Maybe opinions are like Rick Santorums

Former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey would tell you that opinions are like Rick Santorums, everyone’s got one. Or something like that.

Santorum, the former U.S. senator, proven nutcase and regurgitator of neocon talking points, delivers a speech entitled “Gathering Storm of the 21st Century” at 7 p.m. tomorrow at the University of Georgia. Ominous title, eh? The speech is sponsored by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (the same group who published his book, “It Takes a Family”) in conjunction with the Ethics and Public Policy Center. By way of invite, Santorum offered up these words:

“While the sounds of opposition to the war are heard frequently on our college campuses, I plan to offer a perspective our students rarely hear – my views on who our true enemies are, what they believe, and why it is so important to defeat them.”

You’ll need to forgive Santorum. He hasn’t been stuck in Athens traffic behind the fleet of SUVs marked with both a Georgia “G” and “W: The President” sticker in the rear window. Don’t worry, Ricky, UGA students, the sons and daughters of many of Georgia’s most privileged, will absolutely love you. You’re their kind of guy.

I hope you remember Santorum. During his time on the national stage, he provided punchline after punchline for political observers while rising to the upper echelon of GOP leadership. Kerrey famously wondered aloud whether Santorum is “Latin for a-hole.” As the Washington Post pointed out in a wonderful profile of Santorum, Teresa Heinz Kerry called him “Forrest Gump with an attitude.” Howard Dean called him a liar. Then there were the Websites – from the watchdog to the crude – and protesters outside his office.

Yes, Rick Santorum knows how to draw a reaction from folks.

Santorum always struck me as a man who suffered not only for his oftentimes hardline beliefs, but for his certainty in the absolute truth of those beliefs. And like so many who see the world in only black and white, after a brief period of deserved public ridicule, he fell with a resounding thud. Santorum was swept out of office in 2006 by the largest margin of defeat for an incumbent senator since 1980. So this is a guy who knows what a “Gathering Storm” looks like.

Santorum’s speech is worth a visit tomorrow night if for nothing else but to get the glimpse of a living piece of history, a look at what kind of politician destroyed (perhaps continues to destroy) a once-great political party. He’s a template of the 1990s-early 2000s arrogant Republican who took over the party – hates gays, fears science and spends like a drunken sailor. My favorite thing about the guy was his willingness to throw out wild claim after wild claim with such passionate conviction.

Remember, nobody is more certain that a fool.

Perhaps most famous among his missteps, Santorum was one of two Congressmen who jumped the gun and claimed in June 2006 that “we have found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, chemical weapons.” Wow, now that would have been big news. In fact, that would have been the kind of news to vindicate an idiotic (and downright incorrect) stance on the Iraq War. Too bad he had no idea what he was talking about. Again. I’ll let the Washington Post explain what happened next:

The lawmakers pointed to an unclassified summary from a report by the National Ground Intelligence Center regarding 500 chemical munitions shells that had been buried near the Iranian border, and then long forgotten, by Iraqi troops during their eight-year war with Iran, which ended in 1988.

Last night, intelligence officials reaffirmed that the shells were old and were not the suspected weapons of mass destruction sought in Iraq after the 2003 invasion.

Yes, our soldiers stumbled onto some trash in an Iraqi landfill and the Santorum thinks we hit the motherload. Love this guy. Keith Olbermann put these claims in the spotlight at the time. Worth a watch.

Once a prince of the party, today Santorum struggles to remain politically relevant. Outside the mandatory Fox News consultant role all banished GOPers must fill, Santorum recently attacked John McCain in an op-ed piece where he endorsed like-minded (and like-haired) Mitt Romney. Whoops. Guess than “Santorum Stamp of Approval” doesn’t carry much weight anymore.

If you want a quick preview of the speech, check out the one he have at the University of Virginia in November 2007. Otherwise, go and enjoy the show tomorrow night. No matter the bent (and believe me, this guys is bent) it’s always nice to see national players show up on our small stage. Even if they are past their primes.