Posted on 11/02/2006 5:23:50 AM PST by 8mmMauser
Republican gubernatorial front-runner Charlie Crist says he was perfectly clear in opposing governmental intervention in the Terri Schiavo case.
He spoke out loudly.
And he was silent.
Loudly silent.
The day after limping through a tough nationally televised debate, the Republican attorney general wanted to talk about his plans to slash taxes. Instead reporters questioned him about his debate assertion that, “Yes, I did’’ speak out against Congress trying to force the reinsertion of the severely brain-damaged woman’s feeding tube in 2005.
Crist did not publicly express his opposition to the Schiavo intervention until April 2006, more than a year after the Pinellas woman’s death. But he maintained on Tuesday that he forcefully expressed his opposition from the start.
“I spoke loudly,” Crist said in Tallahassee. “I think it’s important that when issues like that come up and you believe that government is the appropriate place for it that you act that out, and you walk the walk, and don’t just talk the talk.’’
The attorney general noted that his office “by not going to court and pushing the agenda on that issue, that was speaking out louder than anybody else did in Florida.”
This is one of many issues — from insurance reform to abortion and civil unions — where Crist has been accused of ambiguity or trying please all sides.
Contrary to his comments Tuesday, during the Republican gubernatorial primary in August he stressed to the weekly newspaper of the Florida Baptist Convention that his office helped the governor’s office with legal work to keep Schiavo alive, even though he personally had qualms.
“I don’t remember that, but I’ll check on it and see,” Crist said when asked about that interview with the Florida Baptist Witness.
Gov. Jeb Bush came to his would-be successor’s defense. “He spoke out to me,” Bush told reporters. Crist, however, said he never directly talked to Bush.
There are few issues in the political realm so black and white as the Terri Schiavo case. People either supported the state and federal government intervening to keep her alive or they didn’t.
But Crist is the second statewide candidate recently to face questions about how he acted during the Schiavo end-of-life controversies that erupted in 2003 in the Legislature and in 2005 in both the Legislature and Congress.
Democratic Attorney General candidate Walter “Skip” Campbell, a state senator from Broward County, has been on the defensive this week for having voted to keep Schiavo alive and later criticizing the governmental intervention. Crist’s involvement in the Schiavo case may be the only common ground between the Schindler family, Terri
Schiavo’s parents and siblings who fought to keep her alive, and her husband, Michael Schiavo, who insisted his wife did not want to be kept alive in a persistent vegetative state. Both sides have criticized Crist.
“When he said in that debate that he’s going to be a leader, my heart dropped. He’s not a leader, he’s a follower,’’ Michael Schiavo said Tuesday. “If he really wanted to stand up he would have said, 'No, this is wrong. The government should stay out of this.’ ... Charlie Crist did not say a word, he was nowhere to be found. He’s a coward.’’
Terri Schiavo’s father, Bob Schindler, wrote an essay in August accusing Crist of snubbing the family’s pleas for him to help their efforts. “Florida Atty. Gen. Charlie Crist let my daughter die. He had it within his authority to save her life, but he turned a blind eye to her suffering,’’ Schindler wrote.
The Florida Democratic Party issued a release saying Crist “lied” about his role in the Schiavo case, but at a brief campaign stop at Arco-Iris restaurant in Tampa on Tuesday, Davis would only say that Crist “misrepresented his position.”
“I was up fighting George Bush and the entire United States Congress, both political parties, and Charlie Crist was unwilling to take a position,” Davis said.
Davis, trailing in polls and campaign money, is hoping his debate performance Monday night will cut Crist’s advantages. No statewide viewership numbers were available Tuesday, but in the Tampa Bay area about 152,000 households tuned in — a ratings jump for that time slot on WFLA — and that doesn’t include those who watched on MSNBC.
- Tallahassee bureau chief Steve Bousquet and staff writer Alex Leary contributed to this report. Adam C. Smith can be reached at asmith@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8241.\
So what happened? Apparently things got out of hand early on and the bandwagon jumpers joined in the fray to kill Terri - to begin this hatred of her.
Again, I'm not revealing this person's identity. We have a new administration and who stays or goes is uncertain at this time. I don't want a decent person to get the axe.
