All 5 budget proposals voted on in the Senate Wednesday were rejected.

Toomey expressed his appreciation for the votes he received from fellow republicans saying, “I am grateful to have the support of my Senate Republican colleagues for my budget proposal. Their support for balancing the budget in eight years and solving our debt crisis now is heartening, and I will continue fighting for fiscal responsibility here in Washington.”

He also responded to the unanimous rejection of his proposal by the Democrats. “At the same time, I am disappointed that my colleagues on the other side refuse even to debate our fiscal crisis, let alone introduce a fiscal blueprint for solving our country’s problems. Instead of lobbing political attacks at the ideas I and my Republican colleagues have put forward, it is incumbent upon the majority party to put forward ideas of its own. Anything less is a flagrant abdication of its governing responsibility.”

Democrats were joined in their opposition by four Republicans: Sens. Scott Brown and Dean Heller who are both facing tough campaigns, and Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine.

Toomey’s budget proposal for FY2013 mirrored his proposal for FY2012, and consequently it received the exact same number of votes (read about FY2012 proposal here). An important area where it differed, however, was its approach to entitlement programs like Medicare and Medicaid. This year’s budget proposal called for “means testing” as a way to cut down on Medicare spending. Means testing would have required senior citizens who make more than $85,000 annually to pay higher premiums for their healthcare, and those who make more than $150,000 to pay their premiums without the help of taxpayer money. In addition, Toomey’s proposal would have allowed for seniors, beginning in 2023, to choose between Medicare and private plans.

Last year Toomey shied away from budget cuts to Medicare, a move which elicited some criticism from the right but which wasn’t enough to secure even a single democratic vote when the proposal reached the Senate floor.

Additional provisions in the FY2013 proposal would have shifted Medicaid to a state block grant program and frozen spending for five years. The proposal also called for a repeal of the Democrat’s health care law. These two provisions alone would have saved the nation an estimated $2.7 trillion.

One of the most drastic parts of Toomey’s plan, which was also part of his proposed plan for last year, was the call for non-defense discretionary spending to revert to 2006 levels and then be frozen for the next seven years. The proposal would have also cut funding for welfare and assumed a complete withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan by 2015.

In combination with aggressive spending cuts, the second part of Toomey’s plan involved the reformation of taxes. His proposal called for the cutting of individual income tax rates by one-fifth, effectively dropping the top rate from 35 percent to 28 percent. Opponents to the reform argued that this would shift an unproportional part of the financial burden from  millionaires and billionaires to low- and middle-class America.

Toomey’s budget proposal may be a good indicator of what conservative voters and tea partiers want from a republican presidential candidate, as Toomey was elected to the Senate with support from the Tea Party Movement and  now holds the important position of Chair of the Senate Steering Committee.

The Senate voted down a total of five proposals on Wednesday, three of which were drafted by GOP senators including Toomey, Mike Lee (Utah), and Rand Paul (Ky.). One of the other two proposals was the House GOP budget drafted by Rep. Paul Ryan—a proposal similar to the one composed by Toomey though less aggressive. The Senate also voted on a version of President Obama’s FY2013 budget.

Republicans crowed over the Senate’s unanimous disapproval – 99 to 0 – of President Obama’s budget. It was the second year in a row for that, too.

“The president’s budget had zero credibility, and now it has zero votes.  After racking up more than $5 trillion in debt, even Senate Democrats don’t take President Obama’s budget proposal seriously anymore,” said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus.

ALEC has come under scrutiny after they pushed several proposals that were viewed as controversial. First, they pushed the “stand your ground” law, known in Pennsylvania as the “castle doctrine” which was enacted in 2011. A similar law was enacted in Florida and is being used in the defense of George Zimmerman against Trayvon Martin. Second, ALEC pushed the voter ID legislation which has also been seen as controversial.

Recently, ALEC announced it would be reorganizing in the wake of the opposition that the “stand your ground” legislation brought to the organization.

