Celebrity Deathwatch: Robert P. Casey, Former Pennsylvania Governor, 68

["Deathwatch Central" <cdw@slick.org>]

http://www.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/05/30/bc.obit.casey.ap/index.htm
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Former Pennsylvania governor Casey dies at age 68
May 30, 2000
Web posted at: 10:32 PM EDT (0232 GMT)


HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (AP) -- Former Gov. Robert P. Casey, the
strong-willed Scranton Irishman who spoke passionately against abortion and
overcame 20 years of dashed hopes to become governor, died Tuesday. He was
68.

Casey suffered from a genetic condition called familial amyloidosis, which
forced him to undergo a rare heart-liver transplant in 1993.

In 1997, Casey was diagnosed with prostate cancer and underwent radiation
treatments. He had been in and out of the hospital several times over the
past year.

Casey died of a serious infection at Mercy Hospital in Scranton, a hospital
spokesman said.

A conservative Democrat, Casey relentlessly berated his party and its 1992
presidential candidate, Bill Clinton, for abandoning its traditional
constituencies with what Casey called an abortion-on-demand philosophy.

"My party, the Democratic Party, should be the protector and claims to be
the protector of the powerless," he said.

"It's time to get back to what this country is all about, protecting all of
the powerless ... . And that includes unborn children."

He made headlines in 1992 when he was denied a chance to speak at the
Democratic National Convention. And in March 1995, he formed an exploratory
committee to challenge Clinton for the 1996 nomination, only to drop the
effort a month later, saying he was not sure he could sustain "the
extraordinary energy level required by a national campaign."

He was elected governor in 1986 on his fourth try and re-elected handily in
1990. He was ineligible to run for a third consecutive term in 1994.

As governor, Casey prided himself on overseeing a frugal government with a
caring touch.

He pushed through a health insurance program for children, comprehensive car
insurance reform, a multibillion-dollar program to rebuild water systems and
additional environmental protections.

His low points were losing a referendum in 1989 for tax reform and signing
more than $1 billion in new taxes in 1991.

Casey lacked arrogance even as he ascended the political pinnacle. His
shyness sometimes came across as stiffness. But he made time for people,
even taking time once to go to the Capitol newsroom to congratulate a
reporter for a decade on the job. He was a faithful churchgoer and often
could be seen at Sunday Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral near the Capitol.

At heart, Casey was a consummate politician, albeit a stubborn one at times.

"He's gotten his head kicked in a couple times and he's kicked in some other
heads and he's come out of it with an amazingly idealistic view of
government, of people and just a tremendous reservoir of positive attitude,"
his son Bobby said in 1986.

Once Casey achieved his dream of being governor, health problems intruded.
In office only nine months in 1987, Casey underwent quadruple bypass surgery
after doctors found he had suffered a silent heart attack. He adopted a
rigorous diet that transformed his appearance from full-faced to drawn.
Questions about his health lingered and in 1991 rumors swept the Capitol
that Casey had cancer.

Finally in July 1991, Casey announced that he had been diagnosed with
familial amyloidosis, a disease that causes proteins to invade the heart and
other vital organs. When he underwent the transplant two years later,
doctors said the replacement of his liver should stop the disease.

A native of New York City, Casey grew up in Scranton. He was married to the
former Ellen Harding and they had eight children.

He started his public career in 1962 when he was elected to the state Senate
at age 31. A former scholarship basketball player at Holy Cross College in
Massachusetts, Casey had the athletic good looks that helped make him an
instant star with the statewide Democratic Party.

He was endorsed for governor for the 1966 primary but lost. In 1968, Casey
was elected state auditor general and in 1970 again received the party nod
for governor, but again lost the primary.

Despite gaining a reputation as a watchdog for taxpayers while auditor
general between 1969 and 1977, Casey couldn't convert that trust to a
gubernatorial victory. He lost in the 1978 primary while another Bob Casey,
a Pittsburgh school teacher, apparently fooled voters and won the lieutenant
governor's primary.

In 1986, Casey finally exorcised the ghosts of primaries past and defeated
Philadelphia District Attorney Edward Rendell for the Democratic
gubernatorial nomination.

With the help of a then unknown political consultant, Casey used a bitingly
negative television ad to ensure a narrow gubernatorial win that November.
The consultant, James Carville, went on to help Clinton win the presidency
in 1992.

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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