PITTSBURGH GAZETTE: The Senate’s rejection of a plan to expand background checks for gun purchasers was a public policy failure but not necessarily a political one for Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey, who bucked his party to sponsor the legislation…
If the legislation had passed, the resentment would linger longer, said Grover Norquist, head of Americans for Tax Reform, the conservative group famous for its no-tax pledge.
“It didn’t pan out. It didn’t happen, so from a political standpoint he made some gains among moderates who worship the bipartisanship he was offering … but he avoided all the problems that would have occurred if it had passed,” Mr. Norquist said… (more)
EDITOR: It pains us to quote Grover Norquist but in this case he has hit the nail on the head. Sen. Toomey has made himself far less a lightning rod for the left and thus taken a huge step towards re-election in 2016 from a state that leans to the Democrats.
Pat Toomey would have done much better had he proposed a bill that actually did something, not just another puff piece. There is more to governing than getting re-elected.