In the time since the New York Times story ran, a group of Pennsylvania progressives exposed the funneling of taxpayer money toward the policy-writing group, American Legislative Exchange Council in the Pennsylvania state legislature, 14 lawmakers have decided to sever their ties with the group.

Keystone Progress, a liberal activist group based in Harrisburg, say that members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Senate spent a combined $310,817.39 since 2000 in support of ALEC. Included in the spending was food and trips to different cities in the country.

ProgressVA did a similar review of the state legislature in Richmond, Virginia.

The group says at least 51 legislators in Pennsylvania remain members of ALEC, with exact figure being unknown because ALEC doesn’t release membership information.

According to their website, ALEC “works to advance the fundamental principles of free-market enterprise, limited government, and federalism at the state level.” The organization advances their cause by partnering with legislators, members of the private sector and the general public.

An example of an ALEC-proposed bill can be found in Matthew Baker’s (R-Tioga) H.B. 42, a proposal that challenged the Affordable Healthcare Act by prohibiting the government from penalizing individuals, employers or health care providers for participating in a healthcare system of their choosing.

Critics of ALEC say the group disproportionately supports legislation that furthers the interests of corporations. David Ward, a media representative from Keystone Progress, said ALEC has pushed an “extreme” policy agenda that marginalizes the consumer.

“ALEC pushes a lot of extreme laws, and members of congress use that exact same language to pass a lot of bills,” Ward said. “We stand on the side of the everyday person; the everyday consumer.”

Ward said the investigation of legislative spending toward ALEC began when Keystone Progress requested spending reports and correspondence reports between legislators and ALEC through Pennsylvania’s Right to Know Law. The group compiled a list of the top five legislators who distributed public funding toward ALEC.

At the top of the list was Sen. John Pippy (R-Allegheny, Washington), who Keystone Progress allege spent $12,901.70 of taxpayer funding toward ALEC. Pippy said the claims were “completely incorrect,” and his only association with ALEC ended in 2006.

He added that he worked with the group after his return from active duty in 2001 while working with the Department of Homeland Security.

“The state was reimbursing my travel expenses for some of the meetings I was going to in [Washington] D.C.,” Pippy said. “The money didn’t go to ALEC; it went to pay for the different conferences I was attending.”

Keystone Progress has also released a petition calling for the public denouncement of ALEC by the 60 Democratic legislators who have yet to do so. The petition placed added emphasis on Rep. Joseph Petrarca (D-Westmoreland, Armstrong) and Rep. W. Curtis Thomas (D-Philadelphia), whom Keystone Progress say remain members of ALEC.

Rep. Petrarca denied any involvement with ALEC, saying in an email that he “has no ties and has never been a member of ALEC.”

ALEC’s national organization denied any wrongdoing, and insisted that ideology fuels Keystone Progress’s attacks. Kaitlyn Buss, communications director for ALEC, said in an email that attacks against the group threaten to undermine productive discourse on policy.

“These attacks are coming from extreme liberal front groups who are trying to suppress the open exchange of idea and debate on public policy when it does not align with their big-government ideology,” Buss said. “ALEC legislators will continue to provide free-market solutions to the problems they face in their states.”

Rothenberg notes that in 2000, 2004, and 2008, Pennsylvania voted democratically by margins higher than the national average.

[In 2000] then-Vice President Al Gore (D) beat George W. Bush (R) in the popular vote by one-half of 1 percent — Pennsylvania went for the Democrat by more than 4 points. . . . And in 2008, Pennsylvania performed about as it had in the two previous elections. While Barack Obama (D) won nationally by just more than 7 points, he carried the Keystone State by a little more than 10 points.

Now, however, Republicans have gained a stronghold in the state Legislature, the governorship, and the House delegation, and control one Senate seat.

Pennsylvania’s largely older white and white working-class population is also very inviting to Republicans. Minorities make up only one fifth of the state population.

“Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) won both whites and voters 65 and older in 2008, according to the national exit poll, and the president is likely to be weaker in those two demographic groups again,” wrote Rothenberg, noting that Obama seems to hold even weaker appeal to the white working-class than he did in 2008. He added:

These voters don’t have an automatic cultural connection to Obama (or to presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney), and the president’s recent announcement supporting same-sex marriage isn’t likely to be a plus with them. Jobs, of course, remain a big issue with these voters, and whatever hope they had that Obama would turn the economy around has almost certainly evaporated.

