Gephardt says he opposed Bush's involvement in Schiavo matter

Bradenton.com ^ | Dec. 06, 2003 | Associated Press

[wisconsinconservative]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Democratic presidential hopeful Dick Gephardt said he disagreed with Gov. Jeb Bush for ordering a feeding tube reinserted into a brain-damaged woman, saying the matter should have been decided by the judiciary.

Gephardt, speaking Saturday at the Florida Democratic Convention, said he thinks issues like the ones surrounding Terri Schiavo "are best left to the courts."

"I don't think that legislatures and governors ought to be inserting themselves in these questions," the Missouri congressman told reporters. "I think the court has a made a ruling in this case and it's a matter that courts ought to decide."

Terri Schiavo, 40, has been in a persistent vegetative state for 13 years after collapsing from a chemical imbalance. Her husband has waged a six-year legal battle against his in-laws to remove the feeding tube that is keeping her alive.

Doctors had removed the feeding tube keeping her alive when the Legislature gave Bush the power to intervene and order the tube reinserted.

Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, one of Gephardt's rivals for the party's presidential nomination, has said he agrees with Bush's decision, saying government must "honor life."

[wisconsinconservative]

Can someone put a link to this article on the daily thread? Thanks!

[optimistically_conservative]

Liberals only believe in a "check and balance" system when their liberal activist judges hold all the checks and impose their own balances.

Hey Dickie, you ok with the interpretation of 2000 Florida election law "being left to the courts"?

[EGPWS]

Terri Schiavo, 40, has been in a persistent vegetative state for 13 years after collapsing from a chemical imbalance. Approaching the record that Dick Gephardt still holds to this day.

[OldFriend]

When it behooves the demonrats, the courts are their friend.

That is, unless they happen to disagree with socialist tenets.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

I'm confused. Is Gephardt running for president or Governor of Florida?

[Arpege92]

"Gephardt says he opposed Bush's involvement in the Schiavo matter."

Bush says he could give a rats a$$ what Gephardt thinks of his involvement in the Schiavo matter.

[sweetliberty]

I oppose him sticking his big nose (and mouth) where it doesn't belong! Sure, I'll link it.

[Paleo Conservative]

I don't see why the US House minority leader should get involved in a matter that does not affect his state.

[Rodney King]

Here's how it should read. Italics are mine:

Terri Schiavo, 40, has been in a semi persistent vegetative state for 13 years in part because her lack of proper medical care after collapsing from a chemical imbalance which conviently happened while being pushed down the stairs. Her husband who wants her dead and is shacked up with another woman has waged a six-year legal battle against his in-laws to remove the feeding tube that is keeping her alive in order to collect her life insurance money.

[BlueNgold]

I'm sorry, and I object to a state rep from MO having the audacity to speak on matters of which I am certain #1 he is unaware of the details, and #2 have nothing to do with his little misinformed district.

[MinuteGal]

It's a cardinal rule in politics to say as little as you can get away with when campaigning. Spouting about any hot, controversial issues in detail will generally lose votes, not gain any.

The Nine Dwarfs are getting so desperate to outdo each other in attention-getting and rhetoric, that they're getting more careless and outrageous every day.

By election time, most of them will have un-extractable feet in their mouths, they will have turned off too many voters, and they will have eaten each other up like the gingham dog and the calico cat (who side by side on the mantel sat).

Leni

[msmagoo]

Yes, Dean and Gephardt should be the first to volunteer to have their feeding tubes removed (if they ever need one) so they can starve and dehydrate to death before their family's eyes...let their words come back to bite them!

Also, I am wondering if any of our returning soldiers from Iraq will be sustained with a feeding tube, and wondering if Dean and Gephardt would advise that their feeding tubes be removed. Some are paralyzed, quadraplegic, have head injuries, etc.

Shameless political pandering for votes. They are both callous cowards, IMO. I dare them to express their views face to face with a parent of a brain-damaged person!

[lawdude]

What the hell business is it of his?

[okie01]

"I don't think that legislatures and governors ought to be inserting themselves in these questions," the Missouri congressman told reporters.

And why does the congressman from Missouri believe his opinion should count for squat in this matter?

[msmagoo]

I guess this dodo believes running for President has nothing to do with protecting 'Life, Liberty and Happiness.'
It's just a popularity contest!

[CindyDawg]

Ah ha! Now I now understand the term PVS:')

[CindyDawg]

Maybe he's afraid that JB might be planning on moving in a few years.

[nicmarlo]

"I don't think that legislatures and governors ought to be inserting themselves in these questions," the Missouri congressman told reporters. "I think the court has a made a ruling in this case and it's a matter that courts ought to decide."

This is why the democRATs want liberal judges....they want LAWS created from the bench by one judge (DICTA) and for liberal judges to IGNORE or TWIST established law into something NOT intended by the legislators....

RATS don't want the executive branch to have power; they want the executive branch subservient to a liberal judicial branch.

RATS don't want LAWS made by dozens of elected officials who reason through language so as to make sound laws, to be the LAW....they want the legislators to be subservient to the whims of a liberal judge.

They want what happened with the Florida Supremes in 2000 to repeat itself, over and over and over again, where law is ignored and the people have no voice or representation through their elected officials.

[SoCar]

I used to think that Gephardt was the "best" of the bunch of losers but I have lost any good will I had towards him. Lately in his desperation he has become more shrill, pandering, and utterly ridiculous. If Bush found a cure for cancer he would somehow oppose it. In his effort to appeal to the left wing hate Bush crowd, he is increasingly coming off as a phony who will say whatever it takes. Core beliefs and right and wrong are no longer meaningful. He is a play actor, and a bad one at that. Hope he can live with having sold his soul.