Monday, March 21, 2005
Death or not....
Don’t be confused. The Terry Schiavo case isn’t about fervently held beliefs. Those in government, both in the legislature and governor’s mansion in Florida and in Congress in Washington D.C., are not fight for her life because they believe that all life is precious. This is a political fight. If this was about what Terry wanted, the fight would be over. Every court in Florida has ruled on behalf of the husband. The U.S. Supreme Court decided not to rule on the case considering it closed. In the end I don’t know who is right or wrong in the case, but that’s not the point. That’s a he said she said issue that really can never be resolved short of Terry taking the time be become un-brain-dead and tell everyone.
The problem is that because everyone has turned this into a political battle to show that the Republicans once again protect their core constituents (regardless of their own wishes or their public statements about the way their party works), the real problem isn’t being address.
Instead of passing useless legislation to try to move decisions to a federal court so the parents can get a decision they like, the congress should have been passing legislation requiring anyone who gets a driver’s license or who turns 18 to fill out a living will so that issues like this won’t come up in the future.
I saw the father this morning on CNN say that he’s happy that the case is finally going to a court where “we can finally get a fair hearing.” Fair hearing? Is that because the circuit court, appellate court and Supreme Court in Florida is biased in some way against the family? That doesn’t seem likely. What he really means is that he’s happy he has another chance to win his case. It’s really all a load of crap.
If the Republicans (and also those cowardly Democrats unwilling to take a stand against the issue lest it be used against them in an election because they still don’t know how to frame an issue) really believed that life was sacred, they would also be fighting against that death penalty. But they won’t, because in truth they don’t hold life any more precious than anyone else. They simply believe in the power of politics and the power that political issues afford them.
The problem is that because everyone has turned this into a political battle to show that the Republicans once again protect their core constituents (regardless of their own wishes or their public statements about the way their party works), the real problem isn’t being address.
Instead of passing useless legislation to try to move decisions to a federal court so the parents can get a decision they like, the congress should have been passing legislation requiring anyone who gets a driver’s license or who turns 18 to fill out a living will so that issues like this won’t come up in the future.
I saw the father this morning on CNN say that he’s happy that the case is finally going to a court where “we can finally get a fair hearing.” Fair hearing? Is that because the circuit court, appellate court and Supreme Court in Florida is biased in some way against the family? That doesn’t seem likely. What he really means is that he’s happy he has another chance to win his case. It’s really all a load of crap.
If the Republicans (and also those cowardly Democrats unwilling to take a stand against the issue lest it be used against them in an election because they still don’t know how to frame an issue) really believed that life was sacred, they would also be fighting against that death penalty. But they won’t, because in truth they don’t hold life any more precious than anyone else. They simply believe in the power of politics and the power that political issues afford them.
