Casey In The Box
By Dan McLaughlin Posted in User Blogs — Comments (8) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Promoted from the Diaries by Clayton.
One thing you're going to hear a lot of, with Samuel Alito the next nominee for the Supreme Court, is Judge Alito's dissent in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the big 1992 abortion case that passed through the Third Circuit on its way to the Supreme Court. Patterico takes a close look at that dissent, and you should go check that out.
But what's even more interesting about potentially staging a big fight over Alito's ruling in the Casey decision is the identity of the defendant in that case, the governor who signed into law and defended in court the abortion restrictions that the Senate Democrats would presumably be describing as "extreme," "outside the mainstream," etc. - Bob Casey, the Democratic then-governor of Pennsylvania. After all, Judge Alito only ruled on the constitutionality of the statute - he's not the one who got it passed in the first place.
And, of much more urgent interest, the late Gov. Casey was the father of another Bob Casey, the Democratic candidate challenging the most vulnerable of Republican incumbents in 2006: Rick Santorum. If the national Democratic party wants to make Judge Alito out to be a right-wing nutcase over finding that Bob Casey Sr. didn't violate the Constitution, sooner or later someone is going to ask his son if he agrees. And that's gonna be a question that will put him in an awfully bad position, driving a potential wedge either (a) between Casey and the national party's talking points or (b) between Casey and the popular deceased father from whom he draws a lot of goodwill.
And Karl Rove will smile.
Casey has a long record of opposing abortion, I don't see this as a big problem for him.
Casey has a long record of opposing abortion
Could we have a source for that please?
If Casey is indeed anti-abortion/pro-life, how do you think he would vote in the Senate? How is he on other conservative issues? Would he vote with his caucus or be somehting of a maverick? Would Santorum, with his throwing of Toomey under the wheels and his votes against fiscal responsibility, be that much of a loss?
Hey, if he does, great. But then every time a Democrat argues that Alito is an extremist, we can point to a prominent Dem Senate candidate from a Northeastern "blue" state who agrees with him. Win-win.
"Schumer has scored a big success by persuading Pennsylvania state Treasurer Bob Casey, a foe of abortion rights, to be the Democratic candidate against two-term Republican Sen. Rick Santorum, a leader of the anti-abortion movement."
"Experts agree that Casey, who opposes abortion rights and gun control, could have difficulty winning the nomination if former State Treasurer Barbara Hafer also enters the race."
"The Caseys, father and son, represent a type once common in the Democratic Party but now nearly extinct: pro-life, pro-gun, pro-labor and very liberal on economic issues."
I don't know how he would vote in the Senate, but it sounds like this is a pretty deeply-held belief.
Casey, both father and son, used to be common in the Democratic Party. That's one of the reasons why Roman Catholics never had any qualms, and in fact often embraced, supporting Democrats for public office. Since the decline and banishment of individuals in the "Casey" mold w/in the Democratic Party, many religious individuals have bolted to the Republicans. The treatment of Casey Sr. near the end of his career and life is demonstrative of one of the contributing factors in the rise of the "Religious Right."
~Big Tom
Rove did say last Friday he was going to have a very good weekend.
casey just has to keep his mouth shut and say as little as possible to win. i can`t see any way santorum can win, i`m sure it will get closer but from what my relatives in pa. tell me santorum is just not all that popular with the people, even is western pa. and it will be really hard to overcome the philly vote.
Anything that helps Santorum is welcome.