Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey is not holding his breath when it comes to new background check measures for gun buyers, but he said it’s worth another try, following last week’s mass shooting in South Carolina.
“Honestly, I don’t want to build up any false expectations. I’m not aware that we’ve got the votes to do what Senator Manchin and I attempted,” the Republican said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Wednesday when asked if the prospects for passing new legislation are better than they were in early 2013, after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. “Is it possible that some portion of that, some subset of what we were focused on is possible…honestly, probably not likely.”
This is where Reagan’s “80/20 Rule” breaks down for me. If huge issues like matters Constitutional rights are in the twenty percent disagreement area, the political relationship is fraught with problems. A Republican who votes with on bridges, memorials and pay raises but bails on you for 2nd Amendment issues isn’t much of an ally.
A Republican who follows the progressive playbook by using a tragedy to advance anti-gun legislation on MSNBC can’t really be trusted. When the Republican in question is Arlen Specter’s successor, red flags are all over the place.
It is situations like this that I like to have handy for discussion during elections when the “80/20” rule is invoked. Quality, not quantity, is what we should be looking for in legislators.
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