So now we know, thanks to the Real Security plan outlined this week by Harry Reid, Hillary Clinton et al. The Democrats plan to make their 2006 case to the people firmly on Republican turf.
In other words, the Democrats will acknowledge that the Republicans have been right all along about the nation's priorities. Forget about fixing a health care system on the verge of collapse, forget about changing trade policies to protect American workers, forget about re-funding education, Medicare, Social Security, or environmental protection. Clearly, what we're lacking is enough Pentagon spending.
The Dems won't argue that the Republican's priorities are simply wrong. They will argue that the Dems will be more effective in implementing those Republican policies. Don't like the war in Iraq? Buck up you wimp, we're the National Security Democrats now. Steely-eyed. Calculating. Tougher than nails. The Iraqis ain't seen nothing yet.
Why don't we just tell the Republicans we won't run any candidates against them if they agree to hire competent people? Seems like it would save a lot of time, hassle, and that nasty partisanship.
Perhaps I'm just a naive bumpkin from the hinterland, where things like holding onto health care coverage, paying a heating bill that has doubled, or keeping our local school open in the face of declining enrollment are the issues of the day.
My question is this...if the Dems aren't going to put those issues at the top of the political agenda, why would I care if they win back the House or Senate? So we can ship more of our tax dollars to the Pentagon?
I'm sorry, folks, but we had the most powerful military in the history of the world on Sept. 11, 2001, and it didn't do a damn thing to protect us. And it can't. A bigger military will never provide security from terrorism, because terrorism is an age old tactic that is a direct response to hegemonic militaries.
Terrorism is a political and a law enforcement issue. And when we make it a military one, we play right into the hands of the terrorists. That's exactly what they want, because every time we ship another planeload of troops to a Middle East country, Osama bin Laden recruits five more suicide bombers. We can not win this battle with more military. Either Clinton etal. don't understand this (which I don't believe) or they are doing what has become the Dem's modus operandi ever since the Clinton's despoiled the party... piss on your base, to curry favor with Republican-leaning suburban women who don't worry about health care coverage because their husbands work for 3M.
If we are going into the 2006 elections with Real Security as the centerpiece, count me out. I'm the publisher of a group of community newspapers in northern Minnesota, and I can tell you what I'll be writing this fall.
If the Democrats won't run on the issues that matter to the people of this region, they don't deserve our support. This is an area that votes 70 percent Democratic every election, but a lot of us are tired of being taken for granted by D.C. Dems who are completely out of touch with the day to day concerns of the people they claim to represent.
I'm just not going to take it anymore.