GOP leaders unlikely to pursue new avenues to keep Schiavo alive

kansascity.com ^ | Wed, Mar. 23, 2005 | JEFF ZELENY

[Destro]

Posted on Wed, Mar. 23, 2005

GOP leaders unlikely to pursue new avenues to keep Schiavo alive

BY JEFF ZELENY

Chicago Tribune

WASHINGTON - (KRT) - President Bush and congressional leaders said Wednesday they had exhausted their options and could find no new political avenues to prolong the life of Terri Schiavo.

"Now, we'll watch the courts make its decisions," Bush said at a news conference in Texas. "But we looked at all options from the executive branch perspective."

The president's brevity on the subject - devoting only a few moments to an issue that had overshadowed other domestic issues for days - suggested Republicans had decided to not aggressively pursue other alternatives or try to change public opinion in the case of the severely brain-damaged woman.

A CBS News poll released Wednesday showed that 82 percent of Americans believe neither Congress nor the president should have intervened. And among people who describe themselves as evangelicals, more than two-thirds of respondents said Bush and lawmakers should stay out of the case.

As criticism mounted from some strict conservatives over the decision of fellow Republicans to inject Congress into a state's rights issue, Bush defended the legislation, saying the government "ought to err on the side of life, which we have."

Still, the White House said explicitly the administration had no intention of taking the Schiavo case any further.

"There really are not other legal options available to us," said spokesman Scott McClellan.

The House Government Reform Committee canceled a hearing, which had been hastily arranged as a means to stop Schiavo's feeding tube from being removed. While Republicans planned to file another appeal when the Schiavo case reached the Supreme Court, Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said lawmakers would not become deeply involved.

For days, Republicans have dismissed suggestions that their intervention in the case was rooted in politics, particularly to mollify anti-abortion and other social conservative groups. "The legal and political issues may be complicated, but the moral ones are not," House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said last weekend.

But an audiotape obtained by CNN on Wednesday, featuring a speech by DeLay to the Family Research Council, offered another view. He said the case could be used to rally conservatives.

"One thing God has brought to us is Terri Schiavo," DeLay said, "to elevate the visibility of what is going on in America."

---

(Chicago Tribune correspondent John Biemer contributed to this report.)

[Antoninus]

That's not America.

Your America is apparently the land where a judge orders a disabled woman to be starved to death and defies any and all efforts to save her.

You can have your America. I spit on it.

[ambrose]

yes

http://www.nationalreview.com/pdf/SchiavoFinalReport.pdf

[Poohbah]

Well, not now; evidently Randall Terry and Alan Keyes and Larry Klayman are doing all the talking.

Yup. And we all know what a fine track record of accomplishment these three bring to the table.

[hobbes1]

The United States COngress passed, and the President of the UNited States signed into law, a law odrdering a De Novo review of Terri's Case.


The Last time I checked, SCOTUS refused to Rule on it, Now The 11thCircuit has issued a ruling on a pleading based on it, but as it stands RIGHT NOW, it is the LAW OF THE LAND if someone has the Balls to use Force to execute it.

[Destro]

There is no judicial tyranny in this case - the judiciary followed the law on this matter to the letter.

[Howlin]

Want a real indication of where the base of the party stands on the issue?

When I want a look at the base of the GOP, I won't look on FR; this is a small, yet vocal group, but not representative of the GOP's base as a whole.

[Howlin]

Very telling, IMO.

[Wolfstar]

Ambrose, due to the complete failure of our schools to teach our Constitutional system, the vast majority of Americans haven't got a clue about the proper roles of Congress, the Executive Branch, the federal courts, and the state governments.

[Drango]

Want a real indication of where the base of the party stands on the issue? Look at the various FR polls--practically all of them show an 80%-20% vote in favor of the various efforts to save Terri.

I agree that the FR shows that split...However, there isn't one scientific poll that supports the parents over the husband. Not one.

And the GOP should/will read those tea leaves.

[BigSkyFreeper]

This has nothing to do with Congress. Public confidence of Congress waned several years ago.

[onyx]

Here's one CBS poll:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/03/23/opinion/polls/main682674.shtml

66% = do not reinsert tube


Here's another pop poll:


Why did Congress get involved in the Terri Schiavo case?


Concern for Terri Schiavo:
12.38%
Politics:
87.62%

NOTE: This is not a scientific poll. The results above are for information purposes only, and should not be confused with the results of the scientific polls conducted by CBS

[hchutch]

Fundraising and bloviating without getting results...

[Howlin]

Oh, man, listen to Randall; he's saying that if she dies, there will be hell to pay because "we" have worked too long to get conservative judges in place.

[ambrose]

They would like to have "conservative" versions of Brennan, Marshall, et al., judging these cases.

[BigSkyFreeper]

...evidently Randall Terry and Alan Keyes and Larry Klayman are doing all the talking.

They must be really desperate if these 3 stooges are running the show.

[Wolfstar]

Well, not now; evidently Randall Terry and Alan Keyes and Larry Klayman are doing all the talking.

The minute anyone of those demagogues starts hawking an issue, I know the issue is bogus. With all three of them (and more such) on board, the issue isn't just bogus to me. I begin to see it as a genuine threat to the Republic.

I know a lot of people won't understand what I just wrote, but what the heck.

[Trust but Verify]

The judge did not order it, it is the decision of her guardian. The judge recognizes Michael as her guardian. The law includes nourishment in the category of 'life support'. Seeing as the guardian has decided he wants life support removed, (whether you believe it is what Terri wanted or not is immaterial) that is what the judge is doing. He is following the law. Other judges all over this country have upheld the decision.

What part of this can't you understand?

[Antoninus]

I agree that the FR shows that split...However, there isn't one scientific poll that supports the parents over the husband. Not one.

There hasn't been one "scientific" poll done yet. They've all been push polls. Don't believe me? Go read the questions they ask.

And the GOP should/will read those tea leaves.

I thought we'd gotten beyond the point where the GOP was stupid enough to believe old media inspired push-polls. Guess not. Stupid is as stupid does.

[MadIvan]

A historic day. Note the following amend:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Regards, Ivan

[MKM1960]

I agree.