Republicans, Terri Schaivo and Social Security

Posted on March 29, 2005

Political Backlash for Bush & DeLay

The only prize much cared for by the powerful is power.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

This most recent campaign aimed at tugging America's heartstrings for a dying woman appears to have fallen flat for President Bush and Congressman Tom DeLay. According to even the most conservative polls, America has weighed in against the disgusting Karl Rove-styled manipulation that has, up to now, worked so well for the Neoconservative political machine.

The bigger issue going on here is that President Bush tried to pass himself off as someone who dearly cherishes life. But, his implementation of the "Futile Care" law signed in Texas when he was Governor in 1999 proves otherwise. Ironically this law was used just six months ago to terminate an indigent black infant boy's life because little Sun Hudson was - you guessed it, BRAIN DEAD. According to the Sun’s mother, he struggled for his last breaths before finally dying. His five and a half month life ebbed away without so much as a neo-conservative, a Congressman or prayer circle in sight. There were no dramatic late night flights for Air Force One that fateful night. Had Terri Schaivo been in Texas, this discussion would be moot because this Bush Law would mean that her futile condition warranted her death.

Couple that fiasco with President Bush’s brutal record as Governor of Texas. He oversaw an unprecedented, record-setting number of executions surpassing all other states in American History. Despite his claim to, "err on the side of life," Dubya's past actions do little to support his most recent public utterances. In fact, his past actions outright contradict his self acclaimed description as a, “compassionate conservative.” Wow! And this man called Kerry a "Waffler?"

Now, lets talk about Tom DeLay - the lazy-eyed Texas bug exterminator turned Congressman - who all too willingly seized upon this dubious cause but for much different reasons. Very recent polls reveal that Americans believe Representative DeLay’s intentions were less than honorable. It appears he became involved in order to divert public attention away from his CRIMINAL activities currently under scrutiny in the great nation of Texas’ criminal court system. Two weeks ago, before the Schaivo case came to national spot light, Congressman Delay was noticeably laying low and totally avoiding the media regarding allegations of corruption that literally threaten his coveted position of power as Republican Majority Leader. The “distinguished” Congressman aka, “The Hammer” ran with this "Don't kill Terri" Banner because his political future literally depended on it.

Further indications of his spurious motives link either DeLay or one of his cohorts who stupidly generated a memo to fellow Republican Congressmen encouraging them to seize upon this political football and run with it. The memo raised a few eyebrows so, now DeLay posits that his woes back in Texas are part of a greater conspiracy concocted by the Liberal "syndicate" in order to bring him down. Likening himself to the Carpenter, Jesus Christ, Representative DeLay has characterized himself as fodder for Liberal Pharisees who seem bent on questioning his jet-set lifestyle and questionable expenditures of PAC money for essentials such as vacation trips, private jet flights and golf tournaments. Of course everyone knows the Carpenter was crucified for nothing near as noble as the above listed; he died for more banal reasons like preaching social justice and his unrelenting association with society’s poor and disaffected throw-aways.

How wily these Liberals must be indeed. We eagerly await evidence that reveals just how these sinister Liberals actually conspired with the Texas District Court or have damning evidence planted in order to usurp The Hammer’s standing in Congress. Congressman DeLay claims if Terri dies, it is a victory for his detractors. Is it possible he doesn't give a damn about Terri? Is it possible he's trying to save his political bacon at this point?

Also coming to light via an article published in the LA Times, was the fact that Congressman DeLay “euthanized” his father some six years ago. It seems his father was critically injured after a Tram he had built on the farm crashed on its maiden voyage, putting him into a coma. By family consensus, the Senior DeLay was put out of his misery when life support was terminated. Despite such a heart-wrenching decision, Congressman DeLay saw fit to berate Michael Schaivo for his decision to terminate life-support. While Michael Schaivo took nearly five years to come to the conclusion that his wife would never get better, it only took Tom DeLay a few weeks pull the plug on his dear old dad.

Like all the other charlatans who prey on the elderly, these NeoCons shamefully exploited Terri Schaivo’s middle-class, voting, Social Security-age, parents desperate effort to keep their daughter alive. The photo-op was enticing as the Schindlers; intent on keeping their daughter in a Persistent Vegetative State provided the media with the spectacle of their contorted, wide-eyed daughter and her questionable responses to their baby talk.

