In our years as professional political consultants, it's hard to recall an instance of a political party self-destructing so dramatically in the midst of an attack on an opponent.

Democrats and the media have always known that the House Select Committee on Benghazi was a partisan exercise aimed at barring Hillary Clinton from the White House. What no one anticipated is that in the weeks leading up to Hillary's appearance before the committee, the GOP would spontaneously torpedo their own efforts, revealing the sham investigation in all its craven cynicism.

We've chronicled the process in recent weeks and have compiled the details below.

SEPTEMBER 29: As seen in this Clinton campaign ad, Republican Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy – at the time the leading candidate to succeed John Boehner as House speaker – opens the floodgates by admitting the truth: the Benghazi Committee is essentially playing politics with dead Americans: