[Leaning Right]

By “empty suit”, I mean someone who has accomplished little of note. The accomplishments don't have to be military accomplishments.

Adams and Palin are no empty suits, obviously. They both did significance things before getting to the national stage.

As a Pennsylvanian, I do have a sense of what Santorum is all about.

I don't doubt his sincerity. But he is an empty suit. Sure, he says the right words. But what experience, what accomplishments, does he bring to the table?

Can you see Santorum staring down Putin? I can't. No more than I can see Obama staring down Putin.

I'm not saying this with any glee. I sure wish we had a solid, accomplished conservative in the race today. But we don't.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: But he is an empty suit. Sure, he says the right words. But what experience, what accomplishments, does he bring to the table?

__________________________

An empty suit is someone who did nothing when he was Senator. That adjective would have been descriptive of one Senator who mostly voted Present for two years and then went on to ran for President.

NOT SANTORUM.

I present for you herewith, some of the legislations he sponsored and some of the legislations he supported.

1) Religious freedom and ideological diversitySantorum sponsored the Workplace Religious Freedom Act (WRFA) with U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-MA).

In 2003, Santorum and fellow Republicans heard from Hillel, the Anti-Defamation League, and the Zionist Organization of America about combating anti-Semitism in American colleges. Santorum drafted language on “ideological diversity,” which Race & Class magazine suggested was tantamount to “policing thought.”

2) Santorum sponsored the Syria Accountability Act of 2003, which required Syria to end all engagement in Lebanon and cease all support for terrorism. He originally wanted to go further with the bill, asking for the United States to create economic sanctions on Syria if it did not do so.

He served eight years on the Senate Armed Services Committee where he led the fight before the attacks of September 11th, 2001 to transform our military from a Cold War force to meet today’s threats.

3) In 2005, Santorum sponsored the Iran Freedom and Support Act, which appropriated $10 million aimed at regime change in Iran. The Act passed with overwhelming support.

4) While in Congress, Santorum supported efforts to fight global AIDS, provide assistance to orphans and vulnerable children in developing countries, combat genocide in Sudan, and offer third world debt relief ( OK, I will agree that many conservatives are opposed to GOVERNMENTS doing this).

5) Santorum opposed the Senate’s immigration reform proposal.

Instead, Santorum stated that the U.S. should act to enforce currently existing laws. He has openly stated his opposition to amnesty for illegal immigrants. He supports the construction of a barrier along the U.S.–Mexican border, an increase in the number of border patrol agents on the border, and the stationing of National Guard troops along the border. He also believes that illegal immigrants should be deported immediately when they commit crimes, and that undocumented immigrants should not receive benefits from the government. He believes English should be established as the national language in the United States. Santorum cites his own family’s history as proof of how to immigrate “the right way.

6) He supported partial privatization of Social Security, and following President Bush’s re-election, he held forums across Pennsylvania on the topic.

7) Santorum rejects the mainstream scientific opinion on climate change, having referred to it as “junk science”; he also embraces common threads of the global warming conspiracy theory, believing that global warming is a “beautifully concocted scheme” by the political left and “an excuse for more government control of your life.

He has stated a policy of “drill everywhere” for oil and that there is “enough oil, coal and natural gas to last for centuries.

8) As Senator in the 1990’s, he worked with Speaker Gingrich to pass Welfare Reform and Balance the Budget.

In fact, He was also an author and floor manager of the landmark Welfare Reform Act which passed in 1996.

9) That Santorum was one of the strongest and most vocal opponents to Bill Clinton’s partial birth abortion policies is well known.

Santorum wrote and championed legislation that outlawed the heinous procedure known as Partial Birth Abortion as well as the “Born Alive Infants Protection Act,” the “Unborn Victims of Violence Act,” and the “Combating Autism Act”.

10) Santorum proposed reforming entitlements, cutting spending and even developed a “spendometer” that added up the cost of Democrat amendments to spending bills.

11) Santorum was a member of the famous “Gang of Seven” that exposed the Congressional Banking and Congressional Post Office scandals. It was this record of reform that prompted a Washington Post reporter to write in a recent article that “Santorum was a tea party kind of guy before there was a tea party.”

So, based on his foreign policy in Iraq and Iran and his service in the Armed Services Committee, will he stare down Vladimir Putin? WHY NOT? If he’s Hawkish against Iran, why would he not be against Russia?

I don’t call all of that an empty suit by any means.