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Schiavo issue haunts Crist
St. Petersburg Times ^ | November 1, 2006 | ADAM C. SMITH

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.\


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: crist; cristsecrets; governor; hadidcf; jebbush; judgefarnell; novterridailies; schiavo; terri; terridailies
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To: Dante3
There are conservative enclaves still remaining in Florida. I think they are holding together and when the time is right, they will try to take back the party from the leftist elements. RINO isn't even the proper i.d.

Guys like Coates are lefties. Coates was Sheriff Rice's heir apparent. He is Mikey's boss. Nobody around Mikey gets fired. Except Terri. She got the full treatment. Terri was MURDERED.

681 posted on 11/22/2006 1:28:12 PM PST by floriduh voter (www.conservative-spirit.org or Join Terri's Legacy List Contact: 8mmmauser)
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To: All

FV says "be gay" but leave the taxpayers out of it. Between hurricanes, insurance, euthanasia, taxes, we really didn't need a radical gay agenda sneaking into town on Thanksgiving Eve.


682 posted on 11/22/2006 1:31:42 PM PST by floriduh voter (www.conservative-spirit.org or Join Terri's Legacy List Contact: 8mmmauser)
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To: floriduh voter
How dare she and poor Jodi brainwashed into believing Terri left Michael with this big problem where he had to engage the entire govt to kill her!

She wasn't brainwashed. She couldn't wait for Terri to be dead. See post # 608 to tie this in.

683 posted on 11/22/2006 2:57:37 PM PST by bjs1779
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To: bjs1779

Very revealing.


684 posted on 11/22/2006 3:13:47 PM PST by Dante3
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To: 8mmMauser
There is a convention in modern debating known as “Godwin’s Law.” Simply put, it states that as an argument progresses, it is increasingly likely that one of its participants will compare their opponents’ ideas to those of the Nazis, and in so doing, sacrifice much of their credibility.

Nazi's, what are Nazi's? Pro-life? Terri Schiavo supporters? Or are they too cheap and vehement to give a pill to a potential PVS patient that the misdiagnose rate is 60 percent?

685 posted on 11/22/2006 4:04:28 PM PST by bjs1779
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To: bjs1779; Lesforlife; T'wit; EternalVigilance; BykrBayb; Theodore R.; Halls; Robert Drobot; ...

Happy Thanksgiving!


686 posted on 11/22/2006 4:09:46 PM PST by floriduh voter (www.conservative-spirit.org or Join Terri's Legacy List Contact: 8mmmauser)
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To: floriduh voter

Thank you FV. Same to you and all!


687 posted on 11/22/2006 4:18:03 PM PST by bjs1779
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To: floriduh voter

Do you really think this is the wave of the future. Just killing people? I think this was a one time celebrity situation. This was about a jerk who basically killed his wife years ago and wanted to get married again IMHO.


688 posted on 11/23/2006 2:30:02 AM PST by napscoordinator
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To: Ohioan from Florida; Goodgirlinred; Miss Behave; cyn; AlwaysFree; amdgmary; angelwings49; ...
On this Thanksgiving, we do have much for which to be thankful. We are glad for Scott Thomas and how he has survived the assaults of those who would want him to suffer Terri's fate.

Scott Thomas

We are glad for Haleigh Poutre who has escaped the ghouls who would have her chopped up for spare parts.

HALEIGH WANTS TO LIVE

We remember Andrea Clark, we remember Mrs. Vo, who were pulled from the grasp of the death teams. We remember the others who escaped forced death thanks to Terri's Legacy.

8mm


689 posted on 11/23/2006 2:51:49 AM PST by 8mmMauser ("We will not be silent. We are your bad conscience. The White Rose will give you no rest.")
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To: napscoordinator; BykrBayb; T'wit; floriduh voter; bjs1779; wagglebee; Lesforlife
Thank you for your post, a reminder as to why we persevere against those who would decide when we die. The timing is perfect, Thanksgiving day, the occasion we can be grateful for all which Terri's Legacy has brought us in the fight against the far left, the communists, the Middle East terrorists, all who want Terri's Legacy to be forgotten.

Those of the left have served out Kool Aid to many who sip it unwittingly, not realizing that with time, it has spoiled even worse and is now infected with bacteria. Thanksgiving is our theme for today.

8mm

690 posted on 11/23/2006 3:02:25 AM PST by 8mmMauser ("We will not be silent. We are your bad conscience. The White Rose will give you no rest.")
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To: All
Another reminder of why we persevere...

As in Great Britain, the euthanasia seekers ply their craft to new levels...

Lord Falconer, the Lord Chancellor of England, has warned doctors in a recent statement that they may receive prison sentences if they refuse to euthanize patients.

He said physicians who don't "allow patients to die" by killing them by denying them food and water, as was the case with Terri Schiavo, could be charged.

