Obituary - Robert P. Casey, R.I.P - Brief Article - Obituary

In 1990, James Carville, who was running Robert P. Casey's campaign for reelection as governor of Pennsylvania, pleaded with him to modify his position on abortion. Carville bluntly told him that if he did not give in on the question of permitting abortion in cases of rape and incest he would lose the election. "If that's true," the governor replied, "then I'll just have to accept defeat." Casey hated losing. But the prospect of winning with the blood of abortion's tiny victims on his hands was worse. As it happened, Casey stood firm, and won by more than a million votes, carrying 66 of the state's 67 counties.

As Casey saw it, elementary justice demands that all human beings, without regard to age, size, stage of development, or condition of dependency, be accorded the equal protection of the laws. Like slavery, abortion is a civil-rights issue. "By embracing abortion," he said, "the Democratic party is abandoning the principle that made it great: its basic commitment to protecting the weakest and most vulnerable members of the human family."

The pro-abortion mentality that had taken root in the elite sector of American culture and in his party was, he declared, a manifestation of the "Cult of the Imperial Self." Casey had always been a Roosevelt Democrat, morally and culturally conservative, but in favor of governmental solutions to social and economic problems. He loathed the elements of economic libertarianism that reflect a social-Darwinist view of human relations. "This," he insisted, "is how the Cult of the Imperial Self manifests itself in Republican circles."

But by 1992, Casey was isolated in his own party. Though a two-term governor of the nation's fifth largest state, he was denied the opportunity to speak at the Democratic convention. Casey was a realist. He knew that politics could not, by itself, accomplish the cultural renewal necessary to restore a vision of the common good that includes respect for human life. But he believed that political action is an indispensable ingredient in the struggle.

Working with Jeff Bell and Frank Cannon, longtime Republican activists, Casey contemplated a primary challenge to Bill Clinton in 1996. Then tragedy struck: The governor's health went into a sharp decline. To save his life, a rare heart and liver transplant would be required. The presidential candidacy was shelved. By late 1994, however, Casey had made a miraculous recovery. His brush with death only strengthened his resolve to fight for the unborn. He wanted to try running again in 2000. Bell and Cannon were to head the campaign, John DiIulio and I to develop its policies.

Casey began to think that some of the ends he sought did not require governmental bureaucracies. He became interested in neoconservative ideas, particularly the thought of Irving Kristol. He realized that much in neoconservatism harmonizes with the tradition of Catholic social thought-particularly its emphasis on the idea of "subsidiarity." But the 2000 campaign, too, would have to fold. He simply lacked the stamina to run.

Gov. Casey continued to speak out for the pro-life cause and to work to promote adoption. He helped elect his eldest son Bobby to statewide office, and enjoyed spending time with his beloved wife Ellen and their large clan of children and grandchildren. As Casey's aide John Wauck once said, "They are the G-rated version of the Kennedys."

With the governor's death, the pro-life movement has lost a champion, the Democratic party its conscience, and American politics a model of principled statesmanship.

-Robert P. George

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