Are the Republicans Tough Anymore?

In the aftermath of the foiled terror plot in the UK, it seems as if the Bush administration and congressional Republicans have suddenly lost their bearings. For a few months this year, they were relentlessly focused on the keys to a safe America, but now they are all over the map. Americans want to know which party has the toughness to face down terrorism. Republicans need to get back to Republican priorities.
–They are talking about beefed up security at US airports! Have they so quickly forgotten that Iraq is the “central front in the War on Terrorism”? This is a crisis! There are children here! The entire corps of US Air Marshals must be immediately redeployed to Baghdad, where they can strike at the heart of the enemy.
–The Republicans used to care about flag burning. Can anyone doubt that the short attention span of congress in The War on Flag-Burning has emboldened our enemies? Congress must immediately take tougher action in this crisis. The ATF must be must be broadened to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Flag Burning. Laugh that off, Mr. Terrorist!
–For a time, terrorists around the world were stunned, intimidated, and immobilized by the Republicans’ steely resolve in the crisis of same sex marriage. “Who wants to take on those guys? They’re tough!” But when it came to naught, you could just hear the terrorists laughing, “And they call themselves Imperialists? Come on! Who’s afraid of them?”
The Democrats? I don’t think bin Laden is worried about people who can’t even stand by an American minimum wage that has served as a symbol of fairness for years.