Sound and Fury

Josh Marshall answers some readers who have wondered why he is eager to have the GOP "bring it on" with regard to the Dems' foreign policy. His piece amounts to nothing, however. His insistence that the Dems are finally fighting back to defend themselves is meaningless, for they don't have a policy to defend yet. They are tired of being abused on this score, it's true; but they will continue to be until they espouse a respectable foreign policy. Marshall's whining that the GOP expects the Dems to remain silent is preposterous. The GOP sees a legitimate weakness to exploit and proceeds to do so. There's nothing wrong with that. If you can't hit my fastball, then I'm going to throw you nothing but fastballs.

Until the Dems forge a coherent foreign policy that can compete with the GOP on sheer toughness in dealing with our enemies, they will remain unelectable in times of war. They will be relegated to legitimate contenders for the White House only in peaceful times, no matter how angry they are at being attacked for their weakness on national security.

Marshall says that more specific policy discussions will appear on his blog in future posts. We await eagerly. One can only hope that the Dems will direct their anger toward re-thinking foreign policy and national security. Marshall is right about one thing: this is an unusual moment. The Dems are finally tired of being abused for their weakness on national security.