Liberal Backlash?

Donald Lambro writes at HumanEventsOnline.com, Pro-Life Democrat Could Face Liberal Backlash...

Although both Santorum and Casey are avowedly pro-life, the big difference is that the senator's position is strongly supported by the GOP's base, while Casey's party is overwhelmingly pro-choice in a state that has some of the most conservative abortion laws in the nation.

Strange as it may seem, most Democrats still don't know much about Casey's pro-life views -- including his opposition to federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research -- but when they do, his support drops. A Quinnipiac poll found that after voters were told he was pro-life, many Democrats reacted negatively to his candidacy, a fact that could spell trouble for him when the race heats up later this year.

"A significant number of Casey supporters still do not know that Casey is opposed to abortion. There are a significant number of pro-choice voters whose entire opinion swings on that one issue, and, unlike other single-issue voters, they will use their vote on just that one issue, even if it hurts the candidate they are otherwise philosophically attuned with," [Clay Richards, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute] told me.

There are other reasons why pro-choice activists are angry with Casey, which could further complicate his campaign.