Before U.S. Senate hearings have even taken place, Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey Jr. already has made up his mind about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, and his answer is no.
Vassar News reports the seemingly moderate Democrat senator has refused to consider approving President Donald Trump’s nomination to the Supreme Court.
“I’ve got a position and I’m not backing off that: I’m a No and I’m [going to] remain No,” Casey said.
The senator has yet to meet with Kavanaugh, and committee hearings to confirm the nominee have yet to take place.
This hard-lined response to Kavanaugh is perplexing for a senator who has stated that he is pro-life and has a family history of pro-life leadership. Casey’s father, Robert Casey Sr., was the governor of Pennsylvania in the 1980s and 90s, and was known as a leading pro-life Democrat who famously fought Planned Parenthood in the Supreme Court case, Planned Parenthood vs. Casey. If Kavanaugh were to be approved, there is potential for cases like Roe vs. Wade to be overturned and protections for unborn babies upheld.
In an interview with Politico, Casey defended his congressional voting record: “I think it’s clear to most people that the description of pro-life Democrat is accurate. I’ve been very consistent…What it means is I try to support policies that help women and children both before and after birth. Part of that is making sure you are honest about differences but also at the same time trying to focus on ways to reduce both the number of abortions and the number of unwanted pregnancies, and I think my record reflects that.”
Casey’s record shows that his actions are not as pro-life as he chalks them up to be. The National Right to Life scorecard puts the Pennsylvania senator at 20 percent based on how he has voted on pro-life bills in the past year. Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood gives the senator a 75 percent in favor of abortion-friendly laws. NARAL Pro-Choice America, a radical pro-abortion organization, rates Casey at 100 percent.
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Casey’s staunch position against Kavanaugh may hurt him in the long run, especially with midterm elections coming up this fall. In 2016, Trump won Pennsylvania during the presidential election.
Casey’s senate challenger, U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, a pro-life Republican, commented on Kavanaugh and Casey during a news conference in Pennsylvania last week.
“Moderate Democrats, independents and Republicans voted for Donald Trump knowing who he would select for the Supreme Court,” Barletta said, referring to a list of potential nominees publicized during the 2016 campaign as a way to solidify conservative support. “The names were vetted by the American people.”
A federal judge, Kavanaugh has served on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for D.C. for more than a decade, where he developed an extensive record of protecting religious liberty and enforcing restrictions on abortion. Pro-life leaders believe he would do the same on the U.S. Supreme Court.
National pro-life leaders have expressed high hopes for Kavanaugh and the future of unborn babies’ rights.
Although Casey believes he may be following in his father’s footsteps as a pro-life legislator, his refusal to consider Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court renders him complicit in future pro-abortion legislation. His stance towards Trump’s Supreme Court pick demonstrates a hypocrisy that voters will have to keep him accountable for this fall.
