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"The President is right. This is our hour. We can play politics with the hour, we can seek political advantage to win the next election with this hour, or we can confront the reality of this hour and do something about it."

By AcademicElephant Posted in 2006 — Comments (9) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Last Tuesday, Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) took to the Senate floor to rebut Democrat complaints that the President "politicized" his 9/11 address to the nation by mentioning Iraq. As you may have heard, in the course of outlining how he has responded to the terrorist attacks in 2001, Mr. Bush discussed how the effort to disarm and democratize Iraq is a centerpiece for his policy. Everyone from Congressional democrats to the White House press corps was outraged by his affront, for it is of course a KnownFact that Iraq has nothing to do with responding to 9/11. Iraq (which, as Jay Nordlinger pointed out, should be understood by the Enlightened as "George Bush's weird, personal jihad") is a War of Choice, and a mistaken, failed one at that. Any fool knows that to even mention this colossal blunder on the sacred anniversary of 9/11 is to play politics of the most craven kind in yet another attempt to falsely rally public opinion this election year.

Ah, but here's the rub: Mr. Bush, as he has shown time and time again, is not just any fool.

Please read on...

The President talked about Iraq last Monday night because he believes now, as he always did, that invading Iraq, disarming and deposing Saddam Hussein and installing a democratic government in his place was and is integral to his larger response to 9/11. He never believed that the military action that toppled the Taliban and smashed al Qaeda would solve the root problems that created 9/11, and his prime motivator is to prevent another such attack. So for him, directly answering the questions many Americans have about Iraq (starting with "I'm often asked why we're in Iraq when Saddam Hussein was not responsible for the 9/11 attacks") is central to explaining his response to 9/11. Agreeing with his policy is another matter. But Mr. Bush's explanation of how and why it was implemented is hardly "playing politics."

In fact, the President was not playing at all on the fifth anniversary of 9/11. He was addressing a deadly serious issue, and the few surviving grown-ups in Washington stood up to be counted with him. One such adult was Senator Santorum. Some might say that it would be politically smart for him to distance himself from the President on this issue, and avoid being backed into taking a stand. But rather than playing such an evasive defense, Mr. Santorum marched straight into the breach. He called Democrat complaints for what they were, described the terrible and terrifying enemy we face, and explained once again why success in Iraq is crucial to our progress in the Global War on Terror. And here's the money quote:

The President is right. This is our hour. We can play politics with the hour, we can seek political advantage to win the next election with this hour, or we can confront the reality of this hour and do something about it.

On my watch, even though I am facing what many consider to be a difficult time back in Pennsylvania, I am going to confront the reality of the threat to me, to this country, and to our children and grandchildren. It is too important to walk away and play politics to get reelected. It is too important to the future of this country to minimize the threat that we are engaged in and play politics with it.

It may win or lose elections. Matters not to me. It matters not to me. What matters is defending our country when it needs to be defended, not putting personal politics above what is in the best interest of the national security of this country.

With these words, Senator Santorum stood up to be counted with Mr. Bush. They resonated with me, and today I am standing up to be counted with him.

It seems fashionable these days to emphasize differences with politicians in an effort to declare one's political independence. While I admit I do not agree with Mr. Santorum 100% of the time, for me the point is that I agree with him far more frequently than I differ. When I do not agree, I know Mr. Santorum's stance springs from deeply-held personal beliefs rather than from political expediency. And I would far rather have a senator with whom I occasionally disagree who is a person of conviction than one who studiously avoids making any stand or commitment for fear of alienating a block of voters. Furthermore, at the end of the day I am really a one-issue voter, and my issue is national defense. Because I strongly agree with the President and his policies and I think he needs as many staunch supporters in congress as possible, I want Mr. Santorum to have six more years in Washington.

So, friends, how about helping out?

Here's the pitch: at the risk of revealing the secret location of Elephant World Headquarters, this is a fight in my backyard and I'm ready to put my money where my mouth is. I can still give $1500 to the campaign in 2006, and I will match dollar for dollar every Redstate contribution up to the legal limit. Yes, I know we at Redstate are asking for a lot this year, folks. I think we should, because this is an extremely important election for very high stakes. There are a number of candidates who are worthy of your support, and I hope you have been (and will be) generous to them. But I do think this is the must-win race for Republicans this cycle. A loss for Mr. Santorum would be a body blow to Republican leadership in congress. A win would be a strong message that there are Americans who understand what's at stake in Iraq and don't want to throw in the towel--who want to stay the course and win. And a Casey victory is hardly a pre-ordained conclusion. Senator Santorum can do this. He's closing (or rather has closed) in the polls and he's running a terrific, gutsy campaign. Every dollar you can spare will help the Senator and his team keep going down the stretch. If you've been thinking about contributing, now's the moment to step up to the plate and give when it can do the most good--and I'll share your pain. Let's all dig deep, work together and blow my fall shoe budget out of the water. Yeah, I wanted those boots, but I want even more to have my children grow up in a nation governed by people like Rick Santorum, not by the likes of Bob Casey, Jr.

[If you want to participate in the dollar match, leave your contribution amount in the comments or shoot me an email. I think the honor system will suffice for this one. And thanks in advance for everyone's support.]