British Doctors Who Refuse Euthanasia May Face Criminal Charges

8mm

691 posted on 11/23/2006 3:08:20 AM PST by 8mmMauser ("We will not be silent. We are your bad conscience. The White Rose will give you no rest.")
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To: All
William Colby will speak on the subject soon, on "Right to Die Kill."

Lawyer Bill Colby's topic during his appearance at 9 a.m. Nov. 30 will be From Cruzan to Schiavo: What have we learned? and will cover a wide range of end-of-life legal and ethical issues.

Snip...

His second book, Unplugged: Reclaiming Our Right to Die in America, came out earlier this year.

Attorney to discuss Schiavo dispute... Bill Colby, who has written about end-of-life issues, will speak next week in Leesburg.

8mm

692 posted on 11/23/2006 3:17:32 AM PST by 8mmMauser ("We will not be silent. We are your bad conscience. The White Rose will give you no rest.")
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To: All


693 posted on 11/23/2006 3:27:59 AM PST by 8mmMauser ("We will not be silent. We are your bad conscience. The White Rose will give you no rest.")
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To: All; BykrBayb; T'wit
Matthew Bollinger update...

Thanks, BB. On a sadder note, we find Matthew Bollinger's fight is over. Oddly, there have been no news releases from any media other than the initial reports from the local tv stations that the parents were trying to keep doctors from pulling the plug soon. Although we still do not know what happened, he is now dead. In earlier posts, we suspected he may have been prematurely declared brain dead so that parts could be harvested and the parents were frantically trying to get doctors to give the poor kid a fair chance. Then we awaited updates and media coverage which went silent. Here is all we can find on the incident.

.........................

Mays Landing teen hit by SUV dies

From Press staff reports

Published: Thursday, November 23, 2006

HAMILTON TOWNSHIP - A 16-year-old Mays Landing boy died at Cooper Health
System on Saturday after being hit by a sport utility vehicle three days
earlier, police confirmed Wednesday.

Matthew Bollinger was walking partially in the roadway on McCall Avenue with
his friend heading north when the northbound SUV, driven by 53-year-old
Dusan Tanasic, of Mays Landing, struck the juvenile on Nov. 15 at about 6
p.m., police said.

He was sent to Kessler Hospital in Hammonton and then transported to Cooper
in Camden, where he died from the injuries he sustained in the accident,
police said. Police did not release the specifics of Bollinger's injuries.

Police said no charges have been filed and the accident remains under
investigation by Officer Wade Smith.
Matthew Bollinger

(Link is subscribed.)

8mm


694 posted on 11/23/2006 3:46:29 AM PST by 8mmMauser ("We will not be silent. We are your bad conscience. The White Rose will give you no rest.")
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To: 8mmMauser

Thanks, 8, very nice.

God bless you and your loved ones. Happy Thanksgiving :>


695 posted on 11/23/2006 3:50:16 AM PST by Jezebelle (Our tax dollars are paying the ACLU to sue the Christ out of us.)
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To: 8mmMauser

Thanks for the reminder of people and things to be grateful for, 8mmMauser.


696 posted on 11/23/2006 8:01:09 AM PST by syriacus (Millions in South Korea are free because 30,000 US troops DIED in 3 years under TRUMAN.)
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To: napscoordinator
Euthanasia isn't the wave of the future. It is already here in the United States. Terri was the well publicized case. Terri's Legacy is a FR category in its own right in the fight against euthanasia which also includes infanticide (in the UK and also done by trading partners of the USA).

Additionally, China has a big business harvesting organs of Christians and political prisoners. These victims are kept underground until they are sliced up for their organs. Terri's freepers aren't going anywhere. Too many innocent people are being persecuted around the world.

697 posted on 11/23/2006 2:19:48 PM PST by floriduh voter (www.conservative-spirit.org or Join Terri's Legacy List Contact: 8mmmauser)
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To: 8mmMauser; T'wit
Attorneys like Mikeys are the kimodo dragons of the legal profession (and they have bad breath too).

Death cult lawyers STINK in other words.

698 posted on 11/23/2006 2:22:36 PM PST by floriduh voter (www.conservative-spirit.org or Join Terri's Legacy List Contact: 8mmmauser)
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To: 8mmMauser
Jeb's lawyer Ken Connor (can't believe that he failed Terri too) on Mercy Killings

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20061120/23571.htm

699 posted on 11/23/2006 2:27:43 PM PST by floriduh voter (www.conservative-spirit.org or Join Terri's Legacy List Contact: 8mmmauser)
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To: 8mmMauser; Lesforlife; Sun; BykrBayb; Saundra Duffy; Ohioan from Florida
LIGHT A CANDLE FOR TERRI

http://www.theresa-schindler.memory-of.com/about.aspx

700 posted on 11/23/2006 2:43:47 PM PST by floriduh voter (www.conservative-spirit.org or Join Terri's Legacy List Contact: 8mmmauser)
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