Rothenberg allowed that Romney clicks better than Obama with the “upscale suburbs” of Philly.

The Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota also sees potential for PA to swing, as Tim McNulty of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes:

This week it called Pennsylvania one of the ‘Battleground States of the Century,’ noting that (along with Missouri and Wisconsin) lead the nation in competitive presidential contests, with results decided in the single digits in 16 of 26 cycles since 1908.

At the moment, a survey by Quinnipiac University shows Obama with the upper hand: the incumbent president has 47 percent of the vote and has 8 points over Romney. But the battle for Keystone State is far from decided.

Crossroads GPS, the conservative Super PAC founded by Karl Rove, is launching a nearly half a million dollar ad buy in Pennsylvania. Their television spot that hammers President Obama over broken promises, and comes as Mitt Romney endures a blistering ad assault here.

The 60-second spot comprises four vignettes of the President making a pledge or promise, rebutted by an announcer.

“Today, I’m pledging to cut the deficit we inherited by half by the end of my first term in office,” Obama said during a speech in February 2009.

“Broken. Because he hasn’t even come close,” the ad’s announcer responds. “We need solutions, not just promises.”

The group said in a press release that it will spend $487,000 in PA on network TV as part of a $25 million total buy also in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, and Virginia. The spot will run from May 17 to 31.

Update: The Democratic National Committee responded to the ad, saying it distorted Obama’s record and distracted from Mitt Romney’s.

“Karl Rove’s most recent deceptive ad can’t hide the reality that, unlike Mitt Romney, President Obama has proposed a plan to reduce our deficit by $4 trillion over the next decade while creating an economy built to last through investments in education, infrastructure, and research,” the release said. “Nor can it hide that, as promised, the President has cut taxes for every working American and cut taxes for small business 18 times, bringing federal taxes for middle class households near historic lows.”

The move comes as Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney faces a bevy of negative ads in PA. The Obama campaign is airing this 2-minute negative spot Wednesday only, while the pro-Obama Super PAC Priorities USA Action broadcasts a similarly hard-hitting 30-second spot for at least a week. Both commercials attack Romney over his past as a venture capitalist.

The Obama camp is running this positive ad in full rotation.

“President Obama made commitments on core issues to the American people, and this ad holds him to account,” said Steven Law, president of Crossroads GPS. “Our country faces serious economic and fiscal problems which require practical solutions and not just promises.  If we don’t hold Washington politicians accountable, we won’t fix these problems that are holding our country back.”

The ad urges also directs viewers to a new Crossroads GPS issues website: www.newmajorityagenda.org.

Poll: PA Voters Disapprove Obama Housing & Mortgage Handling: President Obama has housing issues, according to a poll released by the progressive group Campaign for a Fair Settlement. 48 percent disapprove of his handling of the housing and mortgage crisis while 38 percent approve.

Rep. Pitts Calls Arafat, Sharon to Come Back to the Table: Rep. Joe Pitts recently replied to a constituent’s letter with a rather interesting position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Yasser Arafat and Ariel Sharon need to come back to the negotiating table. Arafat has been dead since 2004 and Sharon in a coma since 2006.

Meehan & Fitzpatrick Not Tea Partiers, Says Club For Growth: Just how “Tea Party” are Reps. Pat Meehan and Mike Fitzpatrick? Not very, according to the Club for Growth. The conservative group released a scorecard of freshman Republicans, and found the SEPA congressmen in the bottom 5.

Reader Poll: Would the Supreme Court Uphold the Latest Redistricting Map? With the map ready to go before the Supreme Court, PoliticsPA would like to ask its readers in our latest poll whether the Supreme Court is likely to accept or reject the LRC’s latest proposal.

Toomey “Very Unlikely” to be Romney’s Running Mate: It seems that Pat Toomey won’t be the Republican VP candidate. PoliticsPA readers scooped this story a long time ago, though.