Someone didn’t do their homework because these politicos were apparently unaware that fully one-third of all Americans have been faced with making the unfortunate decision to terminate life support for a loved family member, much like Senator DeLay had with his father. It seems the majority of Americans differed with the Neoconservative spin. It escaped the NeoCons that their characterization of Michael Schaivo blanketly included those who had already reached the painful personal decision to” pull the plug" on their loved ones in the past. Apparently such folks disagreed with characterizations of them as cold-blooded, heartless murderers. Like Michael Schaivo, they made their decision based on scientific evidence rather than religious dogma regarding life-death decisions.

Had the NeoCons manipulations worked, such a coup could have been construed as yet another "mandate" for ram-rodding Mr. Bush’s floundering Social Security agenda through; the better he fared with Schaivo, the more clout he could use in compelling Congress to accede to his wishes regarding Social Security reform.

The strategy was eerily reminiscent of the Iraq + WMD + 911/Al Qaeda calculus of deception which resulted in Bush getting rid of Saddam Hussein. This time however, President Bush’s rock-'em sock-’em cowboy style failed him. America didn't bite. The crusade nose-dived. America wasn't quite so gullible this time.

Ironically, these two "Christian" politicians' have immersed themselves in color-by-numbers religiosity as they repeatedly invoke the commandment, "Thou shall not kill" while staunchly favoring the Death Penalty. Truth is stranger than fiction here folks. Curiously, the prevailing arguments - namely the 14th Amendment for due process, invoked by the NeoCons these days is the exact same appeal used by death-penalty opponents. Until recently such appeals were flat out dismissed as "Bleeding heart Liberal" drivel that unnecessarily tie up the courts and prolong the wait for those condemned to die! Apparently indigent citizens of Texas do not enjoy the privilege of having the 14th Amendment guaranteed by heroic actions of either a President or Majority Congressional leader who just happen to hail from their home state. It is not politically expedient to take up the same cause and the result is a poor black child in the same condition as Terri Schaivo is now quite dead. Why is it nobody "erred on the side if life" for him? Either it is okay to kill or not. What is good on Sunday ought to be good every day of the week shouldn't it? What happened to "Fair and balanced?" Welcome to America, where everyone is created equal; some people just happen to be more "equal " than others. Where is the outrage?

In light of the marginal coverage by the cowering "liberal" media and the faux news eschewed by the conservatively skewed cable news pundits, it is truly amazing America knows anything at all about the ongoing hypocrisy. For instance, despite the tragedy which took place on Red Lake Reservation last week where the second largest school slaughter took place in American History, neither President Bush nor did any representative of the Jesus Jihad spoke up about the tragedy. It took President Bush four days to finally make a call to address the tragedy. It looks like dead Indians, confined to reservations, living in squalor and despair rate as much with the Neoconservatives as much as do poor black kids on life support in Texas.

How odd that Republicans whose platform has traditionally been marked by advocating for limited Federal intervention and strong State's Rights now intentionally disregarded it altogether and then tried to side-step the Florida judiciary through their unprecedented meddling by inventing a custom made law for Terri Schaivo alone. Review of the legislation’s wording clearly indicates its specific intention aimed at usurping a judicial decision, based on a law, thoughtfully implemented by the Florida legislature and adjudicated in the courts. These NeoCons intentionally interfered with Michael Schaivo's clearly defined right to exercise regarding his wife’s end-of-life decision.

One thing is patently clear, the Republicans tried to make an end run around States rights (unfortunately with the assistance of a hand-full of cowering Democrats who feared political backlash if they voted against the bill). Fortunately however, there exists a third part of the American Check and Balance System; the Judiciary which found in favor of long-ago established precedents legislated in Florida, bi-camerally, implemented by the executive branch and tested in the Court. The Lower Court decisions were so solid that the Florida Supreme Court, Federal District Court and the 11^th District Court upheld the decision. Interestingly, the Florida legislature failed to succumb to pressure from the religious right and did not pass legislation that would have kept Terri Schaivo alive. With such a large elderly population, they undoubtedly realized the economic implications of buckling into the Neoconservative agenda promulgated by their Governor Jeb Bush, the President's brother.

At any rate, thank heaven for the Constitution which, thus far has remained intact against the recent egregious partisan onslaught. This cabal of ultra right-wing Neoconservatives ceaselessly foists its morality on America even at the expense of weakening our beloved Constitution. If these NeoCons have their way, they will eventually destroy that blessed document because of their lock-stepped march toward fulfilling their agenda.