As of 9:00am March 16, 2006, I am proud to announce that the Republican Party no longer controls the National Security debate.
That's right. While the media is foaming at the mouth at what they think was a huge blunder in calling for the censure of the President, and while many in the blogosphere are crying in their beer at the caution of the Senate Democrats, Russ Feingold has managed to hammer in the last nail in the GOP coffin.
Feingold has framed the debate, and the GOP has taken the bait...
The Frame: National Security Is Not Politics
For years, now, Democrats have been trying to make the case that the White House left the gates into America unguarded so they could launch a political war in Iraq. Even before Bush was elected, the argument went, he had decided that he would invade Iraq. A war in Iraq, Democrats have argued, was launched not to protect the American people, but to re-elect the President. And when that goal of re-electing the President came under fire, the President broke the law in a deadly game of political revenge.
For George W. Bush and the Republican Congress that supports him, the safety and security of the American people has been sacrificed on the altar of politics.
Getting To The Frame: Port Scandal, Then Censure
Just saying that Republicans have made politics out of national security has not worked. The question has been: How do we get the nation into the new frame?
The first step was the port scandal that revealed a Republican Party that not only ran off to fight a war while leaving the gates unguarded at home, but then hired an untested foreign ally to guard those gates for us. It was a devestating revelation and in response to learning about it, public support for the President and the Republican Congress collapsed.
The next step was to force the Republicans to revert to form--to force them to debate on our national security terms.
The censure motion by Feingold did just that. In response to Feingold's measure, the Republicans did nothing--could say nothing--until they saw the concern of the Democrats in the Senate.
What did the Democrats fear? Well, they fear a political smear campaign. In every news story and every article and every talking-head discussion about Feingold's motion, the same idea has been repeated over and over again: The Republicans will jump on this issue to attack the Democrats politically.
Playing politics with national security. The Republicans cannot resist.
Holding the Frame: National Security Is About Winning Elections
The keys to winning this debate are right before us if only we can see it and believe in ourselves.
What Republicans fear is a national discussion about the crimes of a Republican President.
And so, when American people begin to lose faith in their President, when the American people begin that debate about the crimes of their President, the GOP attacks the Democrats for being weak on defense.
Playing politics with America's national security.
First they run headlong into an unplanned war in Iraq.
Then they try to sell the gates into our country to the highest bidder.
Then they play politics with national security.
Kudos, Senator
So, join with me. Get up out of your chair and give Senator Feingold a round of applause.
The national security debate is now firmly in our frame, and the Republicans have taken the bait and are thrashing around helplessly in it.
The rest is up to us.