Security Debrief - Homland security news and analysis

Homeland Security Is Not a 2012 Election Issue

August 17th, 2012 - by Rich Cooper

The 2012 presidential campaigns are heating up, with taxes and economic growth dominating the debate. One issue that is just as important but somewhat less present in the ongoing discussion is homeland security. Here is a piece I wrote for Defense Media Network about how homeland security fits into the race for the presidency.

Unless there is a terrorist attack, an epic natural disaster (e.g. Hurricane Katrina) or another widescale disastrous event (e.g. BP oil spill/accident, electrical grid failure), homeland security will not be a deciding factor in the 2012 presidential race.

That’s hard to believe, considering the long shadow the homeland security issue had in the 2004 and 2008 presidential races. In both of those races, the image of the 9/11 attacks as well as the stewardship of the governmental components charged with safeguarding the American populace was very much on people’s minds. Now, more than a decade after the 9/11 carnage and with no successful attack on the homeland since then, the issue of homeland security is practically an afterthought.

Just because it’s not on the immediate radar of what people are talking about doesn’t mean that the two candidates don’t care about the issue. Both campaigns have their respective position papers and talking points as well as notable surrogates ready to talk about what “their guy” has to say about the issue. Both of them also have records on homeland issues on which they have to promote and defend themselves – Obama with his four years of DHS on his watch and Romney with his four years as Massachusetts governor.

Read the full story.

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