With the Supreme Court’s ruling today, the emotional roller coaster of the Terri Schiavo trials may be over. This despite the impelling political show put on by Congressional and White House social conservatives that's hijacked the news for a week.
Brian Baird, the liberal Congressman from Washington’s 3rd District, defended his vote for Tom Delay and Pat Robertson’s jam-it-back-down-Terri Schiavo’s-throat bill on Dori Monson (KIRO m-f, 12-3p) Tuesday.
Dave Reichert, Republican from the 8th District was busy all day on the radio defending his vote against it. (see blatherWatch, 'dave reichert: a real man,' Mar. 21, 2005)
Both had deep feelings that transcended reason for voting the way they did.
You’d expect a vote based on emotions from a liberal like Baird. He assured Monson that he wasn’t pandering to his pro-life swing district. And we, (me and Dori) believed him, because we don’t want to think the conscientious Baird, a former Poli Sci prof would be involved in an egregious political plot hatched by Delay and the White House.
He was acting on orders from his liberal heart and so was Reichert.
But a heartfelt vote like that would’ve brought only scorn from the right if it didn’t happen to jibe with their cynical and disengenuous posturing built to sucker the emotions of the believers.
Remember when liberals were slammed for being too emotional?
Conservatives, they claimed, were the stalwart bulwarks of reason and we were weak, touchy-feely lady-boys ruled by our wives, the vagaries of hysteria and momentary fits of sentiment. They’d scorn us for hugging trees and children; giving peace a chance and squatting to pee.
Now Republicans have let loose the dogs of feelings. They’ve launched a shameblitz against those of us who dare oppose them on Schiavo.
It’s a set up. Now they get to paint Democrats, and one of their favorite punching bags, the judiciary, as unfeeling monsters “embracing the culture of death,” and murdering this poor disabled woman. No matter that the opposition is advocating the constitutional balance of powers and the principles of 10th amendment states’ rights the Republican Party used to tout.
The neo-Republicans “embrace the culture of life” only when someone’s watching or when it’s helpful winning the votes of the non-partisan middle or steeling the hearts and minds of their committed base.
The hypocrisy is stunning. With tooth and claw, conservatives opposed the Americans With Disabilities Act, the l964 Civil Rights Act, the minimum wage, the federal school lunch program, school lunches, and Headstart--all in the name of states’ rights. The Bush Congress is still trying to kill or maim these life-affirming programs.
These are the zealots trying to bust Roe V. Wade to make women’s rights to their own body into a state’s right.
These are the same “l choose life” politicians who plead “states’ rights” when confronted with evidence that might exonerate a death row convict.
These are the folks who are stopping stem cell research, a lifegiving technology that gives hope to someone like Terri Schiavo.
Here’s a president preaching “erring on the side of life,” but who, as Texas governor, chose retributive justice over clemency for Karla Faye Tucker, a born-again convicted murderer who’d undergone a life-changing religious conversion; was a model prisoner for 14 years; had been ordained in prison and had carried on an energetic prison ministry.
Bush ignored pleas to show mercy on Tucker by the likes of the Pope, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, one of his own daughters, most of the civilized world and Bianca Jagger. They pled: couldn't she spend the rest of her life helping other prisoners change their lives?
But no. A deaf ear and an "eye for an eye" won the day and after taking it to the Lord in prayer, the pious Christian Governor George W. Bush chose the “culture of death,” sending Karla Faye to the Texas execution production line in 1998.
In 1999, in an unguarded moment during the presidential campaign, Bush shocked conservative Tucker Carlson by derisively mimicking and mocking Karla Faye Tucker. Carlson later said he lost all respect for Bush, the man he'd been most impressed with in the campaign.
This is the moral highground hogged by the self-righteous Bush/Rove political machine and the soulless Republican Party. The only solace we have is that according to all the polls, the American people aren’t buying it.
And neither is a brave judiciary--if you wanna pray for someone, today, pray none of these "we-choose-life" bigots shoot a judge.
RIP: Terri Schiavo and Karla Fay Tucker.
Right on. This opinion piece is so good! I think the only thing left out is the fact the pro-life people are making death threats once again! It bothers me, however, that New York Vinnie, who is filling in for Alan Prell yesterday and today, seems totally unaware of the facts as presented even on the other KIRO talk shows. He fell for the phony video released to the TV news showing Schiavo reacting to someone. It's simply not so. Erin Hart said it was time-lapse. Someone else said it was from long ago. The thing is, Vinnie keeps saying it shows life, falling into the trap, unaware that her brain has been pronounced dead.Enough already.
Posted by: Judy Mason | March 25, 2005 at 10:29 AM
"women’s rights to their own body"
Abortion is an operation on -two- bodies.
Posted by: Ripper | March 31, 2005 at 07:18 AM
Organ transplantation is an operation on two bodies...it's the viability issue, Bozo!
Posted by: Fremont | March 31, 2005 at 09:55 AM
Two consenting bodies, and the orginal post still contains a lie
"women’s rights to their own body"
no the true statement of evil desire
"women’s rights to their own body and any non-viable bodies she wants to murder and any viable partial birthed infants she can destroy for Baal"
Posted by: Ripper | March 31, 2005 at 03:29 PM
can you expand, please, on the meaning of Baa!
Posted by: masked masculinity | March 31, 2005 at 05:02 PM
Baal ending with the letter L.
Posted by: Ripper | March 31, 2005 at 05:08 PM