Well, shame on Terri and yes, they did kill her.
Your 617. Indeed.
Jeb cannot ever be president because when it mattered, he wimped out. He didn't lead. He cowered.
Happy Thanksgiving. Thanks that we all met, albeit under such abominable circumstances. Remember my Nazi Florida sign from 2003?
His brother appointed Jeb to represent the U.S. at the investiture. The Semblers are major friends of all the Bushes. Why? They are big time fundraisers.
It's all about the money - who lives and who dies.
A gov crist is not going to help. The Sembler's son was his campaign manager. There will be more Terris in Florida but handled quietly, like hit men with silencers.
Every time there's an election, maybe Mikey is going to stalk candidates who have family values and who have actually read the Constitution of the United States. (all the parts that didn't apply to Terri). Why was Terri such an exception? WHO WAS BEING BLACKMAILED?
Mikey won't ever outright confess. I believe that he'll break down someday and name everyone else who he says is to blame. That will work for me. There are a lot of names on that list. They did it too.
This girl will never be at peace. I don't know why we can't leave this girl to the hands of God. Both sides are using her for sure. The poor girl is being treated like a slut and both sides are the pimps. Give it a rest ALREADY! The girl has been dead for over a year. Isn't there someone that we can really help. This is not helping at all!!!!
Just ANOTHER reason why the Republicans have lost their moral and political compass.
ATTENTION PINELLAS COUNTY RESIDENTS: The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office announced they will provide benefits to gay/lesbian/unmarried partners. And you think your taxes are too high now... Sheriff Coates is a Republican too. wfla radio 970
The republicans in Pinellas are not true conservatives. They are far left. They murdered Terri. Do you get it yet?
ONLY IN PINELLAS
Why not fake homosexuality and hook up with a Sheriff's employee? Or, if it's real, Pinellas County taxpayers can look forward to paying for STD, UTI, HIV/AIDS treatment for same sex partners and the taxpayers don't know who all these people we are supporting now have slept with...
Sheriff Coates: his name should be Sheriff Turncoate. BUT, THEY HAD TO KILL TERRI. DISABLED BAD. GAY GOOD.
And, spring it on the radio on the busiest travel day in the country! Typical liberal story release and nobody even knew about it: the county commission didn't know and neither did the tax collector.
I hope that there are real reporters out there who do an FOIA and look into this. What percentage of the Sheriff's revenue is going to fund freebies as opposed to actual crime prevention and law enforcement? WILL THE TAXPAYERS BE PAYING FOR SEX CHANGE OPS TOO? Why does Pinellas yearn to be San Francisco? EUTHANASIA & RADICAL GAY AGENDA. (I say radical in this instance - I have no problem if they don't expect me to fund their lifestyle).
And, who doesn't think that the gov elect didn't know about this? This must have been a great vote getter for charlie fist...
Terri's Legacy is the only line of defense for the next in line.
http://www.terrisfight.org (safe houses and education).
Wake up, sleepyheads. It's not about the sports or celeb weddings. Your rights are being chipped away with a little koolaid for the masses.
But isn't it discrimination to limit it to same sex only? Sure, easy for a couple of roommates to fake it. Perhaps Sheriff Coates is gay or bi, which would explain it.
Sheriff Turn-Coates has a trophy wife. Surely she married him for his money. It is discrimination but that never stopped the pcso before did it? Unless the person I talked to mis-spoke. Anyway, the media can do the rest. Who needs to be followed? I'm not in the mood. lol
Wait until a pre-op wants a sex change operation. Won't that look fabulous on our Tax Trim Notices? (trim to be sure).
Any chance to have Sheriff Coates recalled? Or have some taxpayer watch group sue him?
It's so orchestrated but they know that Floridians will believe their song and dance about their outrage and their impatience that nothing has been done and for the DA's in Tampa to step on it. Yeah, right.
They are all phony: All of the song and dancers from John Ellis to Charlie Fist on down.
Will anybody be charged? Not to worry. At least DA Pam Bondi still has temporary custody of the St. Bernard. THAT'S THE IMPORTANT THING!
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