It's the Security, Stupid

If you follow politics at all — or even if you don't — you're soon going to get tired of one word this fall: security. As far as both parties in Washington are concerned, security is what everyone is looking for, so any issue you care about ahead of the November election is going to be packaged as a "security" issue. Worried about flat wages or higher taxes? Republicans and Democrats alike want to talk to you about "economic security." Angry about Bush's handling of the war in Iraq or weak-kneed Democrats getting in the way of his domestic surveillance programs? Both sides have a message about national security for you.

	• Leveraging the Lobbyist Scandal For a congressional candidate, a presidential visit during campaign season is a sought-after opportunity... • A Guide to the Terrorism Bills Much of Bush's war on terrorism has been waged in the shadows. But with secret surveillance and detention programs now exposed, the Administration has been forced to reckon with the lights, and the law. • Tortured Negotiations White House officials, potentially vulnerable to prosecution in the wake of the Supreme Court's Hamdan decision, break out the big guns in a battle over detainees • Why Lindsey Graham Is Blocking Bush on Terror Trials The conservative senator has been an Administration ally in the past, but he thinks Bush's restrictions on the rights of defendants are "a bridge too far" • It's the Security, Stupid No matter what the issue - terrorism, immigration or flat wages and higher taxes - the code word this election season is "security" • Profiling the Terrorists The bios of the 14 terrorists being sent to Gitmo read like a collection of terrorist job applications • Why the GOP May Not Gain from Lieberman's Loss With the Connecticut Senator vowing to run as an independent, Republicans would be licking their chops - if only they had more confidence in their candidate • Like Father, Like Son Vietnam hero and Senator JOHN MCCAIN has unyieldingly backed the Iraq war. Now son Jimmy is heading to boot camp and, maybe, to battle

And so, inevitably, the furious immigration debate of last spring, which for a moment was about reforming a system everyone agrees is broken, has been boiled down to the issue of "border security." Most Republicans have concluded that a hard-line approach focused on tightening the U.S.-Mexico border is the best political play this season. Neither the broad package of reforms negotiated by the Senate, which would have produced a guest worker program and a path to citizenship for the 12 million illegal immigrants now in the country, nor the more limited program envisioned by House conservative leader Mike Pence has any momentum. Both proposals have been set aside in favor of a series of bills already making their way through the system that will fund fences, border guards and electronic surveillance.

Behind the move is another security issue: job security for incumbents on the Hill. Conservative voters are furious about the porous U.S.-Mexico border. And the fears that an enraged Hispanic population would punish the GOP for taking what some called anti-Hispanic positions on tightening border enforcement are long gone. "We haven't seen any empirical support for that," says one senior GOP aide. The aide points to close races around the country where Democrats are falling into line behind a border-security-first approach, and a recent AP survey that showed no significant new voter registration in cities where pro-immigration rallies had taken place.

Some in the GOP are not happy. "Border security is not the end of the story," says Mississippi Senator Trent Lott. "Most people in the country are still concerned and think we should act on [immigration reform], and it contributes to the impression that we're not doing our job. We need to do more than just provide funds for fencing." But if anyone does bring up other parts of the debate between now and November, you know how they're going to get handled. Senate majority leader Bill Frist was asked on Wednesday if he would support more programs to check the legal status of laborers at work sites. Without hesitation he said he would support such "verification at the workplace — in terms of border security."