Combine the notion that black protesters are criminals with the desire to boost police resources and you get Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), “the voice of hardworking law enforcement families in Washington,” according to a new campaign ad.
Toomey hasn’t been shy about his stance on these topics on the Senate floor, but now he’s bringing the issues onto the campaign trail with a re-election ad that chastises protesters who oppose police brutality.
“When rioters destroyed American cities, Pat Toomey stood strong with police,” says the ad, which was posted to YouTube Wednesday. “Toomey fought for better police equipment and benefits — and denounced the riots when others wouldn’t.”
Combine the notion that black protesters are criminals with the desire to boost police resources and you get Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), “the voice of hardworking law enforcement families in Washington,” according to a new campaign ad.
Toomey hasn’t been shy about his stance on these topics on the Senate floor, but now he’s bringing the issues onto the campaign trail with a re-election ad that chastises protesters who oppose police brutality.
“When rioters destroyed American cities, Pat Toomey stood strong with police,” says the ad, which was posted to YouTube Wednesday. “Toomey fought for better police equipment and benefits — and denounced the riots when others wouldn’t.”
Toomey’s ad appears to be referring to the protests and riots that rocked Baltimore and Ferguson, Missouri, following the high-profile deaths of Freddie Gray and Michael Brown. Gray died last April from a fatal spinal cord injury sustained while in police custody. Brown was shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer following a much-disputed altercation in August 2014.
Support for law enforcement and criticism of protesters has been a common refrain among some presidential campaigns this cycle, notably that of Donald Trump. But the topic isn’t new to Toomey.
In May, following Gray’s death, Toomey delivered a speech on the Senate floor commending law enforcement officials and largely dismissing the rampant police violence that has plagued Baltimore’s black community for decades.
“Far from the epidemic of police misdeeds that some claim to be happening out there, I think just the opposite is true,” Toomey said. “The overwhelming majority of police are honest men and women. They have very high ethical standards, they don’t have a racist bone in their body.”
Toomey was back on the Senate floor in June discussing the unrest that followed a grand jury’s November 2014 decision to not charge former Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson in Brown’s death.
Toomey has long been on the side of the police and never wants to hold them accountable. We can’t allow Toomey to dupe voters into giving him a second term. Next month is the Democratic primary. Please do get involved and donate to the Democratic candidate you support: