“What we’re doing in Iraq is very important for our national security,” U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris, R-Wash., told The Spokesman-Review on Tuesday. “In my mind, it’s much better to be fighting this war on their turf than on our turf.”

“Their turf” refers to Iraq. “This war,” I presume, is the war on terrorism, since it’s silly to think we’d be fighting Iraqis in the United States if we hadn’t invaded. (We can agree that is silly, right?)

I understand that this talking point probably polls better than anything else since the original rationales for war have beaten a hasty retreat. And for the sake of argument, let’s set aside the creaky foundation of this either/or premise and take it at face value.

If we’re still interested in winning hearts and minds in the Middle East (we are still interested, right?), is it a good idea for American politicians to mimic this line? Because here’s what it sounds like on Iraq’s turf:

Americans lured terrorists to our country so they could fight them here. That way they wouldn’t have to kill tens of thousands of innocent people, obliterate businesses, homes, roads and other vital infrastructure on their turf. Oh, and they wouldn’t have to live in daily fear of newly imported terrorists in their midst.

Stop me before I deduct again. The Tax Foundation, a business-backed group that advocates for lower taxes, recently released a survey of American taxpayers that showed that most U.S. adults think the federal tax code should be overhauled because of its complexity. No surprise there. Most of those polled also said taxes are too high. Hardly shocking.

Then there’s this: “A majority are willing to give up some deductions in exchange for tax simplification.” Hmm. So folks who think taxes are too high would pay even more in exchange for simplicity? Would you? Before you answer, recalculate your taxes without that pesky itemizing that lowers your taxable income.

It won’t take long.

What the Tax Foundation is pushing with this survey is a flat tax. That always sounds great until you find out that the only way a flat tax could raise the same amount of money is if middle-class Americans paid more to make up for the fact that wealthy taxpayers would pay less (because they wouldn’t be subjected to progressively higher rates).

So, let me pose the question this way: Would you be willing to pay more in taxes in exchange for a flat rate? Just think, all that time you used to spend calculating deductions could be spent at work to pay off your higher tax bill.

Firmly on the fence. From a Houston Chronicle article:

“New surveys show that a majority of Americans – 63 percent in an ABC News/Washington Post poll and 74 percent in a CBS poll – favor letting immigrants who have lived in the country to apply for legal status and eventual citizenship.

“But voters also oppose what they call amnesty for illegal immigrants, David Winston, a Republican pollster, said.”

Um … OK. Now what?