PAT TOOMEY JOINS “EXTREMISTS ON THE RUN” CAUCUS

For Immediate Release

October 28, 2010

Contact: Deirdre Murphy, 202-485-3129

Toomey Adopts Hiding Tactics From Other Tea Party Candidates To Try To Avoid Talking About His Extremist Record

Toomey Joins Sharron Angle, Rand Paul, Ron Johnson, Joe Miller, Christine O’Donnell, John Raese and David Vitter

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is officially placing Pat Toomey in the “extremists on the run” caucus, as he continues doing everything he can to avoid talking about his hyper-extreme record, which is further to the right that defeated former Senator Rick Santorum, and which even Republicans agree is too extreme for Pennsylvania. Republican Senator Orrin Hatch went so far as to say that “I don’t think there is anybody in the world who believes he can get elected senator there,” and defeated former Senator Rick Santorum even said that Toomey was “too conservative” for Pennsylvania.

In the past two months alone, Toomey has done everything possible to avoid having to talk about his out-of-the mainstream positions:

CNN — Last question! Reporter: Would you be a Tea Party Senator? Toomey Aide: All right, last question! [CNN, 10/17/10]

Toomey Won’t Say If He Agrees With Jim Demint. “We’ve reached out to Toomey’s campaign for comment regarding whether the candidate agrees with DeMint’s statements but haven’t heard anything back.” [Philadelphia Weekly, 10/05/10]

Toomey Can’t Say Where He Stands On Sanctions For China. “The Toomey campaign could not immediately say whether Toomey supports the bill.” [AP, 10/06/10]

Toomey Ducks Questions. “Toomey on Friday ducked a question on whether that decision disappointed him, calling the pledge “a good first step.” [Philadelphia Daily News, 09/27/10]

Toomey Could Not Or Would Not Answer. “But how about the many millions of workers in between? Folks in their 30s and 40s and early 50s well, Toomey could not or would not answer what the choice, if any, would be for those folks.” [WTXF, 09/24/10]

Toomey Runs From Social Security Question. [YouTube, 08/25/10]

Toomey Has A Tendency To Abruptly End His Interactions With The Press. He keeps to a tight schedule and has a tendency to abruptly end his interactions with the press when he decides enough is enough….After his remarks, he took half a dozen questions from reporters, until one of his aides announced: “Thank you. You need to leave now.” The remainder of the meeting…was private, she explained. [Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/26/10]

Toomey Avoids Calls. “In an effort to get Toomey and Corbett in for an editorial board meeting where they would have the opportunity to state their case as to why Blacks should vote for them, Toomey never returned several calls.” [New Pittsburgh Courier, 10/27/10]

Toomey “Whisked” Away From Reporters. “I was hoping to ask Toomey a couple questions about his stance on Social Security – and what he thinks about Democrats’ efforts to use the issue as a scare tactic with voters – but campaign staffers whisked him away after the event, saying he was late for another appearance. The press got two questions in before Toomey was hustled to an SUV, which promptly sped away.” [WTIF, 09/20/10]

“It is no surprise that Pat Toomey is trying to run from his extreme, out-of-the mainstream record, which even Republicans are calling too extreme for Pennsylvania,” said DSCC National Press Secretary Deirdre Murphy. “Whether the issue is privatizing Social Security and sending Pennsylvanian families’ life savings to Wall Street, eliminating all corporate taxes, keeping in place incentives for corporations to ship jobs overseas, or throwing doctors who perform abortions in jail, Pat Toomey is far out of touch with Pennsylvania.”

Pat Toomey joins a handful of other Republicans in the “extremists on the run caucus,” including:

Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is “hard to locate on Senate campaign trail,” and who has been eviscerated for lack of specifics on the campaign trail. Johnson even said “I don’t believe this election really is about details.”
Sharron Angle of Nevada has refused to put out a public campaign schedule and hasn’t held a public event in weeks. Angle even “shushed” a reporter who asked her a question and was caught using a decoy to avoid the press.
Joe Miller of Alaska made national news when his private security detail handcuffed a journalist who dared trying to ask him a question.
John Raese of West Virginia blocked reporters from attending an official campaign rally.
Rand Paul of Kentucky has ducked the media for months, ever since his debacle on national television immediately following his primary win. He even resorted to only answering questions from reporters if they were submitted in writing.
Christine O’Donnell of Delaware has such a confrontational relationship with the Delaware media that she even threatened to sue a Delaware radio station if they did not destroy videotapes of an interview with her. Good luck trying to get in touch with O’Donnell, her campaign rarely returns reporter phone calls.
David Vitter of Louisiana is infamous for ducking questions. He refuses to answer why he kept on payroll an employee who savagely beat his girlfriend, who Vitter assigned to cover “women’s issues.”