“Pro-life” Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey Jr. made history yesterday at the Democratic National Convention. His eloquence and forcefulness on the issue of life is a modern day Profile in Courage. Casey, a pro-life Catholic Democrat, deserves to be noticed for exhibiting amazing courage in the face of adversity yesterday when he excoriated…he berated…he railed against…uhm…he glancingly mentioned abortion at the Democratic National Convention.

The Washington Post hailed Casey’s historic speech as, “a big deal.” The New York Times wrote famously that Casey, “addressed the abortion question head on.”

A brief history first; Pennsylvania Governor Bob Casey Sr. was denied a speaking role in the 1992 Democratic Convention precisely because of his desire to defend the unborn. But now in an effort to prove that the DNC has changed its stripes, Casey’s son, Sen. Bob Casey Jr., was allowed to speak at the 2008 convention. And I think we can all agree his amazing performance was worth the 16 year wait.

For those of you who haven’t read these incredibly brave words from Casey here they are:

“Barack Obama and I have an honest disagreement on the issue of abortion. But the fact that I’m speaking here is testament to Barack’s ability to show respect for the views of people who may disagree with him.”

Wow!My goodness. It’s like hearing the words of Thomas Jefferson or Thomas Paine for the first time. It’s akin to Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty or give me death.”

I mean, this changes how I feel about the Democratic Party completely. For you too, right? Look how open they are to pro-lifers. This wasn’t just reaching out to the pro-life community this was an inclusionary man-hug.

I don’t think I’ll ever forget how Casey Jr. bravely failed to advocate for the 40 million innocent victims. Or how he courageously sidestepped any arguments for the pro-life position. Or how Casey heroically ignored the most crucial issue of the day as simply an obstacle to party unity.

I think we’re all going to remember this day for a long long time. Or not.