History was made in Nassau County, Long Island this past election. A legendary Irish politician finally lost at the polls, beaten by an upstart, much younger Irish Catholic who also happened to become the first woman to hold a key elective post on the island.
But for all the history seen in Dennis Dillon’s loss to Kathleen Maura Rice in Nassau County’s race for district attorney, one thing seems all too familiar: abortion played a murky, uncomfortable role in the process. It was made all the more complex because this was a race between two Irish Catholics.
Then again, the clash of Catholicism and abortion seems to be a story which is unfolding all across the country, from Long Island to a vital Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race right up to the Supreme Court. And Irish Catholics on both sides of the political aisle are playing a key role in this debate.
That was very clear in the bruising race for Nassau County DA, where Rice, 40, narrowly defeated Dillon, 71, who had held the office for over 30 years.
Dillon long wore his ethnicity and religion on his sleeve, and often seemed the public face of the pro-life movement on Long Island.
In fact, according to Newsday, Dillon even suggested that Rice’s candidacy was helped by those who harbored anti-Catholic, as well as pro-abortion views.
One problem with that logic is that Rice herself is a Catholic who attended parochial schools, as well as Catholic University.
Rice, meanwhile, accused Dillon of allowing his personal feelings on abortion to “interfere with his performance,” as The New York Times put it.
Rice, who was born in Manhattan and is one of 10 children, also said Dillon “did not properly investigate and prosecute abuse allegation in the Roman Catholic Church,” to again quote a Times profile of Rice.
Rice’s strategy must have worked because she was able to do something that no other opponent, Irish or otherwise, was able to do – unseat Dillon.
It’s safe to say Rice won at least a substantial portion of Nassau’s hefty Irish vote, showing yet again that Irish Catholics remain split over the tough issue of abortion.
Now, you might say this is more about politics than ethnicity. After all, Rice is a Democrat and Dillon is a Republican, and each of their views reflects the views of those parties on the national level.
But what would you say if I told you an Irish Catholic Democrat is to jump into a bruising race for the U.S. Senate, and he would be doing so as a proud right-to-lifer?
Not only that, but political observers believe this may be the most important race in 2006, as Democrats look to capitalize on President George W. Bush’s weakness at the polls and retake seats in the House and Senate.
If the Democrats are going to do that, Bobby Casey of Pennsylvania is going to play a major role.
Casey, as a long profile in a recent issue of The New Yorker put it, is the son of Robert P. Casey, “an Irish Democrat pol of the old school, the son and grandson of miners, and who championed labor and believed in government as a beneficent force. He was also pro-life.”
And so is his son, Bobby, an elected representative very popular with Pennsylvania voters, yet quite unpopular with pro-choice Democrats who make up the party’s core.
A year from now, voters will go to the polls and decide to elect Casey or reelect Rick Santorum, a fiercely conservative Republican who is also pro-life.
What this all shows is despite their long, historic ties to the anti-abortion Catholic church, Irish Americans are like most Americans when it comes to abortion – split down the middle more or less.
As President Bush and anti-abortion allies look to secure a pro-life majority on the Supreme Court, the question of where abortion fits in American life will only grow larger.
Irish Americans who remain uncomfortable confronting this issue may eventually have to choose one way or another. That’s what many voters on Long Island did when they pulled the lever for Kathleen Rice over Dennis Dillon.
What happens in Pennsylvania, the Supreme Court – and across the United States – remains to be seen.
