Critics may miss Toomey when he’s gone
Pat Toomey is a conservative Republican with an independent streak. It’s a tough time in politics for such people.
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey’s announcement that he will neither run for reelection nor vie for the governor’s office in 2022 certainly was a surprise, but perhaps people should have seen it coming.
Toomey is a conservative Republican with an independent streak. It’s a tough time in politics for people with such a profile.
For some, that independent streak wasn’t wide enough. Critics undoubtedly will jump to point out that Toomey went along with most Senate Republicans on some of the most controversial issues since President Donald Trump took office. Most notable among these were his vote against conviction in Trump’s impeachment trial and his decision to support immediate confirmation proceedings for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.
Meanwhile people in his own party — including the president — have attacked Toomey for criticizing some of Trump’s controversial comments and moves and for going his own way on some issues.
In today’s political world, it’s expected that lawmakers will either be all in for the president or a devoted part of the resistance against him. Anyone who occupies ground in between is likely to take strong criticism from both sides.
Let’s be clear about one thing. Toomey is not a moderate Republican, nor does he seek to be identified as one. He’s a proud conservative. Remember that he rose to prominence in 2004 by mounting a conservative challenge to U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, one of the last moderate Republicans in the Senate.
But he’s also someone who thinks for himself and is willing to work with people on the other side of the aisle when there’s an opportunity to do so.
Perhaps the most famous example was his noble but failed effort to strengthen firearms regulations. In the wake of the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre in Connecticut, he helped develop bipartisan legislation to expand background checks for firearms sales. It wasn’t popular with many of his Republican supporters in Pennsylvania, but he did it because he thought it was right.
One area where Toomey has consistently been at odds with the president is on the issue of trade. Toomey is a strong believer in free trade and has opposed Trump’s protectionist measures. We were particularly grateful to him for his cosponsorship of the PRINT Act, which was aimed at halting Trump tariffs that were devastating the newspaper industry. The bill called for putting newsprint tariffs on hold for a study of their economic impact.
Toomey also has taken a strong interest in addressing the opioid epidemic, a major issue in this state. He worked with a Democratic colleague to develop legislation to expand reporting requirements related to foreign countries that produce illicit fentanyl and limit assistance to countries that fail to take actions to combat illicit drug production and trafficking.
And though he and Democratic Sen. Bob Casey usually disagree on policy, they do work together when possible, even issuing joint statements on occasion. They did that this year in a call for Pennsylvanians to wear masks to fight the spread of COVID-19. Toomey treated it like the nonpolitical issue that it is.
Toomey also deserves credit for being one of the few politicians who has come out in favor of term limits and applied that concept to himself.
We understand the frustration of those who wish Toomey would be tougher on the president or more consistently supportive of this White House. But they may very well miss him when he’s gone from politics. Given the way things are going, it’s likely his successors will be utterly predictable in their support for their party line and rejection of those on the other side. The failure of Congress to reach a deal on further COVID-19 relief is an example of the consequences of this trend.
We wish Toomey well in his final two years in office, which are sure to be tumultuous regardless of what happens in this election. We’ll be needing people with his temperament and approach more than ever.