CALL IN:(347) 996-3944
ATLAS ON THE AIR TONIGHT 9PM
"KILLING THE DEME ON SANTORUM"
I have long been a supporter of Santorum. Please take a moment to listen to my interview with him here.
In my previous post Lautenberg's Lies and the Jewish Democratic Council, I described how Senator Lautenburg of New Jersey, with the help of the National Jewish Democratic Council, is distorting Senator Santorum's record on Iran and out right lied at a press conference on September 18. I could not be more ashamed of my Jewish brethern on the Democratic council. Their actions are nothing short of suicidal.
Those of you familiar with this blog know how vigorously I have railed against the the oppressive Islamic regime of Iran and there has been no better Senator on this than Rick Santorum. Remember my SANTORUM VLOG, here back in June 16th?
One of a rare breed. Rick Santorum is straight, blunt, ethical, brave. Out there in the battle against militant Islam and wrestling with an out of control, nuclear armed Islamic Republic of Iran, his courage to take a firm stand has left him vulnerable in his upcoming Senatorial race.
He is a thorn in the eye of the far left and has been targeted by George Soros and his Shadow-party-usurp-American sovereignty machine. He’s facing an uphill race for re-election in 2006 against Democrat Bob Casey Jr and frankly I don't know how Santorum battles a guy who doesn't show up. Casey hides - thats his strategy. That and the Democratic smear machine.
SANTORUM: There are many Iranians who support moderate Islam and a free and democratic government. They need to hear from us on a consistent basis that the regime that is oppressing them is corrupt and needs to be changed so that they might have the freedom that they deserve. When we negotiate with these folks we prop them up world stage.
I agree with you, that if I thought there was any positive result that would come from these negotiations but of course there won't be because the Iranians are clear that they want to develop these nuclear weapons and they are not going to do anything to be deterred except to try to drag us along in endless negotiations while they continue to develop this capability. We have to face this reality......... they are going to proceed. And we have to do something other than talk.The UN is a feckless organization that is not going to be at all helpful [in regards to international security] in containing the Iranian nuclear threat .
Manda Ervin, a prominent Iranian ex-pat dissident with close ties to Capitol Hill sent out a flaming email in Monday, September 18th castigating the National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) – a PAC for holding a press conference in Philadelphia with New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg and suburban Philadelphia Congresswoman, Allyson Schwartz. The press conference was called in the midst of a tough re-election race for Senator Santorum, a good friend of Israel , and prominent in the effort to legislate tough sanctions against the loony mullahs in Tehran and apocalyptic President Ahmadinejad. Both Santorum and Democratic contender, Commonwealth State Treasurer Bob Casey - son of the former Pennsylvania governor - are vying for the significant Jewish voters in crucial west Philadelphia suburbs .
The issue that rankled Manda Ervin was that Lautenberg and Schwartz were ‘lying’ about who was tough on Iranian sanctions. Congressional sources with whom I spoke about the matter were also irritated. Jewish organizations haven’t taken the cudgel and combated the nonsense spewed in the NJDC press conference.
Santorum offered up an Amendment to the National Defense Appropriations Act (NDAA) that fused S333-the Senate version of the Iran Freedom and Support Act, S. 1737, the Iranian Nuclear Trade Prohibition Act, and H.R. 282, the House-passed Iran Freedom and Support Act. The amendment would have put teeth into the sanction capability of the Executive branch. It would have had a big impact on investments by U.S. foreign controlled entities in Iran. not present in the Iran Libya Sanctions Act, particularly with regard to Iran’s energy sector. The Amendment to the NDAA and the Iran Libya Sanction Acts comes up for a vote today in the Senate Banking Committee, otherwise it expires given the looming the Congressional campaign recess.
This excerpt from Santorum’s ‘talking points’ paper for the Amendment says it all:
The amendment also seeks to deny entities that are American controlled from doing business in Iran via foreign subsidiaries. These entities, as of January 1, 2007, will be considered American entities doing business in Iran, thereby subject to sanction.
The amendment directs the President to cut off foreign assistance to the host country of a company investing more than $20M in Iran’s energy sector. There is a waiver included so that the President can waive the sanction. This portion is also prospective in nature.
Sen. Lautenberg voted against this amendment!. Santorum looked forward on the issue of subsidiaries, while Sen. Lautenberg wanted to look backward so he could get Halliburton.
