ConnecticutBLOG

(Since Blogger seems to be stable now, I'm cross posting my piece I published on My Left Nutmeg)

I'm sorry but you'll have to excuse the tone of this post (and excuse any typos you might find in this piece). Usually, I don't write with so much emotion and since my blogger software is not working, I'm currently unable to post at my blog. After watching 60 minutes last night, I’ve been dying to get this off of my chest because the Democrats in Connecticut are in a unique position to change the control of power in Congress (while handing Bush's favorite Democrat his pink slip).

First, if you missed 60 minutes last night, please go to the CBS website read the article and watch the interview with Tyler Drumheller, the retired CIA officer who was head of covert operations in Europe during the lead up to the Iraq War.

Josh Marshall breaks the 60 minutes piece down in his excellent post on his site.

Drumheller's account is pretty probative evidence on the question of whether the White House politicized and cherry-picked the Iraq intelligence.

So why didn't we hear about any of this in the reports of those Iraq intel commissions that have given the White House a clean bill of health on distorting the intel and misleading the country about what we knew about Iraq's alleged WMD programs?

Think about it. It's devastating evidence against their credibility on a slew of levels.

Did you read in any of those reports -- even in a way that would protect sources and methods -- that the CIA had turned a key member of the Iraqi regime, that that guy had said there weren't any active weapons programs, and that the White House lost interest in what he was saying as soon as they realized it didn't help the case for war? What about what he said about the Niger story?

Did the Robb-Silbermann Commission not hear about what Drumheller had to say? What about the Roberts Committee?

I asked Drumheller just those questions when I spoke to him early this evening. He was quite clear. He was interviewed by the Robb-Silbermann Commission. Three times apparently.

Did he tell them everything he revealed on tonight's 60 Minutes segment. Absolutely.

Drumheller was also interviewed twice by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (the Roberts Committee) but apparently only after they released their summer 2004 report.

Now, quite a few of us have been arguing for almost two years now that those reports were fundamentally dishonest in the story they told about why we were so badly misled in the lead up to war. The fact that none of Drumheller's story managed to find its way into those reports, I think, speaks volumes about the agenda that the writers of those reports were pursuing.

You think the testimony of Drumheller matters to Bush supporters like Joe? Of course not.

Personally, I've had it with those who continue to support this president. We’ve all heard and seen enough to know without a shadow of a doubt that this President and his supporters misled the American public about the reasons we went to war and now young soilders (National Guard, Reserves) are paying the price with their lives.

Whether it’s global warming, the complete screw-up in New Orleans, Terri Shiavo, or the outing of a CIA agent, this President, and his supporters in Congress continuously lied to the American people and smeared anyone who criticized the administration. Joe Lieberman is the most dangerous of all Bush supporters because as a Democrat, he had no problem turning his back on the party leadership for his own personal purposes.

From his numerous appearances on the Sean Hannity show where he constantly ripped into his fellow Democrats, to his infamous op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal where to lashed out at those who don’t support the commander-in-chief, Joe Lieberman has earned the label of Bush’s favorite Democrat and should be held accountable for his actions. Although we can't give the President the boot (at this point), we can kick every one of his supporters out of office and the voters of Connecticut could do no better than to give Joe Lieberman the boot.

I don’t know about you but I've had enough. We deserve a real Democrat representing the people of Connecticut, not a disgraceful Bush apologist who lashes out at fellow Democrats (who are critical of this President) whenever he gets a chance.

The party didn’t leave you Joe, it is you who left the party and the voters of Connecticut deserve better.

Please go and donate money to this man and help him hold Lieberman accountable. The fact that Joe sneaking around the state holding private meetings and avoiding the public while Ned answers any question any time speaks volumes about who is the most qualified and honest Democrat in this primary.

Okay, I got that off my chest, I feel better now.