"The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman's right to choose a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay, and we oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right," the platform says, according to the Associated Press.
Mark Stricherz, political commentator and author of the book “Why the Democrats are Blue” spoke to CNA about Casey’s possible speaking role and the proposed change in the Democratic platform.
Stricherz said the discussion surrounding Casey is mostly “speculation” because it does not address whether Casey’s speech will have any explicit pro-life content.
“It’s impossible to say what he’s going to do,” Stricherz said, characterizing the report of a Casey speech as a “trial balloon.”
“The Obama campaign wanted to see how the abortion industry and feminists would react to the suggestion of Casey giving a speech,” Stricherz suggested, noting that Obama has had some difficulties with Hillary Clinton’s feminist supporters.
When asked to comment on a hypothetical pro-life DNC speech from Sen. Casey, Stricherz reckoned such a speech would help Catholic Democrats justify their political loyalties.
“Pro-life and Catholic elites, especially the ones who are moderate and liberal, could go to their supporters in the media and say that the Democratic Party has moderated on this issue,” he said.
“Casey’s very important for the pro-life Democratic elite, but I just don’t see how it would have a big effect on voters.”
Stricherz predicted that any speech by Sen. Casey would anger abortion advocates: “They’d be upset. They see themselves as one vote away from their major decision being overturned, it’d really hurt their business.
“I don’t know how many of them think tactically and realize that actually giving Casey a speech at the podium would be a good thing because it would make the party seem more moderate on cultural issues,” he continued. “They just see this in terms of ‘this is hurting our interests.’”
Stricherz said the reported elimination of the “safe, legal and rare” wording from the proposed party platform means “the feminists have even more power over the party platform, if that’s possible.”
(Story continues below)
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
The commissions whose members decide the party platform, Stricherz explained, “can mean a lot.” In 1976, he said, “feminists outvoted the Catholics” on a plank concerning Roe v. Wade.
Making general comments about the state of the pro-life cause in the Democratic Party, Stricherz was not optimistic.
“I think that pro-lifers in the Democratic Party are naïve,” he said. “They don’t seem to realize the power of the abortion industry and the feminists in the party. At least publicly, pro-life Democrats’ rhetoric says ‘the party can change if it just does a few things’.”
“No,” Stricherz countered, “the party has to negotiate with the feminists and the abortion industry, and those folks have no interest in negotiating. They’ve got what they want.”