As Expected, Courts Rule Against GOP Foolishness
The law passed by Republicans in Congress yesterday was quickly dismissed by a federal court judge randomly selected to hear the case. The judge said that he would not order Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube re-inserted because “I think you’d be hard-pressed to convince me that you have a substantial likelihood to succeed” in eventually winning a motion.
The law in this case is just too clear: Terri made her wishes known, there is no hope for rehabilitation or recovery of any kind, and the government has no right to force its will, sharply partisan or not, upon the individual rights of an American citizen.
It’s not over yet, though: the case will go up to the 11th circuit in Atlanta–which will just as likely dismiss the claim. Then it will go up to the Supreme Court–for the fourth time–which again will likely refuse to intervene. As I said, the law is just too clear.
But we did get yet another look at the incredible hypocrisy of George W., in that he stated to the nation just yesterday that “it is wise to err on the side of life,” citing the “culture of life” that is such a common keyword with extremist “right-to-life” groups.
But it was also pointed out by observers that while governor of Texas, Bush signed a law that would allow hospitals to forcibly remove feeding tubes from patients like Terri Schiavo if the family did not have sufficient money to pay for their care at the facility. Think about it: if the right-to-lifers demand it, Bush feels that it is the place of the Congress and the President to overturn 19 judges’ decisions and force the tubes to stay in; but if the family runs out of money, then let the woman die. At least Bush is staying constant in one respect: in both cases, he went squarely against the wishes of the person on life support. But Bush can hardly claim that he was “erring on the the side of life” when he signed a law that would pull the plug just because the patient was poor. But again, he was consistent in screwing over lower-class citizens when the profits of corporations were at stake. So he’s definitely of mixed minds on this one.
Not that this kind of thing is anything new: as governor of Texas, he also signed a law requiring election recounts if the count was in question at all, while as a presidential candidate he sued all the way up to the Supreme court not only to stop the counting, but also to overturn a state’s decision. In that respect–claiming to be a champion of states’ rights while constantly overturning the states’ decision when he didn’t like them–he is also staying the course.
How comforting.
Bush failed to error on the side of life over one hundred times in the process of executing over 100 inmates in the Texas penal system.
It all kind of reminds me of Adam Sandler’s imitation of Bill Cosby: “Flippen floppen flappen flippen floppen. Floppen flappen flippen floppen.”
This case was a case where Bush & Co could score easy points with the fundie crowd. The economic Republicans still run the party but they don’t consist of many votes by themselves. They need the cultural conservatives to fill the voting roles. So they talk the fundie talk, but they loathe to walk the fundie walk. They give them nothing of substance, but plenty of simbolism.
This case is standard practice. It is loaded with symbolism, but empty of substance. They could have just as easily vote a law to keep Schiavo alive, but instead voted a law to force it into federal courts so later they can complain to be victims of judicial activism.
Again, they gave nothing of substance to the fundie crowd. But shored up some votes.
The best thing Democrats could do is make abortion illegal, since it seems inevitable anyway, so as to take the issue away from the republicans and off of the table. Without abortion, most Christians would have to vote democrat on economic grounds. But it might take a couple of decades before they realizie it.