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Protests Outside Senator Toomey's Philadelphia Office

By Mark Abrams

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Activists stages a protest outside the Philadelphia office of Senator Pat Toomey on Tuesday, urging him to abandon the Republican leadership position on a key vote.

The group, backed by the left-leaning Moveon.org and filled with union and Democratic partisans, demanded Senator Toomey reject the GOP Senate leadership's position of no vote on President Obama's Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland and go along with Democrats who want to give him an up or down vote.

"We're preparing for the future and that's why obstructionism at any level has to be opposed, regardless of who's doing it.," said Jeff Garis, a Philadelphia-based activist leading the chants.

He says while it's certainly a partisan battle, it's time to set that behavior aside for the good of the country.

"He believes all Pennsylvanians should have a voice in whether to change the balance of the court, and they will have that voice in less than eight months at the ballot box, " said Sen. Toomey's spokeswoman Melissa Ferdinand.

Meaning, she says, voters should decide in November who the next president is and let that person make the nomination.

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