Democratic Security Plan due today

georgia10 reports at dKos on the anticipated Democratic Party Security Plan which Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are expected to announce today. Here are some points from her diary:

• Eliminating Osama bin Laden.
  
• A "responsible redeployment of U.S. forces" from Iraq in 2006.
• Doubling the number of special forces and adding more spies to reinvigorate the hunt for Osama bin Laden,
  
• Finishing the War in Afghanistan where security is deteriorating and the Taliban may be resurging,
  
• Declaring energy independence by 2020,
  
• Implementing all of the 9/11 Commission recommendations,
  
• Modernizing the military,
  
• Increasing funding for port security and homeland security in general, and
  
• Much more.
  

[Note: I have edited and reformatted Georgia10's words here for brevity. RB]

This is a direct attack on the major strength that Bush has provided to Congressional Republicans since 2002. The Republicans are responding as expected:

• Senator John Kyl (R-AZ) claims the plan offers "nothing but platitudes."
• Senator Christopher Bond (R-MS) tried to dismiss the plan, claiming "It's taken them all this time to figure out what we've been doing for a long time."
• And designated spinmeister for the day, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), writing for National Review Online, says "These are all efforts that the administration and Republican Congress have implemented, or that Democrats have delayed or otherwise blocked."

[Again, reformatted from Georgia10.]

It looks to me like some Democrats have learned from Karl Rove. This action goes at the Republicans where they are strongest, and even if it can't totally counter the Republican advantages in the appearance of "Providers of Security" it will weaken the public response. This will open them to their real vulnerabilities as incompetent providers of "Governance" and as Corrupt Politicians too busy feathering their own nests to do the real work of governing.

It is also being presented early enough for a large number of Democratic candidates to use these issues as part of their campaigns.

We can expect push-backs from Republicans at all levels, from David Brooks at the NY Times to the FOX News and conservative subsidized journals such as the American Standard, Washington Times, National Review and NRO.

It is going to be an interesting year.

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[Update 1:00 PM CST] The plan has been announced.
The Associated Press has the story.