Homeland Security Credentials

In the minds of the current GOP leadership, it's amazing what passes as qualifications to lead the Homeland Security Committee.

Here's a story from The Hill on the current jockeying for the chairmanship of this critical committee.

Here are two of the key points that Rep. Peter King (R-New York) offers as credentials:

He also burnished his GOP bona fides recently by coming to the public defense of both DeLay, during the ethics scandal this spring, and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove in his alleged involvement in leaking the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame.

“He not only stated his support, but he backed it up, and very few did that,” one knowledgeable GOP lobbyist said.

In an interview, King said he decided to defend Rove and DeLay without being asked to do so.
“I did that entirely on my own,” he said. And as far as DeLay is concerned, “I defended DeLay well before the chairmanship was up,” he noted.

So, in the minds of the current cast of characters in the GOP leadership, the most impressive credentials you can offer to head the Homeland Security Committee is that you defended someone who leaked sensitive intelligence data to achieve political ends, and that you were quick to rush to the defense of a sleazy influence peddler.

That's just sad.