Free Republic

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) suggests the odds of passing gun control when the Senate reconvenes in September are better than ever. Toomey is specifically referencing the gun control bill he and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) first pushed after the December 14, 2012, Sandy Hook Elementary School attack; a bill which they have now revived as part of their push for universal background checks. CBS News reports that Toomey has been talking with White House about he and Manchin’s bill, and Politico quotes Toomey saying the chances of passage now are “better than they have ever looked at any time.”

Conservatives believe Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) used a weekend trip to woo star GOP freshmen away from the Tea Party. McConnell took Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) on a high-powered weekend trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan that is being seen as a ploy by the leader to secure allies for forthcoming legislative battles. The visit gave the freshmen firsthand access to world leaders and Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, as well as plenty of quality time with their party leader in the Senate. The...

Likely Opponent In Primary Looks to Tap Anger on Right. BY PERRY BACON JR. PHILADELPHIA, April 13 -- Sen. Arlen Specter's support for President Obama's stimulus package has recharged a political rivalry, setting up what could be a divisive rematch between one of the GOP's leading moderates and a powerful conservative activist. Pat Toomey, head of the anti-tax Club for Growth, stepped down from the post Monday, the first move in what his aides say is an almost-certain run against Specter in next year's Republican Senate primary. In the 2004 primary, Specter defeated Toomey by 17,000 votes out of more...