More Blowback For Democrats On NSA/National Security Issues

Interesting…

Some centrist Democrats say attacks by their party leaders on the Bush administration's eavesdropping on suspected terrorist conversations will further weaken the party's credibility on national security.

That concern arises from recent moves by liberal Democrats to block the extension of parts of the USA Patriot Act in the Senate and denunciations of President Bush amid concerns that these initiatives could violate the civil liberties of innocent Americans.

"I think when you suggest that civil liberties are just as much at risk today as the country is from terrorism, you've gone too far if you leave that impression. I don't believe that's true," said Michael O'Hanlon, a national-security analyst at the Brookings Institution who advises Democrats on defense issues.

"I get nervous when I see the Democrats playing this [civil liberties] issue out too far. They had better be careful about the politics of it," said Mr. O'Hanlon, who says the Patriot Act is "good legislation."

These Democrats say attacks on anti-terrorist intelligence programs will deepen mistrust of their ability to protect the nation's security, a weakness that led in part to the defeat of Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, last year.

"The Republicans still hold the advantage on every national-security issue we tested," said Mark Penn, a Democratic pollster and former adviser to President Clinton, who co-authored a Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) memo on the party's national-security weaknesses.

Nervousness among Democrats intensified earlier this month after Democrats led a filibuster against the Patriot Act that threatened to block the measure, followed by a victory cry from Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, who declared at a party rally, "We killed the Patriot Act."

This coupled with these poll results, where a majority of Democrats expressed support for the President's domestic espionage initiatives, tells me two things: 1) That Democrats still can't be taken seriously on national security and 2) All their faux outrage over Bush's handling of the war on terror is having little impact with Americans.

The bottom line is that the majority of Americans want leaders who will act decisively to protect the homeland. Howard "We're Losing" Dean, John "Cut and Run" Murtha and John "I Always Mean What You Want Me To Mean" Kerry, along with the rest of the outspoken Democrats, simply are not credible on that front. For one thing thing, they all seem more preoccupied with finding reasons why we shouldn't fight the terrorists then finding ways to thwart or defeat them. They also seem more worried about pandering to their MoveOn.org/Michael Moore anti-war base and getting themselves elected then formulating sound national security policy.

Bush, for all his faults (and he has plenty of them) is strong on national security. Americans can feel positive that he is aggressively applying the powers of his office to this country's security issues. All this hubub about domestic spying from the media and left has done is cement that thought in the minds of voters, and if the Dems continue down this path they're on that's going to be reflected in the polls.

If the Democrats want to get back in power they'll either have to find some leaders who are credible on national security or hope that the memory of 9/11 and what the terrorist monsters are capable of fades from the memory of Americans so that they'll be willing to vote for someone who is complacent about national security.