Murphy Endorses Former Rival Kane: Three weeks after Kathleen Kane defeated Patrick Murphy in the Attorney General primary, the former Congressman is calling for Democrats to reunite after the “family fight” and support Kane.

Pro-Obama Super PAC Also on Air in PA (Watch Video): The hits just keep coming for Mitt Romney in Pennsylvania. A day after the Obama campaign rolled out two ads – one positive and one negative – a Super PAC is aiming another blow at the Republican. Meanwhile details emerged that significantly mitigate the impact of Obama’s ad.

National
Roll Call: Is Pennsylvania In Play In November? Maybe.
USA Today: Pa. Among The Most Competitive Swing States Over The Last Century According To New Analysis
Pennsylvania Ave.: Obama Super PAC On Air In Pennsylvania With More Romney Attacks
National Journal: Senate May Vote On Toomey Budget Proposal Among Others This Week
AP: Govt adopts landmark strategy to fight Alzheimer’s
AP: Paul: Campaign, but not battle, ends
Philly Tribune: New generation challenges some Blacks in Congress

Statewide
Capitol Ideas: Legal memo could hold the key to ex-Sen. Mellow’s Pension
PA Independent: Districts consider advertising in school buses to bring in revenue
State Impact: House Democrats File Brief In Act 13 Impact Fee Suit
State Impact: Citing “Mounting Turmoil,” S&P Downgrades Chesapeake’s Credit Rating
State Impact: “For Oil Workers, Deadliest Danger Is Driving”
State Impact: Mike Krancer (Pa. DEP Secretary) and the EPA: It’s complicated
Post-Gazette: Chesapeake to slow land acquisition, focus on oil and gas-liquids drilling in Marcellus and Utica shales
Post-Gazette: Humphrey resigns post over honor to Corbett
Patriot-News: Pennsylvanians can expect heated negotiations over proposed state budget
Patriot-News: Early learning costs are worth it
AP: Ex-Rep. DeWeese begins prison term for corruption
PhillyNow: Bill Would Allow Online Voter Registration
Philly Clout: Could the next mayor be named Blondie?
PhillyNow: DC Court Doesn’t Block PA Dems’ Access to Ralph Nader’s Bank Accounts

Philadelphia
Philadelphia Daily: Blondie! From hoofer to mayor?
Inquirer: District vows to preserve resources for bilingual education
Newsworks: Is the Nutter tax plan a windfall for businesses?
CityPaper: Philly plans a friendly reception for Corbett, eviscerator of education and social services

Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette: Home care providers decry proposed state cuts
Early Returns: Is Pa really a swing state?
Early Returns: AG race: Ds say kumbaya; Gov seeks money for Freed
Early Returns: The season of protest
KDKA: Lawmaker Wants to Increase Speed on Pa. Turnpike
NPR: Sick From Fracking? Doctors, Patients Seek Answers

North by Northwest
Erie Times-News: Shale drilling will play a role in Erie-area economy

Opinions
Post-Gazette Editorial: Hit the brakes: A bill to raise turnpike speed should be pulled over
Post-Gazette Editorial: Banking debacle: JPMorgan’s loss argues for tougher regulations
Post Gazette Op-ed: Obama’s wedded to wrong black leaders
Post-Gazette Op-ed: Is Obama’s evolution a charade?
Tribune Review Editorial: The JPMorgan mess: Revive Glass-Steagall
Inquirer Editorial: Plan for schools can be improved

