The WaPo has an interesting report on Casey, today. Robert Cooperman reports on an address delivered to a Catholic audience.
Robert P. Casey Jr., the Democratic candidate seeking to unseat Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) in one of the country's hottest election campaigns, told a largely Roman Catholic audience yesterday that in his view, "neither party has gotten it right when it comes to life issues."
I can certainly agree with that!
Casey, a lifelong Catholic who opposes abortion, is the second high-profile Democrat who has recently given a major address defending the place of religion in politics. In June, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) criticized "liberals who dismiss religion in the public square as inherently irrational or intolerant."
On the other hand, Obama's comments were offensive to me.
Follow me down:
Since voters in the 2004 presidential election who attend church weekly voted 2 to 1 for President Bush over Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) and since over 65% of Americans report attending church "regularily", addressing the concerns of this group has been a target for Dems.
In a 45-minute lecture at Catholic University's Columbus School of Law, his alma mater, Casey said that America "must be a country dedicated to the common good" and that "my understanding of our common good comes from my family and my faith."
...
Casey said the common good is built on a foundation of social justice. "Justice demands our understanding that the hungry, the impoverished and the uninsured in this country are not statistics; they are children of God," he said.
Turning to abortion, he called for Democrats and Republicans to "unite . . . behind the understanding that the common good requires us to value all life." As an example, he cited legislation proposed by House Democrats that would target "the underlying factors that often lead women to choose abortion."
Casey had some sharp words for Conservatives who focus primarily on the rights of the unborn.
"If we are going to be pro-life, we cannot say we are against abortion . . . and then let our children suffer in broken schools," he said. "We can't claim to be pro-life at the same time we are cutting support for Medicaid, Head Start or the Women, Infants and Children's Program."
As a Liberal, Athiest, FemiNazi, this is an idea I can support. He is not preaching his religion and insisting we all agree. He is offering the teachings of a great philosopher and suggesting we re-think the hard line Religious-Right position.
As a survivor of the feminist movement of the 1960's, I was pretty luke warm about this candidate until I read this article. I think this is a guy we can work with.