Former Senator Santorum was a hero to conservatives in nearly every wing of the movement during his time in the Senate. His record could rarely be questioned for the quality of judgment he exhibited for the people of PA, and his leadership is surely missed in the Senate.

He and Senator McCain butted heads from time to time on things like earmarks while they served together, but Santorum also recognizes the importance of the issues facing America with the War on Terror, the economy, and the battle for a culture of life.

In the Philadelphia Inquirer he offers his well-reasoned and emphatic endorsement for Senator McCain for president. He encourages all Americans and conservatives in particular to strongly support Sen. McCain and cites many reason for his decision, so of which I have listed below:

National Security:

McCain is clearly the candidate with the capacity, judgment, experience and will to confront America’s enemies. He’s served our country honorably - heroically - in war. I served eight years with him on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and I can assure you he knows our military. Importantly, he also knows our enemies. He understands their capabilities and their aims. He will not sugarcoat the human or financial commitment and cost needed to defeat this enemy.

Culture of Life

The most important social issue is life. […] he always voted for life and stood for the culture of life. In short, he’s been a reliable vote on life issues, which are critical to conservatives.

Gang of 14/Judges

Many conservatives have given McCain poor marks for his involvement in the Gang of 14. I was in leadership pushing hard for a showdown with the Democrats on using the “Constitutional Option” to end their filibuster of judicial nominations. The Gang of 14 broke the impasse, and it probably was for the best. I was the one counting votes on that issue, and I was much less certain of success than others. In the end, the Gang deal resulted in numerous confirmations of qualified conservative jurists.

…On judges, McCain has repeatedly made clear that he will, as his Web site states, “only nominate judges who understand that their role is to faithfully apply the law as written, not impose their opinions through judicial fiat.” Sounds good to me.

And on and on…

I’d also like to mention here that Senator Santorum is a CR Alumnus as well - he was the State Chairman from Pennsylvania back in the day.

As I sit in the airport shortly after Thanksgiving, I am reminded that I am thankful for many things but that t-shirts with the CCCP and/or hammer-and-sickle logo on them are not among them. It is utterly disgusting to me that people (like the guy sitting in front of me) would wear these sick homages to not only a former enemy of the US, but also one of history’s most distinct examples of evil incarnate.

There are only two reasons for wearing such a shirt:
1) You are a true fan of the old Soviet Union, socialism, communism, or something along those lines, and you are expressing this love for hate in your apparel. In this case, there is nothing I can tell you that will change your already hollow heart.
2) You think it’s “cool” or fashionable to wear one of these tributes to torture.

If you are the latter case, I plead with you to read a history book and come to your senses. Che Guevara t-shirts can be included on the list of “fashion” items that common sense should not allow someone to wear.

In the meantime, I will have to keep looking at this person across from me who is either sympathetic to mass-murderers, or unwilling to think.

Here’s a site I found on Che (not the best, so pass along others if you have them) LINK

And on the Soviet Unions mass-killings there is this book (haven’t read it, but looks good) LINK

Another thought to ponder: if people wore Nazi shirts wouldn’t everyone justifiably flip out? The Soviets killed just as many or more people than the Nazis, and possibly more Jews as well.

One last thought: We have huge uproars all the time over the Confederate battle flag…and yet nothing out of our civil-rights leaders condemning the numerous celebrities sporting Che and Soviet Union shirts despite the gross violations of human and civil rights those symbols represent.

The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of the poster and do not represent his/her views as an officer of the College Republican National Committee (CRNC) or the views of the CRNC.