Thought Theater

DSCC Rolls Out New Video: Secure genre: Just Jihad & Polispeak & Video-Philes

The DSCC and the Democratic Party realize that the GOP has used security issues successfully in the last two election cycles and they are determined to allow 2006 to be more of the same. The DSCC has rolled out a new video called Secure as the first salvo in their efforts to convince the voting public that Democrats are tough on terror and security and to expose the GOP fostered misconceptions about America's security as well as the failures of the Bush administration. The full article can be found here and the video is at the end of this posting.

“They are not Swift boating us on security," said Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the Democratic leader in the House.

Seeking to counter White House efforts to turn the reported terrorist plot in Britain to Republican advantage, Democrats are using the arrests of the suspects to try to show Americans how the war in Iraq has fueled Islamic radicalism and distracted Mr. Bush and the Republican Congress from shoring up security at home.

But they are not waiting. A video Monday on the Web site of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee showed footage of Osama bin Laden, referred to an increase in terror attacks, highlighted illegal immigration and pointed out the nuclear aspirations of Iran and North Korea.

“Feel safer?" it concludes. “Vote for change."

Democrats say polls show that Republicans and Mr. Bush have lost stature on the subject on terrorism as Americans have become disillusioned with the war in Iraq. They also believe that more voters are able to separate the war from efforts to protect the nation against terror attacks.

The GOP has been successful in connecting the invasion of Iraq with the war on terror and recent polling still indicates that half of Americans still think that Sadaam Hussein was connected to 9/11. Read the details of that poll here. The Democrats must be able to break that connection if they are going to shift voter thinking before the 2006 midterm election such that they can use the failed effort in Iraq to defeat GOP candidates without being characterized as weak on security and terror. While the Connecticut defeat of Joe Lieberman demonstrates that many Democratic voters have made that distinction, the close race seems to also suggest the complexity of resolving the Iraq war as well as the overall ramifications it may have on Middle East security and thus our long term security.

Republicans said they believed that the Democratic efforts would fizzle and that voters would ultimately choose to trust Republicans on the issue of security. And Mr. Bush, in remarks at the State Department on Monday, disputed the notion that his policies had contributed to a more dangerous world.

“Some say that America caused the current instability in the Middle East by pursuing a forward strategy of freedom, yet history shows otherwise," Mr. Bush said, ticking off terror attacks that occurred in the United States, Africa and elsewhere long before he took office.

While Republicans are still seen as doing a better job than Democrats in handling terrorism, the difference in the latest CBS poll is now about 8 points, about the same as a month ago, compared to the 25-point advantage Republicans held on the question four years ago.

The latest CBS poll showed no change in Mr. Bush’s job approval rating, which is at 36 percent, the same as in a New York Times/CBS News poll last month. His approval rating on handling terrorism, long a central element of his political strength, also remained unchanged at 51 percent.

While the numbers show the Democrats have made significant progress with the issue, the fact that Bush continues to garner majority support for his handling of terrorism while at the same time having a job approval rating of only 36% indicates the degree to which Americans are hesitant to abandon the GOP on security matters. It will be critical for Democrats to persuade a majority of moderate and independent voters that they can provide the needed security and leadership to successfully prosecute the ongoing war on terror.