Posted on 03/21/2005 10:06:51 PM PST by goldstategop
The sight of Congress and President Bush intruding into the sufferings of the Schiavo family was appalling. Washington had years to properly consider the agonizing dilemmas that cases like this one raise for uncounted, less publicized American families. But the Republican leadership did nothing until the issue ripened to a maximum moment for simplistic political exploitation.
Most Americans appreciate the complicated and sensitive concerns at stake here far better than the politicians. Whatever the range of opinion on the underlying issue, polls show that the public recoiled at the sight of elected officials racing to make hay of this family's private pain. Those findings only underline the hubris of the House majority leader, Tom DeLay, and the other G.O.P. leaders. Their egregious pandering was directed not at the bulk of the populace, but at their base vote among the evangelical and fundamentalist conservatives who have been demanding greater deference since working to deliver Republican victories last year.
The political timidity of potential opponents was woeful. No one dared even demand debate in the Senate. In the House, many opponents seemed simply to prefer to stay away. Arguments against the bill were led by Florida Democrats, who had the most reason to be offended by Congress's crude overriding of state government.
Sanctimonious rhetoric rang out about the value of each individual life even as a strategy memo was reported circulating among G.O.P. lawmakers cynically relishing the points to be scored with the right-to-life political machine in next year's elections. The rush to save Terri Schiavo was mixed with the urge to get rid of Senator Bill Nelson, the Florida Democrat who faces re-election next year.
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
"I'm not sure we can get it done here in Florida," Martinez quoted (Gov.) Bush as saying just after a new Schiavo measure stalled in the Florida Legislature. "Do whatever you can federally."
It seems the Governor of the State has found no relief and lost confidence in the Legislature and Judiciary and has called in the Feds. It can't now be said that the Feds have no business there.
The Executive Branch wields the authority of enforcement, security and investigation, Congressional investigations aside. Congress should step aside and ask the President to handle this.
Time for Federal Marshals and agents in black shiny FBI shoes.
BARF ALERT! (My own fault for coming here)
If only the Editors of the NY times would refrain from eating or drinking for a weak or two...How about they try it and then report how well it went. Hey Editors If its painless then do it or STFU!
That statement is redundant isn't it? Oh, not to somebody who doesn't believe in the sanctity of life. Never mind!
Let's see, this time we have Congress and President Bush intruding. They don't say that the families loved the idea of Bush and Congress getting involved.
The we have the always popular Most Americans. They never say which "most American" they're talking about, but I suspect they come from blue states.
Along with "most Americans" we have polls show. Again they never identify those mysterious "polls".
And of course there's Congress's crude overriding of state government.
That's suppose to be "courts" not government, but then it's the Times. Accuracy takes second place to ideology.
For laughs, for free. They have no clue about much of anything let alone religious conservatives or morals. I wonder where their editorials were when Clinton was pandering for votes? I believe they endorsed him, twice. And his evil "wife" who helped release TERRORISTS for VOTES and PARDONED a CROOK (Marc Rich) who helped Saddam Hussein sell off the OIL FOR FOOD for WEAPONS to MURDER US!
(steely)
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