Blogs
Commonwealth Foundation: New Healthcare Regs Would Cost PA Taxpayers $50 Million
Commonwealth Foundation: Broken Bottle Booze Bonanza Baffles Bourbon Barons
Lehigh Valley Independent: LERTA = Land Value Tax
Lehigh Valley Independent: A Guaranteed Minimum Income to Replace All Welfare Programs?
NEPArtisan: Who Hates The Poor? Republicans Do!
2 Political Junkies: What “Freedom” Means in Arizona
2 Political Junkies: Rep. Joe Pitts is so pro life he refuses to recognize Yasser Arafat’s death!
The Pennsylvania Progressive: News and Notes May 15, 2012
Keystone Politics: Diverse Coalition Calls for Corrections Reform
Keystone Politics: The Parts of Allegheny County that are Screwed Because Tom Corbett is Dithering on Transportation
Keystone Politics: A Guaranteed Minimum Income to Replace All Welfare Programs
Keystone Politics: Let’s Restore the Rest of the Keystone Fund
Keystone Politics: John Boehner Wants to Ruin the Country’s Credit Rating Again and Again
Keystone Politics: GOP Giveaway to Pharmacies Would Raise Health Insurance Costs
Keystone Politics: Report: All Fracking Wastewater Disposal Methods are Unsafe
John Hanger: Two Big Political Embarrassments– One for Obama and One for Romney
John Hanger: Gas Cuts Pollution and Boosts Competitiveness: Most Conservatives and Environmentalists are Mute about this Truth
John Hanger: Gas Rig Count Falls But 1 out of 6 Gas Drilling Rigs Operate in PA

The survey was conducted for the group Campaign for a Fair Settlement by Public Policy Polling. The organization believes that a pending multi-state settlement forged by President Obama lets banks off the hook too easily.

Under President Obama’s plan, the U.S. Justice Department would pursue a limited investigation, pursuing a 5-state, $19 billion settlement with the five largest banks and other violators. The settlement accused the banks of improperly handling thousands of home mortgages.

Pennsylvania was one of five swing states polled. The others, Arizona, Florida, Nevada and North Carolina, were hit even harder by the housing crisis.

Asked about the statement “The economic crisis we’re in is at least partially the result of criminal actions by Wall Street executives,” 52 percent strongly agreed and 25 percent agreed somewhat.

Among self-identified Republicans and Democrats, the issue was divided along party lines, with 61 percent of Democrats approving of Obama’s handling of the housing and mortgage crisis, and 81 percent of Republicans disapproving.

Especially emphasized were numbers among independent voters. 48 percent of them disapprove of Obama’s plan, versus just 26 percent who approve. 76 percent of independent likely voters agree that criminal activity on Wall Street contributed to the mortgage crisis.

The group and its Pennsylvanian chapter have been making noise on this issue for months. The organization is a cooperative between nearly a dozen separate organizations including Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, ACTION United and Philadelphia Unemployment Project. It has called for a full-scale federal investigation of the federal mortgage crisis and a settlement amount that properly, “reflects the damage that has been done by Wall Street institutions.”

After JP Morgan-Chase posted $2 billion in losses earlier this week, the group reiterated their secondary demand of increased accountability on Wall Street.

Nish Suvarknakar, campaign manager for Campaign for a Fair Settlement, said the results of the poll indicate that voters still seek retribution from the Obama administration over the actions committed by banks during the housing crisis.

“Years after banks committed widespread fraud that led to both the housing crisis and a recession, homeowners have been left to clean up the mess while not a single bank executive has faced criminal charges,” Suvarknar said. “Majorities of independent voters in swing states think it’s time for Obama to stand up for homeowners and hold banks accountable.”

This is not a candidate’s campaign, but CFS does have an agenda. Therefore, as always, take internal polling with a grain of salt.

PPP surveyed 600 likely PA voters from April 30 to May 1 via interactive voice response.

Here is CFS’s full release:

Poll: Campaign for a Fair Settlement

“The Club for Growth holds members of Congress accountable for their actions, not their rhetoric,” said group President Chris Chocola. “The liberal media likes to pretend that these Republicans have fought for fiscally conservative policies, but the facts don’t support their thesis.”

Meehan had the second-lowest rating, Fitzpatrick was fourth-lowest.

They lost points for voting in favor of the debt ceiling compromise, and against a measure to strike funding for the National Labor Relations Board. They earned points for supporting the Cut, Cap and Balance plan, and supporting free trade agreements with South Korea and Colombia.

