The national security election

Slated on Backbone Radio, February 17 Listen every Sunday, 5-8pm on 710 KNUS, Denver.. 1460 KZNT, Colorado Springs... and streaming live at 710knus.com.

How serious are we about defending America in a dangerous world? By "we," I ultimately mean the American people, the voters who will choose our next President this fall. But the first "we" to whom the question applies is Republicans and conservatives, the grownup party in American politics. If the GOP and the right, our country's naturally more protective element, can't put national security first and foremost, there is little hope of the Democrats and the media urging people to do so.

And if the 2008 election is not about national security, Republicans will probably not win. Which in turn means the United States becomes a much softer target for its enemies in the next four years. Think Jimmy Carter on steroids, if Barack Obama becomes Commander-in-Chief. Not a pretty thought at all.

I've been columnizing and blogging about this concern in recent days. And next week I'll be in Michigan with the Claremont Institute for a congressional briefing series called "Defending America in a Dangerous World." As I travel, Sunday's radio show will be in good hands with the renowned Brad and Jessica.

Renowned, of course, because of all the waves they've been making with FacetheState.com, Colorado's hard-hitting alternative news source on the Web. Brad Jones and Jessica Peck Corry, helped out by our own Matt Dunn, will talk about policy issues including...

** Teacher union selfishness with Ben DeGrow of the Independence Institute, environmental disaster threatening Leadville with State Sen. Tom Wiens, and civil rights ballot issues across the country with Ward Connerly.

** Politically, the rising fortunes of McCain and Obama, as well as the underwhelming report card on Ritter and the tenacity of Senate candidate Bob Schaffer, are sure to come up.

Backbone Radio and our prime sponsors, American Furniture Warehouse and Citywide Banks, are proud to bring you the weekend conservative update for Colorado and the nation every Sunday at 5:00. We couldn't do it without all of you out there as listeners and email readers. So thanks!

Yours for self-government, JOHN ANDREWS