Yet again, Fraidy-Pat was roundly ridiculed for thinking he can get away with not telling his constituents where he stands with just days until the election.
Washington Post: Watch a GOP senator spend 10 painful minutes ducking questions about Donald Trump
Pittsburgh City Paper: “It’s been a bad week for U.S. Senator Pat Toomey.”
The Hill: Toomey dodges Trump questions days before election
Senator Toomey assumes voters don’t care or don’t deserve to know if he’s voting for a serial sexual assailant, temperamentally unfit for office. Fortunately, Toomey has made a terrible calculation — even Trump supporters find him “weak-kneed” and “childish.”
What makes the Senator’s tact all the more troubling is his fellow Republicans who publicly oppose Trump. They rightfully responded to the ugliness of attacks on a Gold Star Family, countless discoveries of housing discrimination and tax fraud, a cascade of sexual assault stories, and on and on. But not Toomey. He’s failing a basic test of public service.
From The Washington Post’s Editorial Board today:
When the republic was in danger, where did you stand? History will ask that question of Republican leaders who knew that Donald Trump was unfit to be commander in chief.
… Historians may find themselves most mystified by the politicians who refused to say anything. Sen. Patrick J. Toomey is running for reelection in Pennsylvania. He is asking voters for their trust. Yet he will not tell them for whom he will vote in the presidential election. Apparently he believes, as Mr. Heck insisted last week, that his vote is a “personal decision.”
No, it is not a personal decision; it is a test of judgment. The politics may be difficult for down-ballot Republicans, but the choice, on the merits, is not. Mr. Trump is a menace to the nation. Many high-ranking Republican officials understand this. Some chose to act forthrightly in this knowledge.
Notable Republicans who, unlike Toomey, have denounced Trump’s dangerous campaign:
Former President George H.W. Bush
Toomey’s colleague, campaign surrogate and 2008 presidential nominee John McCain
Toomey’s colleague and campaign surrogate Senator Lindsey Graham
Toomey’s colleague and campaign surrogate Senator Susan Collins
Toomey’s colleague and campaign surrogate Senator Cory Gardner
Toomey’s colleague and campaign surrogate Senator Dan Sullivan
Toomey’s colleague Senator Kelly Ayotte
Toomey’s colleague Senator Ben Sasse
Toomey’s colleague Senator Rob Portman
Toomey’s colleague Senator Mark Kirk
Toomey’s colleague Senator Lisa Murkowski
Toomey’s colleague Senator Dan Heller
Toomey’s successor in the House of Representatives, Congressman Charlie Dent
Former PA Governor and Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge
Former Secretary of State, Treasury and Labor George P. Shultz
Former Secretary of Defense and Director of the CIA Robert Gates
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff
Former Director of the CIA and NSA Michael Hayden
Former Director of National Intelligence and UN Ambassador John Negroponte
Former RNC Chairs Ken Mehlman and Michael Steele