A doctrine of capitulation

While I'd share Jon Stewart's 'unscripted' reaction (at about 4 minutes in) to accusations that the Dems represent a 'surrender to terror' - I'd completely go along with Glenn Greenwald's argument about how they've ceded national defense to the GOP as an issue.

...what has characterized establishment Democrats for the last eight years, at least, is an unwillingness to challenge Republicans on national security. Ever since the 2002 AUMF vote, their "strategy" has been to cede national security to the Republicans by trying defensively to insist that there are few differences between the parties ("we're strong, too") -- all in the hope of shifting the political debate to issues they perceive are politically more advantageous, such as domestic and economic issues.

That's why there has been so little contrast between the two parties on foreign policy and national security issues -- because most Democrats believe that the wisest course of action is to become replicas of Republicans on national security policy as a means of eliminating those issues from consideration. The "strategy" has been as ineffective as it has been craven.

He lists an exchange between Chris Matthews and Terry McAuliffe which exemplifies why the Dems are in the state they are in.

They dodge the single issue they could bludgeon their opposition with. The GOP can point to no foreign policy triumph even when they have had a free had for six years (seven years, it could be argued).

It's like FISA, when you allow the opposition to frame the debate as "vote with me or the terrorists win," and there is no full court media press on how false that is - you've lost no matter what the facts are.

I mean, after months of rhetoric about how not renewing the Protect America Act was 'going to let the critical wiretapping program go dark' it comes out that the law's authorization went through the end of 2008. The law would expire, but the authorization is not in jeopardy for ten more months (a full year when this argument was first offered).

How do the Dems (and the media for that matter) fall down on these issues over and over again.

Hillary's getting advice from the guy who was so good at his job that he was replaced by Howard Dean? She deserves to lose.

Burn some bridges, crack some skulls, but get ahead of the message on these issues. If you sit back and let the administration or the far right spout bullsh!t without calling them out - the truth of their shortcomings will continue to be swept under the rug.