Posted on 04/18/2013 10:09:28 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
In the wake of perhaps the worst political failure of Barack Obama’s term short of his 2010 midterm loss, the President vowed to continue to push forward on gun-control measures, especially background checks. One of the lead Senators on that effort appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe to insist that the fight isn’t over. Joe Manchin insisted that he could convince enough of his colleagues to flip on the background checks, at least:
The public face of a failed amendment to expand background checks for gun purchases promised to continue pushing his legislation Thursday, saying he’ll work with skittish Democrats who voted against the bill.
“We’re gonna pass this,” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) told gun-control-backing MSNBC host Joe Scarborough on “Morning Joe.” “Don’t you give up. Don’t you give up.”
“These are good people,” Manchin said of other conservative Democrats who opposed the legislation. “I’ve got to sit down. There’s more work I’ve got to do. I’ve got to sit down and work with my colleagues. Heidi Heitkamp is my friend. I’m just so tickled to death she is there. I got to get Heidi comfortable so the people in North Dakota know how good she is and what we can do to make her feel comfortable that we represented the people. … I’m not going to allow a criminal or an Al Qaeda terrorist to be able to go to the gun show like he advertised to pick up guns but if there is some language that is uncomfortable, I’ve got to work harder to make them comfortable. … If the NRA didn’t score this, we would’ve had 15 more votes.”
That comes as news to Manchin’s partner on background checks. Pat Toomey told a local Allentown reporter that he had had enough, and plans on returning to fiscal issues:
The two senators behind a failed agreement to expand background checks on gun purchases appeared headed in different directions Thursday after the Republican half of the duo said he was ready to move on.
“We have a lot of other issues we have to deal with,” Pennsylvania GOP Sen. Pat Toomey told the Allentown Morning Call. “Chief among them is getting our fiscal house in order. I’ll be getting back to that.” …
Despite his desire to return to his signature economic issues, Toomey said he doesn’t regret working with Manchin on the bill.
“I did the best I could. I wish it had passed, but the Senate has spoken and these things happen,” he told the paper. “It’s always worth it to do the right thing … no regrets.”
The likelihood of this coming back up in the Senate is slim, approaching zero. First, Manchin would have to get Toomey back on board, and rewrite the bill to make it work. That means another round of legislative process just to get it to a vote — which would take a few weeks to a few months. That would put the bill in clear sight of the 2014 election cycle, which means that the red-state Democrats who passed on it the first time will be even less likely to climb on board.
Failure in this case matters greatly, too. The fact that the Senate didn’t pass it the first time means that incumbent Senators are not going to be inclined to expose themselves to political risk a second time, not without assurances that they can claim some sort of success as a balance to the damage they will take over it. And with the House clearly uninterested in taking up anything passed by the Senate on this topic — especially after the flop yesterday, and even more especially on the fact that Obama could only get 40 votes for his assault-weapons ban — most Senators will be looking for other issues to address.
And as Gallup reminded us this week, 96% of Americans think there are more pressing issues than guns.
Toomey really screwed himself here. He is a one-termer now. A good number of western PA voters are going to give him a big ‘screw you’ when he’s up for reelection in 3 years.
Toomey is done in more ways than he knows.
Can’t wait to see Toomey primaried and retired. Lying sack of democrat excrement that he is.
Joe Manchin really is showing his true colors here. He gets elected by shooting a bullet through Obamacare. Now he’s Advocate # 1 for gun control. Too bad he didn’t tell the people of West Virginia this would be his priority if elected. And on top of that, he votes pretty much party line with the Dems. Sure, he may grumble about certain things but when it counts, he’s just like any other Dem. I would think that Manchin’s priority #1 would be stopping Obama’s War on Coal, but I guess that doesn’t really matter to him.
It's easy for a lot of people to slam Santorum for backing Specter over Toomey, but at least Rick was betting on the devil that we knew.
Yes, you are correct. He is gonna get primaried. He may survive that but it’s gonna bleed him dry. And then nobody is going to be crawling over broken glass to come vote for him in the fall.
The Dems will nominate another Bob Casey type who talks a good game on being pro-gun and pro-life, and he will win. Most people around here are social conservatives, but they actually PREFER the failed economics of FDR.
>> “If the NRA didn’t score this, we would’ve had 15 more votes.”
An NRA ad writes itself.
SnakeDoc
Toomey hopes to redeem himself.
But the fact is, trust once lost is hard to earn back.
Too bad the NRA believed his bullcrap. They endorsed the SOB.
I'd really like to see the NRA publicly repudiate Manchin the Traitor.
Toomey, you serve the Fly Flecked One. Do it once, you’ll do it again. May your political obscurity come quickly and totally.
Amen. Great post and insight about Joe Manchin.
Me to Manchin: Surprise, surprise, surprise
Me to Toomey: Too late
Only after he is tarred and feathered and run out of town on a rail for the entire public at large to view and take heed of for any future politician who thinks American’s Bill of Rights are up for a debate in the US Senate!
Remember Toomey is a FAGGOT Lover too!
Won't happen.
He forgot he (and Toomey) had to resort to bribes (’exemption’) right before the vote?
What is he going to offer next time?
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