We've heard it a thousand times from the Republicans:  "You can only rely on us, the true patriots,  to keep you safe.  If you vote for the weak-on-defense Democrats, all kinds of scary, horrible things will happen to you.  They are weak, naive appeasers.  And, by the way, don't forget that there hasn't been a terrorist attack in the U.S. since 9/11." Why have we Democrats just sat around and allowed the Republicans to depict us in this way?  We have excellent arguments to counter these stupid assertions, but we don't use them in any consistent way.  Isn't it obvious that the National Security issue is the ONLY issue the Republicans can run on with any degree of credibility in the fall?
I offer a few salient talking points that we can use to turn the National Security issue to our immediate advantage when we are accused of being soft on national defense: (1)  Who was at the helm when the terrorists attacked on on 9/11?  Why didn't Bush take seriously the many warning signs that a plan to attack the U.S. was underway? Conclusion:  It was the Republicans who let us down, who did not protect us.  (2)  Democratic presidents have always risen to the occasion when our security was threatened:  Wilson during WWI, Roosevelt and Truman during WWII, Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Clinton who did not hesitate to strike at Al-Qaida in Afganistan. (3) Bush and Cheney talk tough on defending America, but theirs is only a lapel-flag patriotism.  Where were they when their country needed them to fight communism in Vienam?  Have their children or any of the neocons' children volunteered for service in Iraq?
No, fellow Democrats, don't give an inch on the National Security issue.  You have much ammunition to fight back.  USE IT!  And while doing so,  remind the voters over and over that it was the Republicans who dropped the ball on 9/11, not the Democrats.