I just left this message on the DNC web log in the open thread.

[liberaldemocrat7]

I just left a message on Chairman Dean's voice mail.

The Democrats need to get alot tougher on the Republicans about The REPUBLICANS failure on national defense, national security and terrorism.

Your explanation of why we cannot trust the Republicans on national defense and to protect our country will not cut it.

You have to tell America that the Republican party appears the only party that actually has DEMONSTRATED their failure on national defense, national security and terrorism on Sept 11, 2001 and that the Republicans can infer, rant, accuse, lie but the Republicans appear the only ones who have demonstrated weakness on national defense.

Stop the pussyfooting and tell the hard acid truth about the REPUBLICANS.

Here. Watch this campaign ad I would run.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glaYJzeGK7I

[neoblues]

1. It's true... Democratic Leaders don't seem to even try...

Try to make the case--one that is plain as day. It fits in with their inexplicable "timidity" over the last six+ years.

As for the ad, it's like just (but it is a start) of a dozen strong points that should be made--though most people would probably, wrongly, be of a mind to give the poor, unsuspecting Republicans the benefit of the doubt on 9/11, since it was such an 'unexpected' 'shock' (some 'shock', we clearly knew the shit was about to hit the fan, and even knew alot about who and how; and there were apparently explicit and deliberate efforts by the Administration to prevent our security agencies from stopping what became 9/11) and it being such a tragedy.

In some ways, their failures after such a wake-up call as 9/11, are even more unacceptable and unforgivable as there can be no excuse. All that money spent, but wasted. All the massive loopholes in our mostly unimproved security--loopholes the Democrats in Congress have repeatedly attempted to address, but whose efforts have been blocked by the Republicans 'just because they can'? That's almost treasonous and certainly should merit the removal from Congress of those who can be shown to have been involved.

Then as a complement to their failures on "security", we must include the "war on terror"--which has devastated our economic future by running up debt, misused critical resources in unproductive ways and, in fact, both greatly increased the threat of terrorism and by damaging our standing in the world, made it much more difficult to actually pursue terrorists.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you and your children as well, are not only not safer than they were five years ago, but actually much less safe--and all owing directly to Republican corruption (money redirected to favored corporations), imperialism (invasions and failed 'occupations' unrelated to terrorism, except as to creating hoardes of new terrorists) and incompetence (failure to improve our national security). Throw the bastards out. It is un-American to reward greed, incompetence and corruption in our national/governmental leaders (which fully includes our do-nothing Republican Congress as well as our power-mad President/Vice-President**)!

**for an example of just who wields the real power (Cheney), and how criminal his approach to governing has been (effectively conspiring to take absolute control over our government), at least see PBS's "The Dark Side.