Congressman Toomey Stands with Ralph Reed

Does he stand with him on the issues?

Congressman Toomey is proud to appear at a fundraiser with Ralph Reed, and a quick look at their records shows they share the same extreme positions.  It should come as no surprise that Reed’s Christian Coalition of America gave Congressman Toomey a 100% rating in 2003 [Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/24/10].
Reed brags about support for tea-party candidates Sharron Angle, Joe Miller, Marco Rubio, and Christine O’Donnell [National Review, 9/23/10]

As President of the Club for Growth, Toomey endorsed Sharron Angle, giving Angle her start in national politics, he has raised money with Marco Rubio and helped set the far-right climate for challenges from the ultra-conservative wing of the Republican Party which paved the way for Joe Miller and Christine O’Donnell
Reed wants to abolish the Department of Education and eliminate funding for public broadcasting [The Independent, 5/18/1995]

Toomey voted multiple times against funding the Department of Education [HR 2673, #676, 12/08/03; HJ Res 2, #32, 2/13/03; HR 3061, #504, 12/19/01]

Reed called for “an end to government funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Legal Services Corp., which provides lawyers for poor people.” [The Baltimore Sun, 5/18/1995]

Toomey wrote that funding for the National Endowment for the Arts was “inefficient and wasteful” [Road to Prosperity, p. 79-80]

Reed wants to amend the Constitution to “allow school prayer and could force public funding of religious groups and schools.”[PBS, 6/10/1998; Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 5/30/1997]

Toomey co-sponsored the proposed amendment, also known as the “Religious Freedom Amendment.” If it passed, it had the potential to reverse decades of Supreme Court rulings on the separation of Church and State.  [H.J. Res. 46, Introduced 4/9/2003]

As the top and most powerful religious lobbyist in the country, Reed had “one purpose: to quash any attempt to moderate the Republican Party’s right-wing” [The Gazette, 8/13/1996]

Toomey’s entrance on the national stage during the 2004 Republican primary was called  “a rallying cry for the party’s right flank.” [Philadelphia Inquirer, 1/11/2004] He’s also been called the “most fearsome RINO hunter in the land” in reference to his time at the ultra-conservative Club for Growth where he led the effort to drive moderates from the Republican Party. [Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/18/2010] Toomey has even described himself as representing “the Republican wing of the Republican Party” [Associated Press, 4/3/2004]

Reed opposed affirmative action, same sex marriage, the 14th Amendment, sex-ed classes, “and call[ed] on states to cut off welfare payments to single teen mothers.” [The Gazette, 8/13/1996]

Toomey opposes affirmative action [PatToomey.org, as accessed 3/23/2004]; co-sponsored legislation that would propose an amendment to the Constitution that would define marriage between a man and a woman [H.J.Res. 56, Co-sponsored on 7/25/2003]; voted to prohibit health benefits for domestic partners [HR 2944, 9/25/01, #352]; and voted to ban adoptions by LGBT couples [H AMDT 356, 7/29/99, #346].
In addition to his extreme positions, Reed, like Toomey, has been no stranger to aggressive tactics in his lobbying career.

“I do guerrilla warfare,” Reed once boasted to a reporter, describing how he ambushed his enemies as a political operative. “I paint my face and travel at night. You don’t know it’s over until you’re in a body bag.” [Time, 7/23/06]

Looking for million dollar payouts, Reed told disgraced lobbyist and convicted felon Jack Abramoff “I need to start humping in corporate accounts!” [Washington Post, 1/16/06]

After Abramoff was released from federal prison, Reed said that working for him, “was outstanding, I’m proud of it, and it advanced sound public policy” [Alan Colmes Radio Program, 9/21/10]
Was paid up to $20,000 a month by Enron to deregulate electricity in Pennsylvania [New York Times, 1/25/02]

Joe Sestak was elected to Congress in 2006 after a distinguished 31-year career in the United States Navy, and he is honored to represent the Southeastern Pennsylvania district where he was born and raised. He is a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate seat from Pennsylvania.  During his Navy career, Joe attained the rank of 3-star Admiral, served in the White House as Director for Defense Policy on President Clinton’s National Security Council, served in the Pentagon as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, and led a series of operational commands at sea, culminating in command of the USS George Washington Aircraft Carrier Battle Group (30 ships, 100 aircraft, and 15,000 sailors/marines/aviators/SEALs) during combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. In our nation’s time of crisis in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the Navy turned to Joe Sestak to serve as the first Director of “Deep Blue,” the Navy anti-terrorism unit formed in response to the attacks. Joe is the highest-ranking former military officer ever elected to either branch of Congress. He graduated second in his class from the U.S. Naval Academy and holds a Master’s in Public Administration and a PhD in Political Economy and Government from Harvard University. Joe lives in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Susan, and daughter, Alex, and proudly represents the 7th District, where his mother and many of his seven siblings still reside.

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