Over the past few days, the switch from a news cycle dominated by the Lamont victory, to one dominated by the toothpaste terrorism scheme has been fast enough to give us all whiplash.
But the important thing for all Dems to see is this: the frame has not shifted.
The Republicans--despite their best effort to use national security information to destroy the opposition party--are now firmly stuck in a Progressive national security frame. The only question is: Can Democrats hold the frame?
The Framing Strategy: [Change] is [Security]
The Republicans are currently fighting for the political lives to convince the Aemrican public that a change of leadership will not bring about more national security.
Think about it. There are only two themes in any election campaign: change or stay the same. Right now, the Republicans are trying their best to convince the country that if there is a change of leadership, the country will be less safe.
And why? Because the Lamont campaign did an amazing job at setting a new frame: With change comes safety and security.
Now, I do not think that Ned Lamont is a flawless political leader. But oh boy did he do a great job at setting this frame by using the national exposure he had.
Democrats are now routinely saying that "Stay the course is not a foreign policy."
And that is a great framing strategy.
Forget for a minute that the Bush administration withheld national security information about the British bombing scare until it was political advantageous to release it. Forget for a moment that Dick Cheney, Ken Mehlman and Joe Lieberman were all attacking the Democrats as bringing about another 9/11 in the 24-hours after the President had decided to raise the terror alert, but before he had announced it to the public. Forget all that and just pay attention to what the Republicans are desperately strugging against: [change] = [security]
The American public has now seen more and more and more and more of the same from George W. Bush. They know without being told that more the same means more of the same. And the more President Bush and the Republicans give the American public more of the same, the more inventive the terrorists become, the more feckless our Homeland Security appears, and the more nervous we all are about our future.
The only way to bring about more security, safety and confidence is: change.
Change! It is inevitable. And try as they might to avoid it, the Republicans are now flailing about like fish in a net trying desperately to fight off the frame that already has them trapped.
With this frame as the broad strategy, here are some tactics to hold onto it:
Tactic 1: Toothpaste Is Not Terrorism
The first step is to point out the ridiculousness of telling the public that they will be safer if they throw out their toothpaste before getting on a plane.
The real story of the past few days is not a airplane bomb plot that was foiled in Britain. Thank goodness for the British intelligence services are doing a good job.
The real story is that American intelligence under President Bush is so clueless about how to protect Americans from terrorist attacks that it has resorted to nonsense rules and regulations.
Throwing away toothpaste and perfume before getting on a plane? Wanding old ladies in wheelchairs? Taking off 80% of our clothes as we walk through security? This is not 'homeland security.' It is a desperate cry for help.
This is the story and we must frame it or lose people's attention. "Toothpaste is not terrorism." We are still not getting smart on terrorism.
Tactic 2: More Bush, More Attacks
Despite everything President Bush says about all his military policies, the longer President Bush is in office, the more terrorist attacks there are in the world.
Even worse: the longer President Bush is in office, the more innovation there is in terrorist attacks in the world. We've gone from truck bombs, to hijacked airplanes, to remote control backpack explosives, to electronic-detonated liquid explosives--all in the time President Bush has been in office.
With President Bush at the helm, the question Americans are asking is not 'When with the terrorist attacks stop?" but, "What horribly clever killling device will the terrorists invent next?"
More Bush=More Attacks.
Tactic 3: No More Plastic Buckets
To stop terrorism, we need to build a better mousetrap. The entire approach of current Homeland Security is wrong--deady wrong.
We are lucky that we have not had any incidents. Lucky. We have to get smart.
Starting right now, Democrats should immediately convene an Airport Security Tech Conference, inviting all the leading figures in tech research and industry to redefine airport security.
Rebuilding airport security is the equivalent--or should be the equivalent--of calling for the country to build airplanes during World War II. America needs to band together and improve our system.
We currently have an airport security system comprised of plastic buckets and scrolling x-ray machines. We can do better!
We should be able to create an airport security system that totally changes how we think about safety--that begins from the moment a passenger decides to travel on an airplane and ends when that passenger has arrived safely at their destination.
Airplane tickets, suitcases, airport entrances, check in desks, airplane seats, luggage racks--everything is on the table. The whole system should be re-invented and dozens of industrires can be revitalized in the process.
No more plastic buckets. No more fear of toothpaste.
Tactic 4: More Of The Same
Using the phrase 'more of the same' is a crucial tactic at this time. 100% of the Republican leadership is now lining up to tell the American public that they will all die if they elect a single Democrat to office. They have been tellling us this for ten years. And their policies have not done anything to decrease fear, violence and terrorist activities.
More of the same.
For years now, the Republicans have withheld important national security information from the public until they could use it to hurt the Democrats politically.
More of the same.
For years, President Bush has been telling us that U.S. military occupation in Iraq was going well, while we have watched as the entire Middle East--not just one country--become engulfed by the flames of war.
More of the same.
This is a phrase that can be used in conjunction with 'It's time for a change.'
Conclusion: CONFIDENCE!!!!
We must be confident at this moment. The fact that the Republicans launched a full-on attack campaign in response to a Democratic Senate primary shows clearly how nervous they are about being defeated by the [change] = [security] frame.
So Democrats across the board must have confidence to hold this frame.
We are used to being crushed under the steaming pile of 'Democrats are weak on security' that the Republicans shovel onto the media. But this time we are in control. And it is up to us to choose to hold onto it.
Remember our goal, because nothing scares the pants off the terrorists--and the Republicans--more than the thought of Democrats working tirelessly together to get there: