Site Presented By
Monday, Nov 9, 2009
Author and filmmaker Sherman Alexie
We need a tough-ass Democrat coming out on national security. In fact, the Republicans haven't been very tough on domestic security; they've been cutting budgets. I've been writing imaginary campaign ads about the failure of this administration to protect us. Here are two:
FADE IN ON:
A middle-aged homeless man standing at a freeway on-ramp. He holds a sign that reads: "Vietnam War Veteran, Please Help Me!"
VOICE-OVER: In 2003, George W. Bush cut the budget for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs by nearly $30 billion over the next 10 years.
Cut to a younger homeless man standing outside a supermarket. He holds a sign: "Desert Storm Veteran: Will Work for Food."
VOICE-OVER: In 2003, George W. Bush ordered the Veterans Administration to stop providing information about veterans' healthcare benefits on its Web site.
Cut to a video of a husband and wife working on their home computer. As they navigate the V.A. site, they are led through a maze of indecipherable info.
She: But, Henry, you served in Korea. They promised to take care of you.
He: I just don't understand what they're trying to say to me.
Close on the computer screen as Henry pulls down the menu and shuts off the computer. It goes black.
Then dissolve up to a shot of George W. Bush jogging with his Secret Service agents. Bush looks fit and handsome.
VOICE-OVER: In November 2004, please remember that the war doesn't end when our soldiers come home.
FADE TO BLACK
FADE IN ON:
A title card that asks the question: "Do You Feel Safe?"
Cut to news video of George W. Bush pledging to get Osama bin Laden "dead or alive."
Slam cut to wanted poster of Osama with caption: "Whereabouts Unknown."
Cut to news video of George W. Bush pledging to get Saddam Hussein "dead or alive."
Slam cut to wanted poster of Saddam with caption: "Whereabouts Unknown."
Cut to news video of George W. Bush promising to protect the security of the American people.
Slam cut montage of sports arenas, national monuments, dams and nuclear power plants as we repeatedly hear in voice-over George W.'s broken promises to find Osama and Saddam, and his pledge to protect the U.S. They all blend together in a cacophony of noise and image and bright lights.
Cut to the title card that reads: "Do You Feel Safe?"
Cut to a news video montage of the many times that Bush has told us that the U.S. hasn't found any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq but that we're going to find them very soon, we promise, very soon, we promise, very soon, we promise. Very soon.
FADE TO BLACK
Donna Brazile, former campaign manager for Al Gore's presidential run
George Bush is beatable in 2004. The 2004 presidential campaign is not about the decision to go to war, rather the aftermath of the war. Bush is vulnerable on many fronts, from campaign promises to balancing the budget to recent promises to keep America safe and secure. Democrats must reclaim their soul and fight for the interest of Main Street, not just Wall Street. Every issue will be in play, but the party must launch a major grass-roots campaign against the harsh, poisonous partisan tone Bush has created since taking office. Under Bush's leadership, America has returned to deficit spending and a bias toward the wealthy. Democrats must defend working families and fight for a sane and sensible budget and spending priorities that meet our urgent needs.
Sept. 11, 2001, altered the political landscape for both parties. For Republicans, the American people believe that they will protect and defend America's interest and track down the terrorists one by one. As for Democrats, my party must erase the perception that we are weak on issues of national security and homeland defense. We can start by articulating our vision of "peace" and international diplomacy. We must also state emphatically that we are not afraid to use force if it will save American lives.
The irony is that the GOP has changed its electoral recipe for victory. Soon after the 2000 presidential campaign, Karl Rove convened a high-level session of Republican operatives and strategists to encourage them to come back with a plan to mobilize GOP-leaning voters in the final 72 hours of campaigning. During the 2002 midterm election, the GOP out-hustled and -organized Democrats in many key congressional and senatorial races. Democrats and their traditional allies in the labor and civil rights communities were outspent in the field and in the implementation of effective door-to-door voter contact programs. Once again, the party took its base for granted by campaigning late in those communities that traditionally vote Democratic and failed to muster the type of grass-roots, shoe-licking politics that we branded so many years ago. It's time for Democrats to return to the basics in 2004.