Halliburton, you ask? But why would Lautenberg focus on that? What Santorum was trying to achieve was to focus the legislative authorities on prospective investments instead of penalizing existing investments retroactively, which was nettlesome to Lautenberg.
Look at this exchange on this issue from the Congressional Record on the debates on the proposed Amendment on June 15th.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I will try to be quick. I listened with interest to the Senator from Pennsylvania and his presentation. I also looked at the amendment he has produced. In that amendment, we are going to administer sanctions against companies doing business with Iran.
Now, the surprise here is that three times before, when I had an amendment, the Senator from Pennsylvania voted against it, would not include it, didn’t want to discriminate against firms that do business with Iran and that provide revenues that kill our kids in Iraq.
And now we have a flimsy aspect. We say we are going to impose sanctions; however, it will be out of reach of American jurisdiction. It, therefore, will not apply to the company that owns it–in this case it happens to be a Halliburton–that has a sham corporation operating in Dubai based originally in the Cayman Islands. That should not be allowed, that the grasp of the U.S. Government cannot reach these perpetrators of the kind of indecency that places our soldiers at risk because they are doing business with an avowed enemy of the United States that is providing funds that are lethal to our troops over there.
I hope everybody will take a good close look at this amendment and vote “no.'’
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania.
Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, this goes under the old rubric of no good deed goes unpunished. We have attempted in this amendment to meet the Senator from New Jersey halfway. The Senator’s amendment has consistently been voted on. I have opposed it and so has most of the Senate, which suggests that those who are currently doing business and have invested should be penalized for their investment. What we say is that on any future investment, you will be penalized. We make the Lautenberg language prospective.
In attempting to meet the Senator from New Jersey halfway, we find out that this is not sufficient and, therefore, we should oppose this amendment. I would think half a loaf is better than no loaf. This, by the way, was not in the Iran Freedom and Support Act. This is one of the provisions Senator Levin mentioned that was added, frankly, out of respect for the concerns the Senator from New Jersey raised and has raised on the floor repeatedly.
So, who’s behind these false accusations directed at Santorum? The guess among political sources is that it is Senator Charles Schumer of New York, chair of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee.
Schumer desperately wants to take back control of the U.S. Senate and any trick in the book that he and his campaign aides can use to nudge bewildered largely Jewish voters in those vitally important west Philadelphia suburbs that are crucial to a victory in a divided state like the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is fair game.
And that’s why the NJDC called the press conference with Lautenberg and Schwartz to falsely accuse Santorum of not being tough on Iran sanctions. They need the deciding votes for their candidate Bob Casey.
That’s why they are trying to sandbag Santorum on a subject on which he’s been in the vanguard on: Iran sanctions. The curious aspect of all this is why Jewish organizations are asleep at the switch and didn’t choose to issue a rebuttal. Jewish organizations that are concerned about Iran should stand up and be counted.
Go over to Israpundit and read it all and listen tonight - help make a difference
If you haven't contributed to his campaign, now is the time. Go here.
UPDATE: Senator Santorum Praises House Passage of Iran Freedom and Support Act
Senator Santorum is a lead sponsor of companion legislation in the Senate
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, today praised the U.S. House of Representatives for passing H.R. 6198, the Iran Freedom and Support Act. The bipartisan legislation holds the current regime in Iran accountable for its threatening behavior and supports a transition to democracy in Iran. Earlier today, Senator Santorum along with Majority Leader Frist (R-TN) and Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Bill Nelson (D-FL), introduced the Senate version of the bill, S. 3971, the Iran Freedom and Support Act. Senator Santorum is hopeful that the Senate acts on this bill as soon as possible.
The bipartisan legislation provides for key enhancements to the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA) which is set to expire at the end of this week. Additionally, the bill authorizes assistance to pro-democracy groups inside and outside Iran and provides additional authorities the necessary tools to stop money laundering efforts that support weapons of mass destruction (WMD) proliferation. The bipartisan House bill is sponsored by Representatives Ileane Ros-Lehtinent (R-FL-18) and Tom Lantos (D-CA-12).
“I am very pleased that this critical piece of legislation was passed by my colleagues in the House,” said Senator Santorum. “Congress is moving forward in a constructive manner to encourage a peaceful transition to democracy in Iran and to ensure that ILSA does not expire. I encourage my Senate colleagues to support passage of this bill because it includes significant enhancements that will aid our efforts to support the democratic movement inside Iran.”
