Democrats woo abortion opponents for Senate

'Not a positioning'
When asked this week whether Casey’s recruitment was designed to woo pro-life Democrats, Schumer said, “We are looking for the strongest candidate in each state. Gov. Rendell suggested to us that Bob Casey would be the strongest candidate. This is not a positioning on choice (abortion rights) one way or the other. It’s about winning.”

Reid added, “I think it speaks volumes that there’s one poll that shows Casey thirteen points ahead of Santorum. There’s no poll that shows him ahead by less than eight points. Obviously Casey’s the best candidate.”

If Casey is the strongest, is that primarily because he is an anti-abortion candidate?

Reid is an agnostic on the question. “I don’t know what the reason is. Polls show him ahead by eight points,” he said.

Casey himself told MSNBC.com in an interview Wednesday, that voters “make decisions based on a cross section of issues.”

In past elections, he said, for some Pennsylvania Democrats “there have been some impediments. Sometimes there are Democrats, Republicans, and Independents that want to have the opportunity to vote for a candidate that has a broader reach.”

He said Social Security will play a dominant role in his run against Santorum, a proponent of personal retirement accounts within Social Security.

Pennsylvania voters “are very concerned about a proposal that takes away a guaranteed benefit” and “will result in $2 trillion being borrowed from foreign governments,” Casey said.

Mixed views on recruitment
Democratic senators voiced mixed opinions this week about Schumer’s strategy of recruiting anti-Roe candidates. “It’s been my strategy for a long time, as a pro-life Democrat and as a member of Democrats for Life,” said Nelson, who is running for re-election next year. “So I would welcome others who feel similarly.”

Referring to Casey and Langevin, Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D- Mich., also up for re-election in 2006, said Tuesday that Democratic leaders “weren’t recruiting them because they are anti-choice. They are anti-choice, but that is not why people have been talking to them. They are very strong, terrific public servants, and it’s very clear that they can win.”

Casey’s candidacy has a particular symbolic value for Democrats as an act of reconciliation for the Clintons’ decision to bar his father from addressing the 1992 Democratic convention, a rebuff to pro-life Democrats. The senior Casey had opposed Bill Clinton in the primaries.

Staunchly anti-abortion in his views, he said in 1992, “The special interests controlling the party are absolutely intolerant of any view on abortion other than their own most extreme view” and contended that “by rejecting abortion on demand, we can move our party back to the mainstream.”

The younger Casey said Wednesday his father “would be very encouraged by the fact that the party is more embracing of a broader point of view, on a number of fronts, including abortion. That’s one of the messages he wanted to deliver in 1992.”

Not the same as his dad
Franklin & Marshall College political analyst Terry Madonna points out that the younger Casey “has not been a crusader on the abortion issue, unlike his father. It’s not a subject on which he proselytizes. He generally can go for months and unprompted will not bring up the subject.” 

Democratic consultant Chris Kofinis believes Casey's strengths make him the best candidate to face Santorum, but added, “My only concern is that we don’t begin to think that just because a Democratic candidate is pro-life, victory is just around the corner. Values issues matter, like one's position on abortion matters, but they are seldom the deciding factor in the majority of voters’ minds. And, contrary to some pundits and strategists, values were not the primary reason we lost Senate seats and the White House in 2004."

“The last thing any Democrat wants is a litmus test that disqualifies strong Democratic candidates because they are pro-life," Kofinis said. "That being said, a moderate position on abortion is important to many Democrats and many moderate Republicans who end up voting Democrat, so we need walk a fine line. The last thing we want to do is lose some voters just as we reach out to new ones.”

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