WurfWhile

I don’t know that this is really news, but I figured I might as well spell it out. The 2006 election nationally will pit a Democratic message about economic security (however imperfect) against a Republican message about military security (however imperfect). The Democrats will push policies like some variant of national healthcare with issues like an increase in the minimum wage and retirement security. Republicans will push policies like security from terrorism with issues like border security (immigration) and in some cases Iraq.

Recently there has been a spate of economic news showing Republican indifference towards the economic decline of the vast majority of Americans. The fix the GOP will trumpet will have a heavy dose of ‘more of the same’ tax cuts mostly for the wealthiest (such as the estate tax) that have failed to help the economic plight of almost all Americans - and have exacerbated the economic decline of most Americans (not to mention the federal debt). The Democrats hope people will look in their wallets and, finding less there, vote for change.

On the flip side, evidence of terrorism, big or small, is always an opportunity (fundraising anyone?) even if the British, not the Americans, prevent it. The anniversary of the September 11th World Trade Center attack has appropriately reminded Americans of that attack - and the Republicans have unrolled propaganda to ‘correct’ any GOP failures that memory might bring up. The Democrats hope that a combination of telling the truth about Bush Administration incompetence and having a large number of veterans running for congress will inoculate them from the Republican advantage in popular opinion on the issue (also see this). The Republican advantage seems to stem mostly from publicity of the terrorism issue, as opposed to particular policies and positions. That is likely why Republicans have recently conflated WWII with our current terrorism situation. WWII was the “Great War” and Iraq, to put it mildly, is a great Bush Administration screw-up with Republican congressional support. But if Republicans can stretch the canvas of “fascism” to include terrorists who claim Islam, and paint a particular war, intelligence actions and diplomacy with the broad stroke of a world war, then perhaps we will miss details in the picture. At least that’s the Republican hope.