PoliticsPA reports this morning that the debate over the mass shooting in Orlando puts “Senator Pat Toomey in a major conundrum when it comes to guns.”
After being called out by his opponent Katie McGinty over his vote against closing the terrorist gun loophole and failing to reintroduce a universal background checks bill, Toomey has been in full spin mode. On one front he’s tried to appear reasonable by indicating his willingness to pursue gun violence prevention policies, while on the other he’s promised his right flank that he’s completely lying about reform.
Toomey’s two-faced strategy was encapsulated last Friday by “1210 WPHT’s Chris Stigall, a conservative talk radio show host who frequently has Sen. Toomey as a guest.”
From PoliticsPA:
“And so understand, he’s not doing it for you and me. This is what I talk about all the time,” Stigall explains. “There’s two Pat Toomeys and he is a magnificent politician. And I am not excusing or defending him, I’m just explaining it’s key to know. He is a masterful politician. When he comes on show like this, when he’s in front of NRA groups, when he’s in front of conservative groups — because I’ve seen it with my own eyes, I’ve heard it, I’ve heard it here, you’ve heard here — the man can sound every bit as conservative as Ted Cruz when he wants.”
“But he believes there’s a path to victory that is necessary, that necessitates him kissing up to people like Whoopi Goldberg and Raven Symone and others, because he thinks that’s what’s going to tip the scales in his favor and give him the slight edge,” Stigall continued. “This is where reasonable Pat Toomey comes in, because you see he’s doing this now for the Philadelphia media market.”
… “Watch for it. Toomey will be rewarded somewhere, in some liberal outfit for being a reasonable Republican. And that’s understandable,” Stigall concluded. “Politically now, that’s why he needs and that’s what he’s calculated he needs to have to win against Katie McGinty. You follow me here? This is — we’re talking about two different things. There’s the Pat Toomey and what he believes, and I don’t actually think he believes anything about — in fact I have proof he doesn’t believe that this law’s going to do anything. I have proof of it. It happened on this show two years ago. He doesn’t believe what he’s selling. He needs to coverage that he’s the reasonable one, not the gun nut like the rest of you wackos Republicans.”
“Pat Toomey is playing both sides of the gun issue,” said Preston Maddock, Pennsylvania Democratic Party spokesman. “For all his rhetoric about getting something done, he’s clearly assured his most ardent supporters that he has no intention of pursuing meaningful reforms like closing the terrorist gun loophole or expanding background checks. If Toomey isn’t lying about his position, he can prove that later today when the Senate will vote on four gun safety measures.”