The Party of National Insecurity

— -- WASHINGTON, July 10

The Democrats have cleverly lulled the Republicans into a false sense of confidence for the midterm election.

Based on the results in 2002 and 2004, on Terry McAuliffe's eye rolls at bipartisan social gatherings, and on what gets written in The Note, Republicans believe that they can hold their Senate and House majorities by playing the national security card from the top and bottom of the deck in the July-August-September-October-November window and ride that to victory.

But over the weekend, ABC News was given an exclusive first-look tour of the new Democratic Party war room in the bowels of the DNC headquarters, behind a secret passageway and down some stairs. There on the wall is a sign with the party's Dean-Schumer-Emanuel-Pelosi-Soros-Sweeney-Kennedy-Clintons-Reid-approved messages:

It's Iraq, Stupid

Change Versus More of the Same

Don't Forget Human and Civil Rights

If you just look to "McLaughlin Group" alums, however, the picture remains mixed, with Freddie "The Beatle" Barnes writing in the Weekly Standard that everything's coming up roses in the Bolten era LINK, while Robert "Novakio" Novak sees the GOP whistling past the graveyard. LINK (Both are mega must reads.)

Decide for yourselves:

1. The Boston Globe's Susan Milligan reports that after losing some ground on terrorism in the spring, "Republicans are now seeking to strengthen their public image on national security by seizing on North Korea and the Supreme Court ruling, as well as the decision by several newspapers to report on an international bank surveillance program that the US government is using to track the finances of suspected terrorists."LINK

2. The New York Times reports much of the remaining legislative calendar will likely be dedicated to crafting a trial system for terrorism detainees in light of the Supreme Court's Hamdan decision. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) are expected to play leading roles on the matter in the days ahead, with Graham having the potential trickier role of avoiding intra-party division on the issue. LINK

?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=all">LINK

3. Speculation will be intense today as to who leaked Chairman Peter Hoekstra's letter to the President and what Hoekstra's motives are in the wake of the New York Times reporting on Sunday about the "blunt" missive he sent President Bush on May 18, expressing concerns about the way in which the Administration had been handling briefing Congress on intelligence matters. LINK

?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=all">LINK

4. With classic cover art depicting President Bush getting lost under a 10-gallong hat, Time magazine reports on "the end of Cowboy Diplomacy" and "why the Bush Doctrine no longer works for the Bush Administration." LINK

5. Tony Cordesman, an ABC News consultant, writes: "We need to be careful not to focus too much on possible US crimes in Iraq and ignore what seems to be the failure of the operation to take back control of Baghdad and bring the militias back under control. The weekend indicates that this operation has accomplished nothing that really help reestablish order in a city where even the most conservative counts indicate close to 60% of the violence in Iraq is now occurring."

"The question of whether the Mahdi militia simply lashed out or deliberately attempted to destabilize the new government is equally critical. The most important single test Maliki faces in the short run is showing he can establish order in the capital, make sure the MOI and MOD do not support Shi'ite violence, and that the militias are under control. So far, he is failing on all three counts -- along with a long-planned US effort to have Iraqi forces establish control once the new government was chosen."

6. David Sanger's must-read news analysis in the New York Times continues to explore the strategy shift from preemption to patience. LINK

Mr. Patient, President Bush, meets with Janez Jansa, the prime minister of Slovenia, at 10:00 am ET, he attends the swearing-in ceremony for Hank Paulson, the new Secretary of the Treasury, at 11:10 am ET, and he participates in a social dinner in honor of the Special Olympics and its founder, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, at 7:25 pm ET. Ms. Shriver turns 85 today.

Vice President Cheney delivers 12:30 pm ET remarks at a closed NRCC luncheon in Michigan. He delivers 7:00 pm ET remarks at a reception for Rep. Ron Lewis (R-KY). Rep. Lewis is being challenged by Democrat Mike Weaver, a state representative and retired Army officer, in a district that President Bush carried by 31 points in 2004.

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) delivers 9:45 am ET remarks to ACORN's national convention at Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. Mindful of the way conservatives have used state ballot measures banning same-sex marriage to drive turnout, progressives are pushing ballot measures in six states (Montana, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, and Ohio) to raise the minimum wage, according to the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center. The federal minimum wage has languished at $5.15 minimum wage for the past nine years. If approved, the proposed constitutional amendment would increase Ohio's minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $6.85, with adjustments made annually thereafter.

