If We Don't Fight, We'll Lose

The GOP has learned their lesson. Run on facts, and lose. Run on reason, and lose. Run on logic, and lose. Run on the truth, and lose. But run on fear, and win big. Run on scare-tactics, and win bigger. Run on making Democrats look like a greater threat to America than Al-Qaeda, and win huge.

It worked for them in 2002, it worked for them in 2004, and it will work again for them in 2006 if we don't fight back and fight back hard.

For months, I've been telling everyone I know that the GOP would use national security issues to instill fear and terror in the American psyche in order to win the midterm elections. This is exactly what happened. Just look at this ad from Progress for America Fund, a right-wing front group.

This ad is designed to do one thing, scare the crap out of people. Terrorists are trying to kill us. Flash images of Muslims in hejabs and other coverings. Flash images of crying Arab women (probably because a US bomb just killed their family members, not because they don't have rights, as the ad says). Flash images of the World Trade Center engulfed in flames. And then say that Democrats want to cut and run and imply that liberals and Democrats will give the terrorists the very bomb used to kill a housewife in Omaha, NE. This is sick right-wing trash and it disgusts me.

It's not just Progress for America. Look at this ad that corrupt Senator Conrad Burns is running against netroots favorite and Real Montanan Jon Tester in Montana. Burns basically says that Tester is happy that al-Qaeda is killing American troops and that if Tester is elected, he will single-handedly give Osama bin Laden the blueprints to the Pentagon and give Ahmadinejad an H-bomb. It's absurd, the ad is full of lies, but they'll get away with it if we don't stop them.

Take a look at this ad from Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH), running against progressive Congressman Sherrod Brown for the US Senate. Another ad from another Republican attacking a Democrat on security. The themes are the same; the GOP will run ads attacking Democrats on the War in Iraq, the War in Afghanistan, the PATRIOT ACT, the illegal NSA surveillance program, and votes that members of Congress have taken on a range of defense, intelligence, and national security issues. And they are doing it all over the country. The same message and the same talking points are being handed down by Karl Rove and Ken Mehlman to every candidate in the country.

And what is the Democratic response? A letter from Nancy Pelosi to Dennis Hastert on Thursday asking Hastert "not to inject any semblance of partisan politics into the 9/11 resolution." What a weak and sappy letter? If Democrats were competing with Republicans for an election to the Supreme Council of Care Bears, they'd win. But in the real world, they just look weak. No wonder the country thinks we're weak on defense, we're weak in standing up for ourselves.

Yesterday, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released their second part of an intelligence assessment of the lead-up to the Iraq war. The report made one stunning conclusion, Saddam had no connections, passive, active, or otherwise, to al-Qaeda anywhere in the world. Well, this is actually not all that surprising, but considering that 43% of the American people still believe that Saddam Hussein had a personal role in the attacks of September 11th, according to the latest CNN poll taken August 30th to September 2nd, the propaganda campaign of Bush & Co. has been effective.

We should have hit back the moment the report came out, demonstrating how the President has lied since October 2005, when the CIA concluded the lack of any links between Saddam and al-Qaeda, juxtaposed next to the quotes of the President claiming links. The President said last week at his press conference that "nothing, except for it's part of -- and nobody has ever suggested in this administration that Saddam Hussein ordered the attack [on 9/11]." Watch this video proving that Bush & Co. made a little fib.

The point is that this administration lies about national security all the time, while bogging us down in an endless and senseless war in Iraq and compromising our laws, our Constitution, and our liberties with stupid, illegal, ineffective, and unconstitutional programs that are downright unAmerican. The Pakistanis just signed a deal allowing Islamic extremists in the region of Pakistan where bin Laden is reportedly hiding to be safe from prosecution and pursuit. We are losing the war on terror in Somalia, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Iraq, and throughout the Middle East, while we have destroyed our image, reputation, and credibility around the world. Our forces are overextended, our homeland security is underdeveloped, and our people are divided. This administration is endangering American security, plain and simple, and destroying the rest of our country and our values in order to make us less safe and implement an extremist ideology. But instead of fighting back, we cower in the corner on security. Yes, some like Harold Ford, Jr. and Diane Farrell are running security and Iraq focused campaigns, but we do not have a national message. The DNC, DSCC, and the DCCC and all our candidates and incumbents around the country should be talking about one thing and one thing only, security.

We need Democrats on radio, on television, on the blogs, in print, in TV ads, in web ads, communicating the same message, Republicans are endangering our country and Democrats are the only party looking out for our security. Republicans misrepresent, weaken, diminish, and damage our security, our alliances, our image, our credibility, our laws, and our liberties. We should be attacking them every day, offering up not talking points and repetitious statements, but smart, focused language about the same topic. We don't have to say the same words, but we need to communicate the same ideas.

I don't understand why anyone listens to the consultants and political "experts" in the Democratic Party anymore, they just keep losing elections, and if the party doesn't get our act together this year either and offer a tough message attacking Republicans on national security day after day, we'll lose this election too. We don't have to copy Republican policies to win elections, but we do need to copy Republican energy and tenacity and consistency if we are going to take back our country.