And they were hardly alone: all five of PA’s freshman Republicans found themselves in the bottom 50 percent of the list. There are 87 freshman GOPers in Congress, and members from the Keystone state all fall into the bottom third.

The Club disappointedly notes that the average score for freshmen was 71 percent, a mere 2 percent higher than GOP incumbents.

Click on a name to see which votes counted for and against each member.

T-26th – Tom Marino (R-Lycoming): 60%
T-17th – Mike Kelly (R-Butler): 54%
T-11th – Lou Barletta (R-Luzerne): 47%
4th – Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Bucks): 43%
T-2nd – Pat Meehan (R-Delaware): 42%

Meehan spokeswoman Maureen Keith listed the Congressman’s conservative acumen, and called him independent.

“Congressman Meehan said he would work to cut taxes, help small businesses create jobs, balance our budget, hold the federal government accountable, and repeal and replace the health care law,  and that’s exactly what he’s done,” she said. “He’ll continue to be an independent voice fighting for the people of Pennsylvania’s 7th District.”

The Tea Party label matches Meehan, according to his Democratic opponent George Badey.

“We didn’t make Meehan a Tea Partier,” said Campaign Manager Mike Dineen. “The Independence Tea Party PAC (sic) did with their endorsement. Scorecards or statements don’t change Pat Meehan’s two votes to end Medicare as we know it, while preserving billions in tax breaks for oil companies and people earning more than one million dollars a year, or his votes restricting access for women and children to vital healthcare services.”

Indeed, Meehan scored much higher – 70 percent – in a list of votes compiled by the Independence Hall Tea Party PAC. Fitzpatrick scored 73 percent.

Update: IHTP President Don Adams said Meehan and Fitzpatrick were plenty “Tea Party” for his group.

“Congressmen Pat Meehan and Mike Fitzpatrick have been extremely responsive to our concerns and have kept the lines of communication open to our organization and other Tea Party groups and we think, earned our endorsement in this cycle,” he said.”

“Perhaps, Club for Growth, and other so-called national ‘Tea Party’ organizations should check with local Tea Party groups before issuing scorecards which do not fairly weight the votes of Congressmen/women on major legislative initiatives such as the Ryan Budget.”

Being close to the Tea Party isn’t exactly an asset in moderate southeastern PA. Aside the wave year of 2010, when the movement meant organization and voter turnout for candidates, it’s unclear the long term benefits.

Fitzpatrick isn’t concerned about the list. Campaign spokeswoman Faith Bender said the his votes reflect his district.

“Congressman Fitzpatrick always votes his conscience and his district.  Voters are looking for elected officials who can get government spending in check without harming those who need our help the most.  Voters aren’t looking for ideologies, they want results,” she said.

His critics are quick to assign him the Tea Party moniker. CREDO, a liberal super PAC, chose Fitzpatrick and 9 other incumbents nationally to target as their “Tea Party Ten.”

And his Democratic opponent, Kathryn Boockvar, says Fitz is too conservative for the district.

He has, “consistently fought to put special interests ahead of seniors, women, and middle class families,” she said, “repeatedly voting to end Medicare as we know it and to make healthcare and college tuition less affordable, while at the same time preserving enormous tax breaks for oil companies and billionaires.”

“Congressman Fitzpatrick isn’t representing the priorities of families in Bucks and Montgomery counties — and that’s what this election will be about.”

The Club isn’t too sympathetic with the electability argument.

“We produced this report to hold the Republicans accountable for their actual voting records,” said spokesman Barney Keller. “If liberal Republicans like Mike Fitzpatrick and Pat Meehan want to vote for big government, that’s between them and their constituents. All we’re saying is that, based solely on their voting records, you can’t call them ‘tea party’ because they were elected in 2010.”

“Furthermore, it’s in the interest of all Americans that members of Congress start limiting government now, before we wind up like Greece.”

Then, in April, the LRC passed a new preliminary map that again drew the ire of many – from Democrats who claimed the map unfairly disadvantaged them, to Latino Lines spokespersons who saw the new map as insufficient in reflecting the growth of Pa.’s Hispanic population, and even Republicans who thought it disadvantaged their candidates.

