Our Only President, meanwhile, is changing his schedule and flying back to Washington "to be in place" to sign the bill immediately on passage. Normally, it would be flown to him for his signature via overnight military plane but the White House gang, not wanting to miss a chance to strut, declared
time is important here. ... This is about defending life.The idea that defending life is something of great importance to George Bush is something that will doubtless come as a surprise to a good number of people here and abroad, but there it is.
This flurry of self-promotion followed the failure of the spectacularly arrogant subpoenas issued by the House Government Reform Committee and the Senate Health Committee demanding that Terri Schiavo, her husband Michael, and her caregivers appear at hearings later in March and that her feeding tube be continued until the committees had finished their "investigations." They came accompanied by a glowering reference by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TurnipBrain) that it is a federal crime to harm or obstruct a person called to testify before Congress.
Such subpoenas, if upheld, would have conferred onto any Congressional committee the power to prevent anyone of their choosing from undertaking any otherwise-legal action simply by saying it was "investigating" something somehow related (in this case, something about health care for non-ambulatory persons), even if that action was specifically permitted under a court order.
Rep. Henry Waxman of California, senior Democrat on the Government Reform Committee, called the subpoenas a "flagrant abuse of power" and amounted to Congress dictating the medical care Terri Schiavo should receive.Fortunately, a few islands of sanity have appeared. For one,
"Congress is turning the Schiavo family's personal tragedy into a national political farce," Waxman said.
Pinellas Circuit Judge George Greer refused a request from U.S. House attorneys to delay the removal, which he had previously ordered to take place at 1 p.m. EST. Greer determined that removal must go forward about an hour after another judge issued a temporary delay blocking it.More bluntly, he told the committees to take their threats and shove 'em, that they don't have the authority to overrule him - which they don't.
"I have had no cogent reason why the (congressional) committee should intervene" ... Greer told attorneys in a conference call, adding that last-minute action by Congress does not invalidate years of court rulings.
For two, the Florida state Senate refused to be stampeded and turned away a bill that would have prevented the removal of the feeding tube in the absence of specific prior instructions from Terri calling for it - a requirement, it must be noted, that would go considerably beyond the "no extraordinary measures" provisions many people who have living wills include in theirs.
But Congress has forged ahead, with House Majority Leader Tom DeLayMyIndictment (R-TheRealAmerica) calling the tube's removal "barbarism" and declaring "Terry [sic] Schiavo is alive. She's as alive as you and I." Well, Terri is brain dead so in his case that might be true, but it's hardly relevant.
What's relevant is that as even David Gibbs, the Schindler's attorney, admits, "everything is a longshot." Federal courts, right up to the Supreme Court, have so far been reluctant to intervene in the case even when given the opportunity. There is no real reason to believe this new legislation, set to be passed in a special session late Sunday or early Monday, will change that. And I have no doubt that those pushing it are fully aware of that fact and are already writing up their "activist judge" screeds and "I was for Terri" campaign ads. For seven years they've had the chance to "do something" if something is in fact what they wanted to do. They did nothing. All these "urgent" actions and "special sessions" and all the crocodile tears and all the paeans to the preciousness of life - paeans which turn to dirges when addressing Iraq, Afghanistan, or the poor here and abroad - aren't about Terri Schiavo, they are about pandering.
Still, just like in the Florida Senate, some refuse to be stampeded.
Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Fla., issued a statement late Saturday saying he will make an objection that would stop the vote Sunday. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., said he was trying to gather enough votes to defeat the bill Monday.Personally, I fully expect that the bill will be passed and signed, it will cause more delays, more pain, more heartache, more bitterness, more expense - and will accomplish nothing of any value.
"This bill would have the federal government intrude into the most private, personal and painful family decision," Blumenauer said. "What people need to think about is how would they feel if Tom DeLay or some other politician decided to second-guess your doctor, or your husband."
The thing here is that when the Schindlers look at the shell of their daughter, they are looking with their memories, not with their eyes. That is tragic, but it is understandable. When the political streptococcus pyrogenes look at this, they are looking with their ghoulish self-interest - and that is unforgivable.
Footnote: The New York Times, which ran a sharply-worded editorial on the matter on Saturday (it included the adjectives dangerous, grim, ghoulish, theatrical, rash, and breathtaking) also had an analysis of the case that notes the political motives involved. The part that struck me the most was this:
Many Congressional Democrats were biting their tongues Friday as they witnessed what they considered an egregious misuse of power by Republicans. They pointed to public opinion polls that show support for Mr. Schiavo's right to decide his wife's fate, but they also fear the power of the mobilized right.I've said it before but it bears repeating: We are on our own.
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