Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Former U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, a Democrat, announced Tuesday that he's exploring another run for the Senate; Sestak narrowly lost to Pat Toomey in 2010.
A rematch between former U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak and U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey is in the works as Sestak announced Tuesday that he's exploring a run for the Senate in 2016. Democrat Sestak, a former Navy vice admiral, lost narrowly to Republican Toomey in 2010. Sestak, of Delaware County, has formed an exploratory committee—the equivalent of launching a campaign in terms of Federal Elections Commission paperwork, according to a Washington Post report. Can Sestak beat Toomey? Who would you vote for if the Senate election was held today? Tell us in the comments section below. Tuesday's announcement ends speculation that Sestak, 61, is raising money to challenge Gov. Tom Corbett. Sestak raised $460,000 in the first quarter of this year. A Sestak-…
Saturday, May 11, 2013
A new TV commercial thanks U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey for trying to expand gun background checks.
Mayors Against Illegal Guns on Thursday announced a new television commercial thanking Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) for co-sponsoring an amendment to expand background checks, according to Huffington Post. The ad urges Toomey, of Zionsville, Lehigh County, to keep fighting for background checks although Toomey has said he's turning his attention back to economic issues since his amendment failed in the senate. Toomey achieved his highest approval rating ever since brokering the unsuccessful compromise on background checks. The issue put Toomey in the national spotlight and he was even spoofed on "Saturday Night Live." Mayors Against Illegal Guns is backed by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Pat Toomey seems to understand that he has to reach moderates and independents as Pennsylvania becomes increasingly blue.
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Thursday, April 25
By G. Terry Madonna and Michael Young No one yet has called him “Benedict Toomey” but make no mistake: many conservatives view his recent effort to broker a gun compromise as a stunning act of perfidy. These critics see compelling evidence that Toomey’s flirtation with compromise has damaged seriously his reelection chances while disappointing his conservative supporters that expect him to hew to ideological rigidity on guns as well as other issues. Already invidious comparisons are being made between Toomey and the late Senator Arlen Specter—long the reigning bogyman of conservatives. We hear that Toomey’s gun compromise reveals him as just “another” Specter, lacking core principles or consistent policies. In fact, already a Facebook page…
Monday, April 22, 2013
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey says he'll focus on economic issues now that his battle to expand background checks for gun buyers has failed.
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey of Zionsville, Lehigh County sent the following E-newsletter message about the defeat of his compromise deal to expand background checks: I worked with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on legislation that would have made it harder for criminals and the dangerously mentally ill to obtain guns while preserving the rights of law-abiding people to do so. The bill did not move forward in the Senate. This amendment would have helped enhance public safety while still protecting the Second Amendment. I understand the passions on both sides of this issue. I did what I thought was the right thing for our country. I sought out a compromise position that I thought could move the ball forward on an important matter of public safety. My …
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
The Senate rejected Pat Toomey's attempt to expand background checks via a controversial gun control amendment voted on Wednesday afternoon.
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey sounded unconcerned in a conference call Wednesday when a reporter asked about the possibility that his NRA rating would be downgraded because of his recent compromise move on gun control. "This is not about the NRA or politics for me," Toomey said. The Toomey-Manchin amendment to expand background checks was narrowly defeated in the Senate on Wednesday afternoon. The vote was 54 yes to 46 no. Sixty votes rather than a simple majority were needed to pass the amendment. Toomey issued this statement just after the vote: “I did what I thought was the right thing for our country. I sought out a compromise position that I thought could move the ball forward on an important matter of public safety. My only regret is that our…
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Lehigh Valley's U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey is in the national spotlight as debate over gun control continues.
An article in the National Journal calls U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey of Zionsville, Lehigh County an "unlikely savior" for gun control advocates and says that his agreement to expand background checks is the "last best hope for meaningful action" on gun control. Read the complete article here. Toomey was a key player in a deal reached last week deal to require that all criminal records and mental health records are added to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, and it would expand existing background checks to sales at gun shows or made online. The Toomey-Manchin bill was spoofed on "Saturday Night Live" over the weekend in a skit which Toomey acknowledged on Facebook and Twitter, according to a PoliticsPa report. His comment …
Monday, April 1, 2013
An apparent April Fool's joke puts Sen. Pat Toomey in the running. What do you think about a GOP primary gubernatorial challenge?
Editor's note: This story has been edited to clarify an apparent April Fool's Day posting. In an apparent April Fool's joke, PoliticsPa reported that U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey of Zionsville, Lehigh County, told a group of conservative activists Saturday that he is considering a primary challenge to fellow Republican Gov. Tom Corbett. Toomey's office said the PoliticsPa post is an April Fool's joke and that the video posted there is actually several years old. Toomey tweeted: "To paraphrase LBJ, I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for governor…" and linked to the post. Nonetheless, some see Corbett as vulnerable as he prepares to run for his second term. Corbett's approval rating was at the lowest point of his two…
Friday, March 1, 2013
In-depth profile by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette offers a look at what it's like to be Pennsylvania's junior U.S. Senator
Pennsylvania's junior Senator and Lehigh Valley native Pat Toomey has high-profile appointments in Washington, D.C. and is the topic of a recent in-depth profile by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Toomey chairs his caucus steering committee and a key budget subcommittee, and, the Post-Gazette says, is "a reliable conservative picked for the exclusive -- if doomed -- task force on deficit reduction." The profile quotes Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell as saying Toomey has risen quickly in the Senate by any objective measure. Read the complete article here. Another Post Gazette-Report -- A Day in the Life of Pat Toomey -- describes how the senator juggles a busy work schedule with visits home to spend time with his family. Toomey lives in…
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Lehigh Valley Sen. Pat Toomey proposes letting the White House make targeted spending cuts to avoid across-the-board reductions if sequester kicks in Friday.
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey wants to let the White House make federal budget cuts required by the impending sequester to "cut in the least disruptive way possible." Read More: How Will Sequestration Cuts Affect Bethlehem? Impending Sequestration Cuts to PA's Senior Nutrition Programs are Unacceptable Toomey, a Republican from Zionsville, Lehigh County, said the move would help keep air traffic controllers on the job while cutting spending in redundant areas such as the federal government's 15 different financial literacy programs. "I'm not sure the federal government has demonstarted it's qualified to teach financial literacy," Toomey joked in a conference call with reporters Wednesday afternoon. He noted that the sequester will require only …
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey says our economy will take a huge hit if lawmakers fail to act on the impending "fiscal cliff"
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Wednesday, December 12, 2012
The following opinion piece was submitted by U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey: “[T]he vast majority of Democrats on Capitol Hill would prefer not to have to do anything on entitlements, would prefer, frankly, not to have to do anything on some of these debt and deficit problems. … And what I’ve tried to explain to them is, number one, if you look at the numbers, then Medicare, in particular, will run out of money, and we will not be able to sustain that program, no matter how much taxes go up. I mean, it’s not an option for us to just sit by and do nothing.”- President Barack Obama, July 11, 2011 I agree with President Obama. No matter how much we raise taxes, we cannot avoid a fiscal disaster unless we address the true drivers of our out-of-control …
Jenna Reese
5:48 pm on Friday, May 17, 2013
If you truly believe the Muslim Brotherhood is NOT infiltrating the White House you are clearly mistaken.....Why do you think Big Sis just gave the Saudis free airport clearance and why Islamic terrorism has been removed from military training manuals, and why we are removing heads of state and replacing them with the Brotherhood? Surely you can't be that uninformed. Unbelievable.... more ›