Describing the current moment as a “time of real peril” for families across the state and nation, former Democratic. Sen. Bob Casey detailed the issues he believes should be at the forefront of the political conversation.
“We’ve got to make sure that we saddle up here and get into this fight,” Casey said earlier this week during a 45-plus minute address in Harrisburg. “There’s no more important work that we could be engaging in on domestic policy than this: Stopping cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and other programs.”
“Secondly, making sure that we don’t make the same mistakes that have been made, not just year after year, but decade after decade after decade, on tax policy where the tax code gets rigged over and over and over again, against the interests of the most vulnerable and against the interests of the middle class,” Casey added.
The former three-term Senator, who was the longest-serving Democrat in the chamber in the commonwealth’s history before his loss last November, was the keynote speaker at the Pennsylvania Policy Center’s “Federal Fightback Summit.”
During his address, Casey laid out the ramifications that could occur if efforts by the Trump administration are successful in cutting those programs.
When talking about healthcare, Casey discussed the potential impact a proposed House bill with spending cuts to Medicaid would have. He cited statistics that 39% of all children and 59% of children with disabilities are covered by Medicaid, along with 34% of all births in Pennsylvania. Casey also warned Medicaid cuts would impact nursing home residents and lead to losses of rural healthcare services.
On the topic of tax policy, he accused Republicans who support extending the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), also known as the “Trump tax cuts,” of “worshiping at the altar of tax cuts for rich people and big companies.”
“And I do think that the more people hear about this, and the more that we’re able to make the case, on these, on both the devastating cuts in the tax bill that’s driving those cuts,” Casey said. “I think a lot of voters, and I think even people that voted for President Trump and Republicans up and down the ballot, will begin to scratch your head and say, ‘I didn’t really vote for this.’”
He said he believes a good place to start fighting back against these proposals is to discuss the impact they could have on rural communities.
Following Casey’s defeat in November to now-U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) and President Donald Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, Republicans hold a trifecta of having a majority in both chambers of Congress and holding the White House.
In addition to finding themselves in the minority, a recent NBC News poll showed only 27% of registered voters said they had a positive view of the Democratic Party.
Casey said if Democrats effectively fight on tax policy and proposed cuts to healthcare, those numbers would change.
“And I think we just have to as a party, both citizens like me and elected officials like those who are there, have to make this argument over and over again, put that in front of people month after month after month,” Casey said. “And sometimes, to the exclusion of other issues, other issues that are in the news or relevant or urgent that day.”
“You can’t lose your focus on these basic core issues, because a lot of what 2024 was about was the economy, right,” Casey added.
Casey described the current moment as one “for the middle class.”
“And if you’re a political party that’s not talking about those issues like costs and the overall economic fortunes of folks who are in the middle, you’re probably not going to be successful,” he said. “So I just think we have to get back to those kinds of basic principles and talk about the unfairness to the middle class of this tax bill and the devastation it would bring about for the most vulnerable.”
Casey also said he’s been “amazed” by the amount of coverage at the local level in Scranton, where he lives, that has been given to proposed cuts to food banks.
“It’s becoming a major, major issue,” Casey said.
Despite the current negative numbers for the Democratic Party, Casey expressed optimism it can be successful in pushing back against the Trump administration.
“And I think that there’s a lot of noise back and forth, but I think as you get closer and people start hearing the impact of these cuts and realizing the impact on their families, I think it’s going to change the dynamic,” he said.
Marc Stier, executive director of the Pennsylvania Policy Center, opened up for Casey. Stier lauded him as the champion for the state who fought to pass the Affordable Care Act, noting how he and many others in the room are “missing him terribly” in Washington D.C.
Intra-Party Squabbling: Casey on Fetterman criticism
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), now the state’s senior senator, has faced criticism from members of his own party for backing several Trump cabinet selections and other comments over the past few months. Cumberland County Chair Matt Roan has even called for Fetterman’s “immediate resignation from the Senate,” as a result.
Casey called Fetterman a “very good senator” in response to a question about the recent pushback he’s facing.
“I think on these issues especially, he’ll do the right thing when it comes to protecting the most vulnerable and protecting the middle class,” Casey said. “I think John will be fighting the fight on our side, on this.”
Good Question: What’s next for Casey?
Casey, who was in elected office for 28 consecutive years, said that actions from the Trump administration in recent weeks “pushes” him in the direction of wanting to speak out.
“The argument is going to be won or lost based upon what families tell their legislators about the impact of these cuts and the unfairness of rigging the tax code again,” Casey said. He believes the families that shared their stories in 2017 ahead of the vote on the Affordable Care Act, like the Little Lobbyists, played a larger role than the legislators did in preventing it from being overturned.
As of late he’s been talking to a lot of people about what’s next for him.
“I’ve been home a lot, but I haven’t settled on my next chapter yet,” Casey said. “Still kind of working through that.”
He said that he has a “couple of discussions going” but didn’t say which they were yet.
“But, I’ll tell you about it when I make a decision,” he added.
In December, he said that he wasn’t ruling out a future run for office: “I never say never.”
But Casey told reporters this week that he “was blessed to have a long tenure in public service,” while adding “right now, it’s time for something different.”
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