While Sen. Clinton is in Ohio, Bill Clinton is in Africa, where he is launching a sustainable development initiative and working on behalf of his foundation's HIV/AIDS project. The former president is scheduled to have dinner with African heads of state in Cape Town, South Africa.

Karl Rove rallies "grassroots supporters" at 8:30 pm ET in Parker, CO at the Wildlife Experience Museum while RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman has a full day of closed press events in both Northern and Southern California.

Starting today, Rudy Giuliani is scheduled to campaign in five states over the next three days. He is slated to raise money for Sen. Mike DeWine (R) in Cleveland, OH today. Later this week, he campaigns for Rep. Asa Hutchinson (R) in Arkansas, Judy Baar Topinka (R) in Illinois, Sen. Rick Santorum (R) and Linn Swann (R) in Pennsylvania, and Bob Ehrlich (R) in Maryland.

The immigration field hearings continue today. At 11:00 am ET in Miami, FL, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Sen. John Warner (R-VA), Sen. Graham, and Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL) will examine the contributions of immigrants to the United States Armed Forces at a field hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee field hearing. Gen. Peter Pace is testifying.

There are currently 33,000 green card holders and another 30,000 naturalized citizens serving in the US military, according to data Sen. Kennedy's office obtained from the Department of Defense and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services Bureau. One hundred and one have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. Immigrants make up about five percent of the US military but over history have earned more than 20 percent of the Congressional Medals of Honor.

Sen. Kennedy is expected to say that it is "an insult" when the "far right" makes the "wrong headed bumper sticker claim that the solution to our immigration problems is just to build more fences and add more border patrols."

After participating in today's immigration field hearing, Sen. McCain joins Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL) at a (closed) Orlando fundraiser for Florida Republicans. The New York Times recently reported that supporters of Sen. McCain "made it clear in interviews that the McCain camp viewed" Jeb "as an ideal running mate for Mr. McCain."LINK

Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) stops at the Tigin Irish Pub in Stamford, CT to campaign with Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) at 11:15 am ET.

The Senate Democratic Policy Committee holds an oversight hearing on the impact of cuts in federal funding for law enforcement programs on rising violent crime rates at 1:30 pm ET in Dirksen 192.

The Senate considers the Homeland Security Appropriations bill (the first roll call vote is expected to occur at approximately 5:30 pm ET).

The House meets to formulate a rule on the "Credit Rating Agency Duopoly Relief Act of 2006" and the "Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006."

National Intelligence Director John Negroponte delivers 1:00 pm ET remarks to the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington, DC.

Former Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) and Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) raise money for a proposed statewide minimum wage hike in Tucson and Phoenix, AZ.

Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AK) attends a news conference with Iowa Senate candidate Larry Noble and appears on the Jan Mickelson radio show, Ankeny, Des Moines, IA.

The DGA holds its summer policy meeting (read: treating donors to some MLB All-Star game action) in Pittsburgh, PA.

Time declares "the end of the Bush Doctrine":
On NBC's "Today" show, Dan Senor and James Carville did the morning show cross-talk on President Bush's foreign policy record this morning.

Senor conceded that going to war with North Korea and/or Iran may not be totally feasible at the moment, but added ". . . sending a signal, even though we can't back up with full scale military action, would certainly influence the behavior of these regimes."

James Carville on how the Democrats might use the so-called end of the Bush Doctrine to their political advantage in the midterm elections: "Santorum in Pennsylvania, DeWine in Ohio, and Talent in Missouri have completely bought into this cowboy diplomacy and completely bought into a foreign policy that is utterly failing around the world."

Per the Associated Press, Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is "now relenting from his earlier advocacy of direct negotiations."LINK

"The shots eliminated the efficacy of that," said Sen. Lugar while appearing on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos."

Per the Wall Street Journal's Greg Hitt, "The U.S. sees North Korea as a threat to global stability and is seeking ways to force the country to abandon its nuclear ambitions. But South Korea sees a potentially peaceful neighbor and is looking for ways to promote dialogue and spread capitalism, with reunification the ultimate aim."