement remains popular, at least in the state, even after a tough loss in this year’s gubernatorial election.
At least five other states also sell the specialty plates: Arizona, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas. But in Virginia, the tag ranks No. 2 among such plates approved in the past five years and ninth among more than 200 total.
The tag was issued to roughly 21,800 Virginia-registered vehicles in just the first 20 months of sales, according to state figures reported by The Virginian-Pilot newspaper.
“It is a symbol of frustration … a symbol of disgust with the government,” David Dwyer, a former Hampton Roads Tea Party chairman, told the newspaper.
The sales figures for the “Don’t Tread on Me” plates indicate more than just Tea Party members are buying them, which Dwyer suggests is an indication the movement’s mantra of less-government and no new taxes resonates with many Americans.
“I’m seeing [the tags] everywhere now,” added Hampton Roads Tea Party chairman Keith Freeman.
The state approved the logo, which resembles the rattlesnake-emblazoned historic Gadsden Flag, in 2011, after the movement helped Republicans win back the House a year earlier in the landslide, mid-term elections.
However, this was a tough year for conservative voters in Virginia. Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli lost to Democrat Terry McAuliffe in November in a race many political strategists called a test case for the 2016 elections.
Several other Virginia specialty plates with political themes are less popular, compared to the one with the Revolutionary-era “Don’t Tread on Me” flag.
Roughly 1,600 vehicles have the abortion-rights “Trust Women/Respect Choice” plate while about 5,400 have the anti-abortion “Choose Life” message, according to the paper.
The state’s specialty plates cost an additional $10, though some revenue-sharing tags cost more.

NY Times Benghazi claims as ‘misleading’

GOP congressman blasts NY Times Benghazi claims as ‘misleading’

A top congressional Republican is saying a new report that concludes Al Qaeda did not carry out the 2012 attack on the U.S diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, is “misleading.”
The new report published Saturday in the New York Times concludes that there was no evidence that Al Qaeda or other international terrorist groups had any role in the assault that killed four Americans on September 11, 2012, and that it appeared that the attack was fueled in large part by anger at an American-made anti-Islamic video, as the Obama administration first claimed.
New York Rep. Peter King, member and former chairman of the House’s Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, told Fox News the argument that the most overtly anti-Western militia, Ansar al-Shariah – not Al Qaeda – led the attack is an academic argument over semantics, considering Ansar al-Shariah is widely believed to be an affiliate terror group of Al Qaeda.
“It’s misleading,” King said. “It’s a distinction without a difference.”
The claims by the New York Times also conflicts with other evidence, including the testimony of Greg Hicks, the deputy of Ambassador Christopher Stevens who was killed in the attack. Hicks described the video as "a non-event in Libya" at that time, and consequently not a significant trigger for the attack
It would also contradict a separate report by a leading social media firm that found that the first reference to the anti-Islam film that was initially blamed for sparking the attack was not detected on social media until a day later.
Fox News’ Catherine Herridge contributed to this report.