Bob Casey quick to show opposition in Supreme Court fight

Morning Call (Allentown, PA)

July 11--It might seem like Pennsylvania Democrat Bob Casey would be cautious heading into the latest fight over a seat on the nation's top court.

The two-term U.S. senator is running for re-election in a state won by Republican Donald Trump. Casey describes himself as a pro-life Democrat, and his last name is on one of the court cases cited in news stories as activists ramp up for a fight over abortion rights.

Yet Casey barreled ahead with a fiery statement in opposition to Trump's nominee -- nine hours before the selection was formally announced.

"I was elected to represent all Pennsylvanians," Casey said Monday morning, bashing the selection as a "corrupt" process. "I was not elected to genuflect to the hard right, who are funded by corporate America."

His GOP challenger and others are portraying that opposition as the knee-jerk reaction of a liberal lawmaker, but political observers say the decision is in line with what Casey and most of his Democratic colleagues need to do: Fire up the base.

"For Bob Casey and others appealing to Democrats, it's a no-brainer," said Chris Borick, a political scientist and pollster at Muhlenberg College. "Democrats are not happy with anything involving the Supreme Court, given what occurred with past nominations."

The firm stance from the typically mild-mannered Casey signals a confidence amid his re-election battle and a continuation of his vocal opposition to the president.

Other Senate Democrats facing re-election this year in states Trump won by wider margins have been more circumspect: Sens. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, and Joe Manchin of West Virginia have said they will meet with Brett Kavanaugh and dig into his record before determining their vote.

Casey also will meet with Kavanaugh if asked, according to his office, but does not intend to change his position opposing the nominee.

Still, Republicans are seeking to use that stance against the incumbent.

His general election challenger, U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, and Republican Party officials blasted Casey during a Harrisburg news conference Tuesday as an obstructionist who is out of sync with state voters.

"Bob Casey is not interested in giving Judge Kavanaugh the fair process that Pennsylvanians expect," said Barletta, a Hazleton Republican hoping to unseat Casey in November.

Activists with the conservative group Americans for Prosperity will be hitting the ground in Pennsylvania, urging state residents to tell Casey to support the nominee. The phone banking and canvassing operation is part of a seven-figure national effort in support of Kavanaugh.

"Sen. Casey is once again obstructing progress in order to score political points by threatening to deny Pennsylvanians and all Americans the fully functioning judiciary they deserve," said Beth Anne Mumford, AFP's state director.

Abortion is expected to be a key issue for many groups mobilizing over the Supreme Court nomination. Casey has taken criticism from both sides of the aisle for his votes on the issue. He's supported funding for Planned Parenthood and access to contraception, but also has voted for a ban on abortion after 20 weeks.

His navigation of that issue has drawn repeated references to his father, Gov. Bob Casey Sr., who asked the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade in the 1991 court case, Casey v. Planned Parenthood, which re-affirmed the Roe decision.

Barletta has brandished his own record in opposing abortion in an effort to contrast himself with the Casey, and said Tuesday he wants to see the court rule on cases that give states the right to legalize, restrict or outlaw abortion.

With Kavanaugh's nomination, Casey can make a case based on issues beyond reproductive rights to explain his opposition, Borick said.

Liberal activists already were rallying over the nomination Tuesday outside Republican Sen. Pat Toomey's Allentown office. Toomey drew his own Supreme Court nomination backlash in 2016, when he and other Senate Republicans blocked President Barack Obama's pick, Merrick Garland.

But the Garland fight was far from a key factor in Toomey's race, a lesson that Casey may have noted as well.

Morning Call reporters Michelle Merlin and Steve Esack contributed to this report.

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