Pennsylvania’s Bob Casey: “I’m a pro-life Democrat”
“Only 23 percent of Pennsylvania voters know that Casey is pro-life, while 8 percent think he is pro-choice and 69 percent don’t know Casey’s position on abortion.” April 6, 2006 Quinnipiac University Poll
“People in this audience tonight know that I’m a pro-life Democrat. And if you have that position, on a very important issue like abortion, an important issue for both sides of this question, you can’t say that Roe v. Wade was correctly decided.”
It’s no wonder that Casey is taking the Democratic Party in PA.
Is there really any such thing as a Democratic party in America? This is pathetic. Pathologically pathetic.
Well, I nearly always duck this area, but I just want to comment that it’s a little more complicated than that. I don’t have any great love for Casey. In fact, I was persuaded by a post here a few weeks ago to change my thinking on him from favorable to unfavorable.
But I’d like to insist that it’s not automatically insane to define oneself as a pro-life Democrat who thinks Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided. Have you ever read that decision? It’s nuts. (Also, you might be surprised to know what it actually says about the duty of the state to prohibit abortions during six months of pregnancy.)
I’m a pro-life Democrat. I think Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided. That’s a respectable position. And it doesn’t necessarily mean what you think. I also think that abortion should not be criminalized, and that it should be, as Clinton used to say, lawful, safe, and rare.
Abortion is the number one reason why the GOP has dominated the Democrats for the past 25 years. The left needs to be more broad-minded on this issue, without a Trotskyite twitch every time anyone offers any dissent. Just saying. I’m perfectly well aware that this is a Taboo Topic, even on more civilized leftie spaces.
Abortion is the number one reason why the GOP has dominated the Democrats for the past 25 years.
and it’s certainly not how the issue polls.
See, the problem is that people who say things like this are, by definition, not our allies. 2/3rds of the people in this country are to Bob Casey’s left.
The DLC, massive incompetence and a congenital lack of testicular fortitude are the main reasons the GOP has dominated the Democrats for the past 25 years.
Really centrists need to become more broadminded towards the majority of Democratic voters, men and women who don’t wish to have the religious views of others shoved down our throats, aren’t terrified of fighting the culture wars and don’t want to see Roe overturned. I get so tired of centrists blaming their losses and incompetence on one portion or other of what was formerly the Democratic base.
If ‘Democrats’ keep helping the religious right destroy the possibility of reproductive freedom and bodily soverignty and privacy for the women in this country we will destroy your party.
.
In this latest survey, Republicans back Santorum 70 – 17 percent, while Democrats back Casey 77 – 9 percent and independent voters back the Democrat 53 – 28 percent. Men back Casey 45 – 41 percent and women back him 50 – 33 percent.
Santorum leads two other possible Democratic challengers,
44 – 32 percent over Alan Sandals and
45 – 32 percent over Chuck Pennacchio.
But among Democrats, Casey gets 63 percent, with 5 percent for Sandals and 4 percent for Pennacchio. Another 25 percent are undecided.
Among Democrats who identify as pro-choice and who initially expressed support for Casey, only 9 percent say they are “very likely” to shift their support to a pro-choice Democrat in a primary.
Only 23 percent of Pennsylvania voters know that Casey is pro-life, while 8 percent think he is pro-choice and 69 percent don’t know Casey’s position on abortion.
And only 15 percent of voters say they would vote against a candidate based only on his position on abortion. Of that group, two-thirds are staunchly anti-abortion, while one third, or 5 percent of the total electorate, say they are staunchly pro-choice.
“The most surprising thing about this poll is that two-thirds of the voters say they don’t know how Bob Casey Jr. stands on the issue of abortion. But given that, only five percent of the voters say they would definitely vote against a candidate just because he opposed abortion.”
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY