MEMORANDUM

TO: Interested Parties

FROM: Jason Gottesman, Director of Communications

DATE: August 21, 2018

RE: Bob Casey (in name only)

When it comes to standing up for moderate values and against an increasingly radical Democratic Party, Sen. Bob Casey stands in stark contrast to his father—the namesake who helped pave his son’s way into elected office.

Time and again, Bob Casey Sr.—especially as it relates to the issue of abortion—was not afraid to stand up in opposition to Democratic Party bosses, even to the point where he was turned down for an opportunity to give a speech at the 1992 Democratic National Convention over his stance on the issue and the fear that his “fundamental difference” with party bosses on the issue would create a narrative of disunity in the Democratic Party.

Such a split led the senior Bob Casey to openly ask in his memoir: “What had become of the Democratic Party I once knew?’’ He also commented, in opposition to party bosses, “Voters are not as impressed as reporters by ‘scions’ and the like, least of all the voters of a working class state like Pennsylvania.”

Bob Casey Sr.’s pro-life stance was unequivocal, stating in a debate that he would sign a bill banning abortion should Roe v. Wade be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Bob Casey Jr. is a much different person from his namesake – a namesake that has given him a decided advantage in his political ambitions and leaves the uninformed with the impression that he represents his father’s values.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

When it comes to being pro-life and/or standing up for moderate values, Bob Casey Jr. has seemingly gone out of his way to side with the increasingly left-leaning Democratic leadership, has refused to hold party bosses accountable for the socialist tilt of his Party, and become a leading obstructionist in the U.S. Senate.

In fairness, Bob Casey Jr. has not necessarily shied away from being contrasted with his late father, noting in a 2016 article in The Washington Post that he does not know how his father would feel about his evolving stance on social issues.

That said, the Casey brand does not seem to have given Pennsylvania’s senior Senator pause in turning to his left.

When it comes to abortion, Bob Casey Jr.’s change from being first elected as a pro-life Democrat to being a pro-choice liberal has been well-documented.

In a recent story in Politico, it was noted that Bob Casey’s record as a pro-life Democrat doesn’t add up.

“Sen. Bob Casey calls himself a pro-life Democrat,” the piece leads off. “But his voting record paints a different picture.”

Sen. Casey has protected the nation’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, and was even given a 100 percent rating by NARAL Pro-Choice in 2016 and 2017.

When it comes to defending the Second Amendment, Bob Casey has also turned to the liberal left of his party, being called an “evangelist for gun control.”

Similarly, on immigration, Bob Casey has repeatedly sided with pro-sanctuary city policies and organizations, despite 80 percent of Americans being opposed to sanctuary cities and while Philadelphia’s refusal to comply with ICE detainers led to a rape of a young girl by an illegal alien who should have been deported.

In addition, his leftward move on health care is a slippery slope toward socialized medicine that puts bureaucracy over patient care.

Philadelphia Magazine in a profile of Sen. Casey, outlined his change in positions from being a moderate Senator to a do-nothing “Obama loyalist.”

“In fact, his dozen years in the Senate haven’t yielded a great deal — for most of his tenure, he’s been a quiet Obama loyalist, especially on Obamacare,” the profile reads.

“What’s more, the federal government has generally been a mess of inaction for some time now, and Casey might be vulnerable because of the Democrats’ role in that; over the past few years, he has moved left on gun control and gay marriage and immigration, and as he seeks reelection this fall, it won’t be hard for Republicans to paint him as another liberal whose obsession with social issues has left working-class America out in the cold.”

And so he has.

What a difference the same name can make.