This is the most depressing election conservatives have seen in years. The frustration is understandable. Since 1994, the GOP establishment continues to reject the pro-life base. Pro-life legislation has been challenged in the courts and judges have been denied appointments. GOP leaders don't discuss family or religious values anymore. We hold our noses and vote for them in gratitude.
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Democrats have neither issues nor traditional values. Since the media never reports accurately on issues favoring conservatives, that job falls to the GOP and the President. They must follow through with decisive action, whether it's the war in Iraq, protecting Israel, stopping abortion and embryonic stem cell research, the Terri Schiavo case and fighting assisted suicide/euthanasia, or fighting homosexual marriage. The GOP has failed to do this and that's why they'll pay a price on Tuesday.
Conservatives: Ignore the polls, just vote
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In the latest campaign blitz by Senate candidate Bob Casey Junior, he criticizes Senator Rick Santorum as the "only Senator who intruded at the bed side of Terri Schiavo." Very poor taste.
So the record is clear, Senator Santorum supported a bill that called for a fresh trial on the evidence for Terri. The bill passed in the House with 203 votes for and 58 votes against and in the Senate by a unanimous or nearly unanimous "voice vote." Thus, I suppose Casey could have said that most of Congress "intruded" but this is no more sincere than saying that Santorum alone did.
Congress has the authority under the Constitution to determine the jurisdiction of the federal courts. In Terri's case, Congress gave the federal courts jurisdiction to hear the evidence in the case (including new evidence) de novo, i.e., based on the complete factual record. It also instructed the court to hold such a trial.
In contradiction of the clear intent of Congress, the district court in Florida refused to hold a new hearing, because after reviewing the Schindler's legal brief, the judge concluded that the Schindlers did not establish "a substantial likelihood of success on the merits." Congress, however, did not limit the court's jurisdiction to a facial review of legal arguments in a brief that Terri's lawyers had only one day to pull together. Instead, Congress declared that the court "shall" determine any claim in a new hearing de novo. This did not happen. Terri died.
Congress did not exceed its constitutional authority. The bill did not dictate the outcome of a fresh trial on the evidence. A new trial would have allowed time for both sides to probe the open questions about Terri's cognitive state, her wishes about her care, and her potential to recover. In the trial, the scales of justice could have tipped to either side. Congress simply recognized the need to err on the side of prudence, to err on the side of life. Congress was right, and it was morally justified. So was Rick Santorum.
I suppose Casey could argue that Rick Santorum "intruded" by being interviewed in Florida along with others who spoke in favor of Terri, including Jesse Jackson. Was Santorum wrong? Was Jackson wrong? No way. If this situation had taken place in Pennsylvania, I would hope that every Senator and every leader from every state would have taken the same stand that Santorum and so many others did for Terri in Florida.
Since Bob Casey Jr. holds himself out as a right-to-life Democrat, his criticism of Santorum's effort to be a voice for the defenseless Terri is peculiar. To me, it begs the question whether Casey, if elected, would allow his stated beliefs and values to take a back seat to the radical left agenda that has hijacked the Democratic Party or whether he has the independence to oppose his party when it is wrong.
This election day, vote family and vote values. If you are here in Pennsylvania, I hope you will cast your vote for Rick Santorum.
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