Santorum's Domestic Agenda Unappealing, Ditto for Iranian Nukes
Lynn deviates from this morning's JBlog talking points and just shreds Senator Santorum (and we thought the memo was pretty clear...) For what it's worth, we're also not fans of the Senator's religious conservativism - but then again we're also not particularly enthusiastic about its role in President Bush's governing philosophy (although admittedly the Santorum five month old fetus thing is uniquely super creepy). But in the case of a Congressperson, the calculation is easy: religiously-inspired legislators are actively offset by political opponents, but other than Santorum there just aren't many people in politics opposing the combination of anti-Bush sentiment and faux State Department sophistication that is blissfully deferring to the UN and the EU while Iran gets the bomb. The Senator unapologetically acknowledged the nature of the enemy, labeling it "Islamic fascism". Done and done (and while we're on the subject, this kind of robust intellectual and political diversity is exactly why there needs to be a pro-Israel version of the Left's "Townhouse" mailing list... put an end to this kind of crap before it starts).
In contrast to Lynn's, achem, "independent thinking", Rick Richman has done some very good work detailing the extensive, bipartisan support that Santorum enjoys from the Jewish community:
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... 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... [I]f the Democrats' attempt to reclaim the Senate ultimately falters in Pennsylvania, in a race decided by the Jewish vote... it would be a fitting recognition of the extraordinary commitment - by an "evangelical Catholic" - to the cause of Israel, in a time of existential challenge.
He links to articles talking about, among other things, Jewish Democrats who are voting for Santorum because he acknowledges the threat that Iran represents. This phenomenon, if nothing else, conclusively demonstrates just how mind-bogglingly stupid the Walt-Mearsheimer-Duke thesis is: life-long liberals are wiling to support an arguably extreme anti-abortion evangelical Catholic because he will defend the apparently radical proposition that lunatics giving stump speeches about wiping out millions of Jews and seeking nuclear weapons should be aggressively challenged.
Plus, Casey's an intellectual lightweight. Even if the very, very worst excesses ascribed to Santorum were true, checks and balances means that MR will almost always default to "evil" over "stupid". Republican evil can be predicted and countered - liberal stupid gets away with murder because no one can sustain the will to untangle their confused knot of incoherence and pretension that passes for policy analysis. It just hurts too much (cf. Coulter, Ann: "confronted with hysterical zealots demanding that their view of history be acknowledged, conservatives essentially said... if it means that much to you - okay"). Which is fine and cute on domestic issues that can be fixed later, but Iran's about to get nukes.
PS - Yes:
"I think we are at a critical juncture," [Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.)] said yesterday. "This could be … the most important election in my lifetime from a national security standpoint,.. I think [withdrawing U.S. troops] would embolden Iran, embolden radical Islam, embolden even North Korea."
There are those on the Left who use the phrase "9/11 changed everything" sarcastically, in the same tone of voice and with the same eye roll that they reserve for the terror alert system. Unfortunately, they're right to be sarcastic about that - although not for the reasons they think. As countless blog posts lamented earlier this week lamented, there is still a sizable segment of this country living in a Sept. 10th world. Politicians who appreciate the cataclysmic potential implied by a Shi'a bomb get significant leeway to do whatever they want with the rest of their free time.
In contrast to Lynn's, achem, "independent thinking", Rick Richman has done some very good work detailing the extensive, bipartisan support that Santorum enjoys from the Jewish community:
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... 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... [I]f the Democrats' attempt to reclaim the Senate ultimately falters in Pennsylvania, in a race decided by the Jewish vote... it would be a fitting recognition of the extraordinary commitment - by an "evangelical Catholic" - to the cause of Israel, in a time of existential challenge.
He links to articles talking about, among other things, Jewish Democrats who are voting for Santorum because he acknowledges the threat that Iran represents. This phenomenon, if nothing else, conclusively demonstrates just how mind-bogglingly stupid the Walt-Mearsheimer-Duke thesis is: life-long liberals are wiling to support an arguably extreme anti-abortion evangelical Catholic because he will defend the apparently radical proposition that lunatics giving stump speeches about wiping out millions of Jews and seeking nuclear weapons should be aggressively challenged.
Plus, Casey's an intellectual lightweight. Even if the very, very worst excesses ascribed to Santorum were true, checks and balances means that MR will almost always default to "evil" over "stupid". Republican evil can be predicted and countered - liberal stupid gets away with murder because no one can sustain the will to untangle their confused knot of incoherence and pretension that passes for policy analysis. It just hurts too much (cf. Coulter, Ann: "confronted with hysterical zealots demanding that their view of history be acknowledged, conservatives essentially said... if it means that much to you - okay"). Which is fine and cute on domestic issues that can be fixed later, but Iran's about to get nukes.
PS - Yes:
"I think we are at a critical juncture," [Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.)] said yesterday. "This could be … the most important election in my lifetime from a national security standpoint,.. I think [withdrawing U.S. troops] would embolden Iran, embolden radical Islam, embolden even North Korea."
There are those on the Left who use the phrase "9/11 changed everything" sarcastically, in the same tone of voice and with the same eye roll that they reserve for the terror alert system. Unfortunately, they're right to be sarcastic about that - although not for the reasons they think. As countless blog posts lamented earlier this week lamented, there is still a sizable segment of this country living in a Sept. 10th world. Politicians who appreciate the cataclysmic potential implied by a Shi'a bomb get significant leeway to do whatever they want with the rest of their free time.
