Much has been made of Bob Casey being a pro-life Democrat, especially by those who desire to cut into the conservative base of voters who have been electing Rick Santorum to the U.S. Senate. However, this interview excerpt (printed in full on the liberal blog My DD) clearly reveals that Casey's pro-life convictions are weak, inconsistent and ranking far lower in his priorities than is his unqualified support of anyone in the Democrat Party, including obviously the most adamant supporters of abortion. Note too his convenient indifference to abortion when it's dealt out in chemicals instead of curettes.
...[Jonathan] Singer: One concern that many in the progressive blogosphere have about your campaign is your stance towards social issues, particularly the issue of abortion. To what extent will these social issues drive your actions in Congress? Or, put another way, would you seek a spot on the Judiciary Committee or other committees that are very focused in the battle over the social issues?
Casey: I think in terms of... To work backwards for your question, in terms of any committees, Jonathan, you should know that because I'm both Irish and cautious, I never talk about committees. [Laughter]
Not when and until I'm elected. But to be serious about the question you raised, I think that one of the most important factors in the way a lot of Americans look at the issue of abortion is the question that they hope would happen more in Washington but it doesn't, and that is that a lot of Americans want people to be honest about where they stand and I have been, even when some members of the Democratic Party disagree with my position, and I think it's important to be honest about differences.
I also think it's very important to be respectful of people that disagree, and I've done that I think well as a public official. I've tried to be very respectful of people that disagree, especially when it comes to an issue like abortion that's important to people on both sides of the debate.
Despite all the division about it there is, their honest differences, I think there's a great consensus in this country, whether it's from the left or the right or the middle, that most Americans and most Pennsylvanians want to reduce the number of abortions, want to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies. They know what was in the recent New York Times column by Nicholas Kristoff where he talked about 3 million unintended pregnancies every year which lead to more than a million abortions, among other things.
So I think that there's a great consensus on family planning and birth control, which I have always supported as a public official and would support United States Senator. Also the newer issue within the family planning discussion is emergency contraception, and the big difference between Senator Santorum and me in this race, I support it and he doesn't. And I've been criticized by some leaders in religious community - even in the Catholic community - for supporting emergency contraception.
And I also don't support litmus tests for judges and presidential candidates like Rick Santorum, who will always support the Republican candidate for President, I always support the Democrat even when that Democrat disagrees with me on an issue like abortion or any other issue...
