Santorum Opponent Casey Endorses Alito
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James Joyner | Wednesday, January 25, 2006 |
Rick Santorum’s Democratic opponent, Bob Casey, Jr., announced yesterday that Samuel Alito should be confirmed.
For weeks, Republicans have called Casey “Silent Bob” and pressed him to say whether he supports Alito’s confirmation. Casey and Alito have a family connection because Alito, who serves on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals based in Philadelphia, sided with Casey’s father, the late Gov. Bob Casey, in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The case challenged a state law requiring women seeking abortions to notify their spouses.
“I do not agree with everything that Judge Samuel Alito has done or said – particularly many of his rulings which too often result in corporate power prevailing over the interests of consumers and workers,” Casey said in a statement. “However, I agree with The Philadelphia Inquirer and Washington Post editorial boards that the arguments against Judge Alito do not rise to the level that would require a vote denying him a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court.”
One wonders why it took him so long to take a stand on Alito. Casey continues to lead Santorum by a wide margin in recent polls, so this is not an act of desperation on his part.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
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He had to wait for it to be 100% obvious that Alito was going to be approved regardless.
Some Dems are bashing Casey for this, but it seems like good politics to me. If life hands you a lemon on the Supreme Court, make some lemonade out of it.
Not sure how much this will help Casey in the end. If nearly all Democratic Senators vote against Alito, Casey will (or certainly should) be pressed to offer proof that he will be a "different kind of Democrat" who won't buckle to the party and its far left base in such things (e.g., 'abortion') like nearly all others have done. Is there any evidence in his own record to suggest that he will not end up behaving precisely the same way? I'm not saying he will switch to actively fighting for a "pro-choice" position, for example, but will he oppose his party in these matters in any effective way?
Bruhaha, doesn't Casey's supporting Alito do just what you suggest?
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