Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) followed a bloggers call last week with another one this morning — this time with bloggers convened by Allen Roth and David Goder of One Jerusalem.
The participating blogs were The American Thinker, Atlas Shrugs, Boker tov, Boulder!, Gateway Pundit, Israpundit, Jewish Current Issues, Liberally Conservative, Regime Change Iran, Tel Chai Nation, and others, all of whom will post summaries and reflections. One Jerusalem will post a recording of the call later today.
It was an extraordinary call. Sen. Santorum’s opening remarks were as eloquent and concise a statement the current situation as one is likely to find. He believes the war will not be won in the streets of Baghdad or Kandahar, but in the streets of public opinion in America, and that leaders from the president on down have an obligation to explain the seriousness of the enemy — one with enormous resources, enormous conviction and a willingness to die for their god, and pursuing weapons of mass destruction to accomplish their aims.
In response to questions, he covered the UN, the nomination of John Bolton (whose performance he termed “stellar”), the State Department (with its “incredible bias that everything is negotiable and everyone thinks like they do”), his Iran Freedom and Support Act, and his estimate of the time remaining before Iran passes a nuclear threshold. The conference call is worth listening to in its entirety.
The call was non-political, with questions limited to policy matters, but it served to emphasize the importance of the Pennsylvania Senate race between Sen. Santorum and Democratic state Treasurer Robert Casey Jr. How important is it? According to an article in the Jewish Exponent:
The stakes in the race are much higher than the political fortunes of two men. For Democrats, the trophy at the end of the finish line would be nothing less than control of the
Senate . . . . U.S. In order for the Democrats to entertain any hope of once again becoming a majority in the Senate chamber, Casey has to win. If Santorum were to triumph, he might very well become the second most powerful politician in the upper chamber, and one of the most influential in all of
. Washington Several recent polls suggest that Santorum has made a substantial dent in the challenger’s double-digit lead . . . Both the Keystone and
Polls had Casey ahead by six points . . . . Quinnipiac University
The outcome of the election may depend on Jewish voters. They make up 2.5% of the
Lori Lowenthal Marcus [whose important recent article is here] is one of them.
"I am a absolute dyed-in-the-wool Democrat," said Marcus, the president of the
Philadelphia chapter of the Zionist Organization of, though she added she’s supporting Santorum as a private citizen and not as an organizational head. America "Domestic issues are very important to me," she continued. "But Santorum has signed on to every resolution that has been in any way helpful to
. He’s got his head and heart in the right direction with respect to security and foreign policy in the Middle East. Israel is facing an existential danger, but so far, very few Democrats are focused on that issue as much as they should be." Israel
Santorum has repeatedly appeared in public in support of
Santorum also contributed “telling remarks” at the remarkable Christians United for Israel dinner in
He hosted a “Jewish Leadership Summit” on Capitol Hill to discuss “foreign policy and religious-freedom issues” — one of his principal interests. Last month he appeared with
And so on. And his support for
“It’s not as if he’s a Johnny-come-lately to this issue [of
Israel ],” said Robin Schatz, director of government affairs for the Jewish Federation of Greater. “Senator Santorum has really been a leader in terms of pro-Israel work in the Senate.”. . . . Philadelphia
At the beginning of the Israel-Hezbollah war, Casey stressed his support for Israel’s right to defend itself, but a better comparison of the two candidates’ positions may be this report later in the war (from the August 1, 2006 issue of the Post-Gazette):
U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., argued yesterday that there should be no cease-fire in
Lebanon untildefeats Hezbollah. Israel A halt to military action without the elimination of the threat posed by the Shiite militia, the Republican said, would embolden not only Israel’s enemies across its northern border, but a broader array of champions of "Islamic fascism," led by Iran. . . .
A spokesman for the Democrat [Casey] said the campaign had no comment on Mr. Santorum’s latest statement on the fighting.
Casey’s silence fits well with a Democratic Party that has stood silent in the face of Jimmy Carter’s serial slanders of Israel, that tried to preclude John Bolton from serving at the U.N. (and now opposes him again), that jettisoned Joe Lieberman, that is led by Howard “Even-Handed” Dean, and that just last week overwhelmingly voted to support a bill that would have banned the sale of cluster bombs to Israel.
It would be poetic justice (and much more) if the Democrats’ attempt to reclaim the Senate ultimately falters in