Third Way Dispatch

With its unique blend of arrogance and incompetence, the Bush Administration has handed progressives the best opportunity in a generation to close a long-standing credibility gap on national security issues.

On Monday, April 3rd, we spent the day helping 36 progressive candidates for Congress do just that. Our message to all these candidates was drawn from Tough and Smart – A Winning National Security Strategy. The bottom line? Bush and his rubber-stamp Congress may talk tough – about or “bring em (sic) on”, about “gettin (sic) bin Laden dead or alive,” or “Mission Accomplished”(sic), but they haven’t been smart. We need national security policy that’s tough enough to protect the country, but smart enough to do it right.

The day’s activities included a training session for House challengers, in partnership with Rep. Jane Harman and her SecureUS PAC. This was not the usual Washington talkathon. The 31 participants had a chance to consult with experts, such as retired three-star General Claudia Kennedy and Clinton Secretary of Defense Bill Perry, but the bulk of the day focused on practical exercises. Candidates honed their national security messages in campaign trail scenarios, facing a jury of their peers.

In the course of the day, we trained schoolteachers and local politicians, military veterans and business people. Each had his or her unique take on the issues, but by the end of the training, all had nailed the “tough and smart” approach to national security.

Across town on the same day, Third Way also briefed five Senate candidates on the “tough and smart” message and strategy in a session sponsored by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Both the Senate and House trainings relied on a new Third Way resource: a National Security Notebook for candidates. The notebook features a memo that describes both the challenge and opportunity facing progressive candidates, with an eight step strategy for using the tough and smart framework.

The notebook also includes four message memos on the hot national security issues in this campaign cycle: Iraq, terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and homeland security. There are more memos to come, on subjects ranging from humanitarian intervention to China.