“Toomey could be key to a deal on guns,” a headline yesterday on Philly.com reads.
Hopeful speculation that Republican senator from Pennsylvania Pat Toomey is preparing to partner with Democrats on so-called “universal background checks” follows reports that Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) had reached out to him to try to find a GOP partner,” that Toomey “signaled that he might be open-minded after the Newtown, Conn., school shooting, [that he] issued a statement saying in part that ‘there may be areas of agreement with the White House that can be addressed to improve public safety’ [and that] he would consider expanding background checks.”
The story is gaining traction as other hopeful “legitimate media” outlets pick up on a Politico report that brought the Manchin negotiations to light. Adding to the hubbub are related stories on The Washington Post blog, The Morning Call, CBS Philly, and other media outlets.
That Manchin continues to twist the knife he plunged into gun owners’ backs is hardly surprising -- his turnaround has been positively Gillibrandesque, and NRA, which had previously assured his suitability as a “pro-gun Democrat,” needs to take the lead in seeing that his political career is over. It doesn’t matter how he’s voted before any more than it matters that Benedict Arnold was once considered a great hero of the Patriot cause. You can never again trust someone who betrays you, especially in time of greatest need for unity.
As for Toomey, if he and his staff hadn’t opened their yaps to indicate things were open to discussion, they wouldn’t be in this self-created pickle. He, too, has had a pretty good record on guns (even Gun Owners of America grades him at “A-”), and he needs to be reminded that his duty is to improve that score, not to threaten the rights of a core constituency that entrusted him with power.
In order to do that, gun owners need to contact Toomey, and let him know in no uncertain terms that if he betrays them on this, he’ll never work in this town again. He needs to be reminded that his last election was won by the narrowest of margins, and it won’t take much to tip the scales in the other direction.
No doubt there will be those who will counsel against following through on that, who will point to politics being “the art of the possible,” and regardless of betrayal on this, warn that he’s better than whatever Democrat he’ll face, who will really, really, really work to hurt us. Such counsel has allowed squishy or just-plain unprincipled Republicans to betray fearful gun owners time and again, and while it’s true that gun owners could take a hit if they sideline Toomey, it’s also true that a public political execution as an example to others getting cold feet can have the effect of stopping would-be deserters in their tracks. If they won’t vote the right way out of principle, settle for them doing so based on their survival instincts.
The question so-called “pragmatists” who would oppose that will never answer: If you don’t punish betrayals, and if politicians know they can do so without consequences, what incentive do you give them and others who would follow their bad examples to change? Cowardly acquiescence at the polls simply guarantees more betrayals.
It’s never easy and painless, but sometimes, a limb must be amputated to save the body.
With that in mind, and because Toomey has not seen fit to address the news stories with an unequivocal rejection of Manchin’s oily overtures, those who consider themselves hard core gun rights advocates have a choice to make, and it’s not necessary that they be from Pennsylvania.
Tell Toomey you are concerned about reports that he may be about to cave on “gun control,” that you hope this is just wishful thinking on the part of the gungrabbers and their media allies, but if it’s not, he needs to put any thought of crossing gun owners out of his mind. Tell him the only ones who want him to swallow the meme that this is a political imperative are those who will oppose him regardless of whatever concessions he makes. Tell him that if he does cave, you will put the squeeze on NRA to wash their hands of him and work to ensure he is defeated in the next election (even if you are not from his state), and remind him that he didn’t win by a wide enough margin last time to risk poking this hornet’s nest. Tell him you also expect to see him publicly champion the only real and acceptable position that is consistent with his oath of office:
NO NEW GUN LAWS
DENY SUCCESS TO MASS MURDERERS BY ABOLISHING PHONY ‘GUN-FREE’ VICTIM / KILLER ENABLING ZONES NOW
You can contact Toomey several different ways, via his website (and if you’re not from Pennsylvania, just put his office address and phone number in the contact form fields: Richland Square III, Suite 302 1397 Eisenhower Blvd Johnstown, PA, 15904, 814-266-5970 ), via a letter to that address, via a phone call to that number (or to 855-552-1831), via fax at 814-455-9925, via a comment under one of the posts on his Facebook page, or via a “tweet” to his Twitter account. And you can urge your gun owner friends to do the same. None of these effort should take longer than a few minutes.
Or you can do nothing.
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My latest GUNS Magazine "Rights Watch" column is now online. Click here to read "A Right Delayed,” discussing yet another dangerous drawback of so-called “universal background checks.”
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