There were others who still took issue with municipality splits, as well.

The LRC has held two hearing sessions, and will soon turn in an updated version of the proposed map. It would impact the 2014 election cycle.

As we near the end of this odyssey, PoliticsPA would like to ask its readers:

Update: Pitts’ office chalked the letter up to administrative error and apologized. Full statement below.

Rep. Joe Pitts recently replied to a constituent’s letter with a rather interesting position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Yasser Arafat and Ariel Sharon need to come back to the negotiating table. There’s just one problem. Arafat has been dead since 2004 and Sharon in a coma since 2006.

The out-of-date letter was posted on the blog Mondoweiss by journalist Ian Rhodewalt. His father, a resident of the 16th district, wrote a letter to Pitts in 2011. His response came last month, and included this description of Pitts’ stance:

With the global war against terrorism, it is now incumbent on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Yasir Arafat to clamp down on Palestinian extremists that have perpetuated violence and to restart a peace process that has collapsed.

Oops.

The original blog post was published Sunday and the story was picked up Tuesday by the Times of Israel.

His Democratic opponent, veteran and businesswoman Aryanna Strader, jumped on the news as well.

“Being this completely out of touch with such a major foreign policy matter is inexcusable,” she wrote in an email to supporters. “If we are ever going to change Congress, we must change who we send there. And that is why I am asking you to please make a $16 contribution to our campaign today.”

Form letters are a part of life in Washington, as any staffer can tell you. To prepare a customized response to every letter or email received by a congressional office would be impossible without ballooning staff numbers (and payroll) – an ironic outcome to those constituent letters advocating reduced government spending.

Pitts is far from the first member of Congress to take lumps over a form letter.

In 2009, the office of Senator Arlen Specter issued a form letter which justified the Defense of Marriage Act and left the door open to a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage. Awkward, since the constituent writing him had advocated the exact opposite. And particularly untimely, since Specter had recently switched parties and sought to court the LGBT vote.

Though any form letter runs the risk of being on the tone deaf side, niche issues are particularly risky.

An acquaintance of this writer, for example, recently sent a letter to Rep. Bill Shuster in protest of HR 4089 on the grounds that it permitted U.S. hunters to import sport-hunted polar bears from Canada.

His response? To reiterate his support for humane treatment of pets like his Wheaton Terrier, Chloe.

The moral of the story: staffers should review all form letters at least once a year.

Update: Here’s the full statement from Pitts Communications Director Andrew Wimer:

“Congressman Pitts responds to tens of thousands of constituent inquiries a year.  Because it is impossible to draft a unique reply to each inquiry, language is often reused for similar responses.  In this case, a double mistake was made.  Language that should have been archived was included in a draft response.  The response was then pulled from the queue because of the error, and then mistakenly sent almost a year later.  Responding to tens of thousands of letters a year is a complicated process.  Mistakes are both few and rare, but do sometimes occur.  This one was particularly embarrassing.  We have apologized to the constituent and are reviewing our internal process to make sure this sort of thing can’t happen again.”

PoliticsPA readers scooped this story a long time ago, though.

A poll, recently conducted, asked the likelihood that Romney would tap Toomey for VP, and 67 percent of readers said “no chance.”

That 67 percent was 417 of the 621 votes cast in the poll. About one-fourth of readers, or 144 people, said there was a “strong possibility” that Toomey would be chosen.

And Pat Toomey agrees with our numbers.

“Very unlikely” was the term he used to describe his odds of being Mitt Romney’s running mate.

In a Monday meeting with the Lehigh Valley newspaper’s editorial board, The Express-Times, Toomey said that he had spoken with Romney, but not about the particulars of a Veep position.

“I think it is very unlikely,” he said of his chances of being the running mate.

“We’ve got a deep bench. We’ve got a lot of people that would bring a lot to a national ticket.”

This observation came in spite of claims by many conservative groups that Toomey would make a good choice for the position.

10 percent of PoliticsPA said Gov. Tom Corbett was a more likely VP pick.