The reason d'etre for the Schiavo farce

[Jersey Devil]

The well timed Republican Passion Play has nothing to do with Terri and everything to do with judicial appointments.

In my opinion this entire fiasco was engineered by the right wingers in Congress who intend within the next few weeks to bring up the appointment of right wing judges before the Senate who were previously blocked by the Democrats during the last Congressional term.

Republicans anticipated a public outcry to reinsert the feeding/hydration tubes and that the "liberal, activist judiciary" would be blamed for her "murder", demonized as evil, sadistic killers. Using this public anger, they could push through the nominations of the right wing judges with a public clamoring for those who would "err on the side of life."

They anticipated wrongly, very wrongly because the public reaction was just the opposite. The public, in the irony of ironies, reacted as true conservatives. They didn't want government intruding on the most private aspects of their lives.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. Which tends to prove...

That every gambler's streak eventually comes to an end.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. bingo, this is a frontal attack on the judiciary

but I disagree with you, they did NOT expect the public outcry... according to their own talking points we are all conservatives and "value voters." Didn't you see the mandate george got? (sarcasm off)

They also have sown winds... the rethoric is getting very hot... the kind of rethoric that precedes a hot civil war... yes it is hotter on the talk shows now, than it ws in november. I wonder if they will like the whirlwind....

[yurbud]

3. therefore, tell dems to grow balls on blocking rejected appointees

This needs to be spelled out to the dems on the judiciary and everyone's senators.

When you have around 80% of the people behind you, it's safe to act on principle instead of cowardice.

[Jersey Devil]

4. Aye, there's the rub

Will Democrats in the Senate stand up and fight for what they believe in, or are they the same type of hypocrites as the Republicans, mouthing what they SAY they believe in but in reality just play acting for the crowds?

Only time will tell. Hopefully we are not being played for fools just like the evangelical right is being played by the Republicans.

[Walt Starr]

5. I think this fiasco may have ended any possibility of the "nuclear option"

And it may have actually been planned that way. Overturning Roe would mean the Republicans no longer have it as an issue to excite their base, but it becomes an issue for the Democrats to go after REpublicans over, thus no anti-Roe Justicec will ever be placed on the SCOTUS.

The conservative pro-corporate judges, however, are a different story and both the Democrats and the Republicans will easily confirm these judges. All the while the filibustering of the religiosly insane judges becomes fodder thrown to the base.

[Fovea]

8. It was a very dangerous strategy

and I don't think in the end it will rebound well for them.
After the 'class action reform' and the bankruptcy treachery starts
hitting mainstreet in red Amerika, I think they will be too busy treading hot water to get a lot of corporatist judges through.

I think we are watching the religious right get cheneyd by their own politicians. DeLay baldly used them trying to divert his personal scandal. The more intelligent of them will realize how the Pugs are punking them.

The rest will become even more belligerent, and a danger to public safety in the coming years. You just watched the beginnings of another
crop of domestic terrorists being recruited.

[KharmaTrain]

6. "Err On The Side Of Life" They Say?

I guess that means the Repugnicans will now be staunch advocates of curtailing the use of the death penalty and will gladly support endless appeals and special congressional action to stop any executions until there's absolutely no doubt about the person's guilt...even the most dangerous.

Also, we should expect them to support increases in medicare and assistance to the handicapped and elderly...the disabled they are so quick to flaunt in this circus, and will surely ignore again once this issue doesn't serve the GOOP's purposes. How many have and are dying thanks to poor medical care created by years of Repugnicans diverting funds from health to their own pockets and benefactors...and turning our entire medical system over to the insurance companies. I guess it's ok for them to play who shall live and who shall die, since they write nice size checks to the RNC.

The amount of ammo the Democrats can harvest from this circus is plentiful...unfortunately, there's no one with the firepower to do any real, lasting damage.

[yurbud]

9. err on the side of life in foreign policy too

"We would like to invade Iran, get rid of the moo-lahs and steal their oil, but given the potential for tens of thousands of American casualties and hundreds of thousands of Iranian casualties, we have decided to err on the side of life."

[KharmaTrain]

11. They're Not White Xtians...They Don't Count

If that were the case, the Repugnicans would surely lead an outcry for a massive mission to Dafur and provide the nurishment to the thousands of starving, non-christian, black Sudanese. Ooops!

Hypocrisy, hypocrisy, hypocrisy.

[yurbud]

12. I'm white, and I don't have health care--Don't let me become a Schiavo,

Mr. President!

[KharmaTrain]

13. The Wingnuts Are Screaming We're Going To Kill The Disabled

Some nutjob lady said as much on Larry King Dead last night. Incredible to hear such vitriol on a respectable network and gone without almost any comment by King or anyone...I guess going over the top is not only expected, it's graded on corporate media these days.

Terri is not disabled, she is ill. She had no pre-existing condition (unless her Bulimia could be considered) that could be considered dibilitating. Prior to her illness she was a "normal" person.

As a guardian of a disabled person, I was very offended by that remark since I strongly favor removing Terri's tube, how dare them try to tie that to the views on how I deal with my sister and how I will have to act when the time comes she also faces illness...I'm 7 years younger.

Shame on these opportunists and alarmists who are denying reality and spreading lies and false hopes that have anger millions and confused millions more.

[yurbud]

14. Does the far right understand the concept of brain death?

EEG's or CAT scans?

Maybe Schiavo's doctors ought to release their scans of her brains and her flat line EEG's.

[KharmaTrain]

15. Nope...And Even Worse

This crap about "minimal consciousness"...that smacks of sorta preggers to me.

This is very cut and dried by almost anyone's standard and it's not hard to understand (unless the other person is so kool-aided they are brain dead). Brain death is determined when there is no detectable electrical waves detected by and EEG. What if ands or buts does anyone have with that one? And I would imagine Mrs. Schiavo had the benefit of the finest machines that could detect the faintest of those waves.

But then you get the whacko spiritualists like John Edwards (WTF is this schmuck?) or even Depak Chopra who start spewing that her brain may be dead by her "spirit" is present and aware? WTF? And they know this because? This misinformation feeds the false hopes and is a massive disservice of corporate media.

One would think the CAT scan would have been sufficient, but other than DU, have you seen this shown on corporate media?

[yurbud]

16. did corporate media cover New England Journal of Medicine editorial?

[trudyco]

7. I sure hope you are right... for once they made a mistake... no they

made a mistake AND the msm covered it.

It seems like a lot to hope for, though, considering whats been happening lately.

[ComerPerro]

10. Well, like most Republican positions that rally fundies, this will fail

The effort to "save" Terri, that is.

Its designed to fail. She is supposed to die soon. The Republicans want her to hold on for a week or so, so they can play up how she is starving and how sick the Dems and Judges are, then she will die. And they will have the fundies eating out of their hands.

Goodbye forever to checks and balances.

"Judicial tyrrany" is the new craze.

[donheld]

17. The reason d'etre for the Schiavo farce has been too

train me to use the "hide thread" button.