Harman on KO: McConnell's heart in "right place"

[Paraphrasing while I'm watching Countdown with KO], I was astonished to see Rep. Harman (D, CA) say Senator Mitch McConnell's [R, KY] heart is in the right place because he is knowledgable on intelligence.

When asked about the August vote, she said that there was intelligence circulating but that upon her checking, the intelligence community didn't find the source credible.

She went on to say that they [Republican Congress and White House] are masters in the use of fear but then excuses McConnell.  Why would she give McConnell a pass?

As minority misleader of the Senate, McConnell has indeed been leading. He has led on blocking every piece of legislation Democrats attempted to pass.  He  has led on fearmongering and pushing the White House agenda of the unitary executive, Iraq forever and support the troops in ribbons only.

If his heart is in the right place, why would he lie about Al-Qaeda in Iraq? From DitchMitch:

Not even two weeks after the Courier-Journal caught Mitch McConnell lying on CNN, McConnell played games with the truth once again on WHAS radio this morning. McConnell discussed the problems in Iraq by claiming, "most of the problems over there are being caused by Al-Qaeda."

Actually, McConnell’s claim is not even close to the truth. Anthony Cordesman, a security analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Time Magazine that estimates are that al Qaeda accounts for only 15 percent of the attacks in Iraq.

What was the lie hounddog referred to from two weeks earlier? From TPM:

GOP Senator Mitch McConnell made an appearance on CNN this morning, promptly revealing once again just how high his regard for his own constituents is these days.

There have been to my knowledge two polls of Kentucky voters since the surge started, and both show that McConnell is spewing baloney. The  first poll, done by the Courier-Journal, found that a majority -- 52% -- thought McConnell should oppose the surge. Only 40% said he should back it.

Ah, and here's the most fun part of all: McConnell actually knows he's lying. He's  on record actually commenting on the results of the first poll, so he knows full well that it found the opposite of what he told America this morning.

But his heart is in the right place.

Note to Dem fence straddlers: better stop listening to David Brooks and 'em or you'll face a real Democrat in your very next primary and we radical Left, anti-war, basement dwellaz will ActBlue and shoe leather you back to where you came from.

Update: Yosemite says she may have been talking about Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell:

I may be mistaken but I thought she was ... (1+ / 0-)

referring to Michael McConnell, Director of National Intelligence. But even so ... passing off bogus terror intelligence to scare congress is not the act of a man with his heart in the right place.

by Yosemite on Tue Sep 25, 2007 at 06:35:48 PM PDT

Update II: It is far worse if we are talking the Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell because Rep. Harman said that on the face of the document, the intelligence community did not find the source credible. She said that the information circulating before the recess was about an attack but that she was able to do some digging and find that the "intelligence" was bogus.

If he is the Director of National Intelligence, how is she able to obtain the truth and he isn't if he isn't simply carrying water for this Administration.

And from Think Progress:

Earlier this week, in testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell claimed the new expansive FISA legislation passed by Congress prior to the August recess — the so-called Protect America Act — had helped to thwart a an alleged terror plot in Germany.

A government official later told the New York Times that McConnell was wrong, and that the intelligence had been collected under the old FISA law which required warrants. A chorus of House Democrats immediately raised concerns about McConnell’s claims.

In a statement released today, McConnell unapologetically acknowledged he lied to the Senate:

During the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing on September 10, 2007, I discussed the critical importance to our national security of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), and the recent amendments to FISA made by the Protect America Act. The Protect America Act was urgently needed by our intelligence professionals to close critical gaps in our capabilities and permit them to more readily follow terrorist threats, such as the plot uncovered in Germany. However, information contributing to the recent arrests was not collected under authorities provided by the Protect America Act.