Posted on 04/08/2013 11:05:12 AM PDT by servo1969
Full title - "There’s Always One: Will Pat Toomey Help Democrats Save Gun Control? Why All Modern Politics Is National."
Somewhere, Arlen Specter is smiling.
Two influential senators, one from each party, are working on an agreement that could expand background checks on firearms sales to include gun shows and online transactions, Senate aides said Sunday.
If completed, the effort could represent a major breakthrough in the effort by President Barack Obama and his allies to restrict guns following last December's massacre of schoolchildren in Newtown, Conn.
Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., could nail down an accord early this week, said the aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the private talks.
...
A united front by the two lawmakers would make it easier for gun control advocates to attract support from moderate Democrats who have been wary of supporting the effort and from Republicans who have largely opposed it so far.
Ok, the Specter jab is a unfair (a little) but this does highlight something that I think is frustrating to a lot of conservatives and Republicans….GOP politicians don’t just occasionally vote against the majority party opinion, some are always willing to help lead the charge against it.
Whenever there’s a “Gang” in the Senate, it’s always Republicans joining with Democrats to manage the GOP’s surrender on less unfavorable terms (immigration, judicial nominees, guns). You never see Democrats joining a “Gang” to help Republicans push something they want by most Democrats don’t.
Sure a Mark Pryor, Mary Landrieu or whoever will throw out a vote against the Democratic majority (but only if Reid doesn’t need their vote). They never openly defy their party to help Republicans.
Now, Toomey may really believe this is good policy or maybe he needs some moderate cred in Pennsylvania. Either way it’s really a problem for conservatives and Americans across the country.
This episode and this kind of behavior relates to a post I wrote last month about the lack of cohesion in the GOP coalition, though I thought gun rights were a unifying exception. At the time, Jim Geraghty responded in his Morning Jolt newsletter…
Let's try to keep complaining about other state's primary choices to a minimum, and trust that Iowa Republicans know the best candidate to run for Senate in their state, and the same applies to Republican primary voters in West Virginia, Louisiana, Iowa, North Carolina, and so on. The people who live in those states know who would be best to represent their interests. Yes, out-of-state super PACs will spend oodles of money trying to influence the choices.
But this is exactly why party primaries (especially in the GOP) are of national interest. Granted, conservatives around the country were big supporters of Toomey but that interest, support or criticism doesn’t stop after the primary or general election.
Senators and Congressmen no longer simply represent their states or districts in DC. The growing beast that is the federal government affects us all in more and more spheres of our lives. If your Republican representative is going to be working with Democrats to pass legislation that intrudes on my life, then yes, I will want a say in who you select.
Unless the federal government is put back in its box, the expectation will continue to grow that candidates and office holders toe the national line. If they don’t, expect the intra-party warfare to continue for the foreseeable future.
Vigilance.
The Manchin bill is DOA since it only covers expanding checks on commercial guns sales, not private sales. This would unacceptable to Dems.
The democrats want something to be passed, even if watered down because they can always amend it later by unanimous consent, or by slipping amendments into some omnibus bill.
We want nothing to be passed. Fight any motion to proceed.
And in that case, that idiot McCain is almost always involved in screwing Conservatives.
Toomey, you are a DEMOCRAT...why not change your party, MORON!
Toomey is the same scumbag who came out in favor of sodomizing the military.
He made fools out of a lot of conservatives here in Pennsylvania over the past 10 years. He cannot be trusted and must be dumped.
Exactly. Just enough republicans sacrifice themselves so the others can stay on the right side to maintain the illusion that the GOP is a conservative party.
“There’s Always One:”
No theres at least two. One of our POS RINO senators Isakson is indicating he will go along with universal background checks. I urge all GA repubs to send him a warning email or phone call.
My rule about RINOs: They will always stab conservatives in the back at the worst possible moment, in order to maximize damage to conservatives. McQueeg is one of my Senators, so this is a well worn, time tested rule.
The 1st and 2nd amendments should be totally inviolate, with any attacks sending you directly to jail.
exactly !!!! Dump him. Makes me nuts. How many of us donated to him to win in PA although we don’t live there.
Sidebar, the other night the National RNC called asking for a $100 donation to “keep the conservative voices in DC”. I could hardly contain myself. Imagine my conversation starting with WHAT CONSERVATIVE VOICES? You mean like Michelle Bachman and Ted Cruz who you pummel every time they utter conservative values? I went on for at least 5 minutes giving him polite but a real ear full. They called the wrong gal! I told them I and millions of others are totally disgusted with the GOP and their leadership.
Yes, Democrats and RINO’s getting together to decide which freedoms you don’t need anymore is as inexcusable as it is predictable. But in this one instance it’s a little funny. The liberals have been pounding the lie that online sales are uncontrolled so long and so hard that it looks like they are starting to believe it themselves. Online sales are already required to go through an FFL. We don’t need any new laws, but if this whole push for “common sense gun laws” ended up having no other effect than forcing non FFL’s trying to sell a gun at a show to go to the nearest booth and pay $25 for a NICS check. That would seriously amuse me.
Sent him a message that if he joins the Dems on this he is attempting political suicide. Pennsylvania is not Arizona where STUPID voters re-elected McCainiac.There are a $hitload of firearms owners in PA as well as 1,000,000 deer hunters who will not back any of this get together crap.
We, here in Pennsylvania, voted Toomey into the U.S. Senate on the firm belief that he was a very Conservative man. I sure hope he does not turn on us. Right now it is very disturbing to hear some of the comments coming out of his office relative to Obama’s gun-control efforts.
If you see posts of interest to Pennsylvanians, please ping me.
Thanks!
Toomey is going to be grilled on this on WAEB AM 790 Tuesday (4/9/13) morning. Not sure what time
I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt until I hear what he has to say.
But at this point, I'm very disappointed in him.
He’s going to cave on Firearm Registration; I have a bad feeling... Hope I’m wrong.
I’m going to withhold judgement until I see for myself. I still believe Toomey until he proves me otherwise. If it turns out my trust was misplaced...then I will do my utmost to get Sam Rohrer to try again. Sam is incredibly good.
I just emailed him and told him as such. He needs to remember what got him where he is.
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