So How MUCH Will Pat Toomey Benefit From Today's PA Trump Fundraiser?

Tony Norman, from today's P-G:

If you want to know just how unprincipled the Pennsylvania Republican Party is, look no further than its Commonwealth Club fundraiser lunch today in New York City. Now get a gander at the headliner.

Yes, that fuzzy ball of orange hair and rabid demagoguery scheduled to address Pennsylvania Republicans is none other than Donald J. Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination.

And then:

Pay no attention to the hypocritical breast-beating by state Republicans who have denounced The Donald’s Mussolini-like exhibitionism of late. They say they’re against Mr. Trump’s anti-Muslim scapegoating, but they can’t wait to stick their faces into his coin-filled troth to slurp up the loot he will help generate for them this weekend.

While Republican Sen. Pat Toomey said that he won’t be attending today’s shameful escapade, some of the dollars Mr. Trump will help raise could surely make their way to assist the senator’s campaign, too. It’s hard to have deniability when the party you represent is in bed with the most charismatic but un-American politician in several generations.

For the record, Toomey's disagreeing with Trump on that whole "No New Mooslim's in Amurika" thing.

With a tweet:

Trump is wrong. We should not have a religious test for admission to U.S. We should have a security test, and it should be bullet proof.

Yea, a tweet.  A speech would be nice.  A speech to a crowd of loyal republicans there to cheer Pat Toomey on as he denounces Trump's fascism.  That would the right thing to do, right?  Should be easy, right?  To gather up enough loyal republicans to cheer Pat Toomey on as he denounces Trump.  Toomey should definitely do that but hey, to each his own, I guess.

PoliticsPA points us to this piece in the Washington Post, pointing out Toomey's Trump Troubles.  (See what I did there?  It's called an alliteration - though in my case it's more of an amateur alliteration.  Ooops, I did it again.  Got lost in the game, I guess.):

"A candidate who is too conservative or too controversial can hurt GOP Senate candidates in swing states." That's wisdom from people who have such things — the political analysts at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

And what do you know? GOP front-runner Donald Trump's most recent idea — to temporarily ban all Muslims from entering the U.S. — seems like about the most controversial thing a presidential candidate could say at this moment in time. (We say this fully aware that Trump has and probably will continue to up the ante.)

In other words: Trump is Senate Republicans' worst nightmare right now. His ban-Muslim-immigrants comment is undoubtedly going to make it harder for vulnerable Senate Republicans — who are trying to hang onto the Senate by defending 24 of the 34 seats up for reelection in 2016 — to argue that their party hasn't gone off the deep end ideologically. [Italics and links in original.]

And wouldn't you know it, Pat Toomey's on Cook's list of vulnerable Senate Republicans.  Because, as Tony writes:

In Pennsylvania, this will mean a Tea Party darling like Mr. Toomey will have a very large target on his back because he belongs to the party of Trump right now.

From Laura Olsen in yesterday's morning call:

But even though Toomey is distancing himself physically and rhetorically from the event, he still stands to benefit as he faces re-election in 2016. And that's something at least one of the Democrats hoping to unseat him wants voters to know.

"Sen. Toomey will directly benefit from the Trump fundraiser, because the Pennsylvania Republican Party will use those funds to help with Toomey's re-election," Democratic Senate candidate Katie McGinty said, reiterating a call for him to urge his fellow Republicans to cancel the event.

Whether it's financial help that's limited to a few thousand or something more, Toomey's still gonna get some help from Trump.  And that's dirty.

And Toomey's anti-Trump tweet?  Joe Sestak had something to say about it in a tweet back:

Then why 2 weeks ago did you say we don't need that bullet proof test "if we know with certainty that the person is a Christian?

Yea, Toomey's in Trouble.  Trump Trouble.