Global Priorities - 10-yr & 3-yr goals

Lorelei Kelly First, I think progressives will realize that Karl Rove's shameless fear mongering and "national security" rhetoric are what we can expect from conservatives for years to come. After Rove, legions of mini Roves will follow. They will use this issue repeatedly. The only way to defeat it is to attack back--based on real security needs. Fortunately for us, the Bush Administration and conservatives in general have been so negligent--and have lost so much public confidence-- that many national security issues are up for grabs. I think that within 3 years we can create a plan and even begin-- to capture a small chunk of terrain on national security policy--and in so doing to influence the way national security is communicated in a post 9/11 era. In order to do this, we need to move beyond old frames for communicating narrowly about defense issues i.e. "guns versus butter" and "military industrial complex" and put forward a more holistic vision of national security--one that is bolstered every day--domestically by Katrina, internationally by avian flu and our soldiers building schools in Iraq. As any officer will tell you, defense is just one part of national security. We must break the habit among the American people to see these two words as synonymous. Like a business consultant would say, we need to rationalize this budget. This integrated perspective as a starting point makes our argument much stronger, as it doesn't dismiss traditional defense, just places it in context and assigns it a probability in a context of unknowns. (makes missile defense look pretty foolish next to global warming) In 10 years, I can see a new cohort of leaders who are pragmatic and visionary at the same time, whose priority it is to rejoin the world community as a leader--to fight ideological fundamentalism both abroad and at home through creative and inclusive policies focussed on prevention. At the same time, these leaders, in order for their priorities to be heard, must also recognize the need for the use of force and become comfortable talking about it. I see progressive national security attracting a majority of Americans--and acting as a ladder enabling the left to climb out of its stove-piped identity politics that have been so crippling for the past decades.