DeLay Apologizes for Schiavo Case Rhetoric

AP via Yahoo ^ | April 13, 2005 | Terence Hunt

[cyncooper]

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay apologized Wednesday for using overheated rhetoric on the day Terri Schiavo died, but refused to say whether he supports impeachment of the judges who ruled in her case.

~snip~

At a crowded news conference in his Capitol office, DeLay addressed remarks he made in the hours after the brain-damaged Florida woman died on March 31. "I said something in an inartful way and I shouldn't have said it that way and I apologize for saying it that way," DeLay told reporters.

~snip~

DeLay seemed at pains to soften, if slightly, his rhetoric of March 31, when Schiavo died despite an extraordinary political and legal effort to save her life.

"I believe in an independent judiciary. I repeat, of course I believe in an independent judiciary," DeLay said.

At the same time, he added, the Constitution gives Congress power to oversee the courts.

"We set up the courts. We can unset the courts. We have the power of the purse," DeLay said.

Asked whether he favors impeachment for any of the judges in the Schiavo case, he did not answer directly.

Instead, he referred reporters to an earlier request he made to the House Judiciary Committee to look into "judicial activism" and Schiavo's case in particular.

~snip~

[BykrBayb]

Yes, you certainly have. Glad to see you admit it.

[Trinity_Tx]

"Five years of HELL.

*Husband* ordered NO light (shades down at all times,) NO music or TV, No basic dental/oral hygiene care (resulting in the pulling and FALLING OUT of her TEETH,) NO doctor ordered/highly recommended antibiotics (*husband* over-rode doctor's orders,) No BASIC circulatory, occupational, speech, or swallow therapy, NO flowers, and NO outdoor experience. FOR YEARS. NOTHING. NOTHING.

And is it common knowledge that lack of adequate dental/oral care/hygiene is a HUGE invite to a whole HOST of INFECTIONS.

*Husband* ordered BOTH no oral care AND no needed/recommended antibiotics for infections that Terri had."


Miss Behave, the only thing the Schindlers accused him of was not giving her *professional* dental care once she entered hospice. Nothing about "basic dental/oral hygiene care."

Nothing about Dark rooms with no music or TV - in fact there was talk about the channels preferred.

Yes, he put a DNR and asked for no antibiotics on her in '94, but since then? She got her antibiotics just fine.
MS didn't over-ride the doctor's orders, the only court docs say the doctor recommended no antibiotics, and Michael agreed, but the nursing home insisted.

I will say right now that his agreeing to that, even if it was under a doctors advice is unacceptable to me, and only one of many things I find serious fault with. I also think they should have tried another round of therapy and testing in the later years.

[freepatriot32]

When are the Republicans going to grow some nads and use the power that we gave them?

Right around this time i think

[freepatriot32]

Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here.

[KDD]

Twenty two times this family court matter was reviewed by who knows how many Judges and Constitutional Lawyers all the up way to the Supreme Court of the U.S.A. and not one Court could cite an over-turnable decision by the Trial Court Judge Greer. Delay really owes Greer an apology now that the Senators own lawyers have poured over the transcripts and have obviously come to the same conclusions of nearly every legal mind that ruled on it. There are reasons this law was written as it is.

People who don't or won't understand why the people of Fl. insist on privacy in such matters have not followed the very painfull processes that brought us to having these laws on the books.

Quinlin, Curzan and Browning, combined with a 1980 Constitutional Amendment to the Fl. Constitution guaranteeing citizens of the State PRIVACY in dictating their medical preference's set the ground rules for laws that allow Fl. patients to refuse ANY medical treatment they choose, including what the law termed life pro-longing procedures.

Given O'Conner's opinion in Cruzan, hydration and nutrition were included to preempt any constitutional challenge to the law on those grounds. None of this case was new law...nothing set a precedent in this case until zealotry overtook some with what they are positive was good intentions. Delay was a victim of that. Did they forget that this debate has been on-going since Quinlin, and current laws are a result of a societal consensus that has manifested in various State Legislatures writing laws that reflect a reality that most people have learned to live with over the two decades that this subject has been debated?

I don't know.

But this whole charade smells like a democrat dirty trick to me.

The person I spoke with at the RNC in Washington said the internals showed that the mainstream Republican voters were furious with the way this whole "mess" was handled by the GOP.

The religous right framed THIS particular life debate with a vileness that repelled any rational person from their cause. Any positive voice they brought to the debate was screamed dowm with invectives from other self rightous holier than thou.... Christians? Hardly...

"The priesthood have, in all ancient nations, nearly monopolized learning. And ever since the Reformation, when or where has existed a Protestant or dissenting sect who would tolerate A FREE INQUIRY? The blackest billingsgate, the most ungentlemanly insolence, the most yahooish brutality, is patiently endured, countenanced, propagated, and applauded. But touch a solemn truth in collision with a dogma of a sect, though capable of the clearest proof, and you will find you have disturbed a nest, and the hornets will swarm about your eyes and hand, and fly into your face and eyes."

John Adams - letter to John Taylor

[Miss Behave]

Practically every prominent, respected, enlightened, moral, authoritative, Constitutionally well-versed/studied/published, well-regarded, highly educated, esteemed, principled, decent and thoughtful Conservative of note, type and distinguishment...

...is repulsed by the court-ordered, starvation death of Terri Schiavo.

[self_evident]

WPPFF is an acronym for "Witness Protection Program For Freepers". I will leave it to all on Free Republic (and also those who lurk,) to determine it's intent and implication. Why would many long-time Freepers feel the need to assemble such an organization?

Why do you think they didn't post condolences?

I think it's because that, after a week of being called Nazi death-cultist, they decided they would be further attacked as hypocrites by offering condolences. You imply that it is because they are cold-hearted SOB's.

None of this sits well with me and many.

[Miss Behave]

Bigger people would at least offer a simple rest in peace.

Bigger people would not continue to bash a dead person (of whom they claim to care,) on the day of her excruciating death.

[Orlando]

Welcome to the NWO

[kms61]

Okay, then who DOES pay? This kind of treatment isn't free, and families who are able to pay for it out of pocket are few and far between. Unless there's some untapped source of charitable funds out there, or unless some religious or philantropic organization decides to take up the burden, that only leaves the taxpayer.

It's all well and good to say this is about the sanctity of life, but it's also about economics. That's just an immutable fact of life. Resources are finite, and they are going to be allocated one way or another.

I ask again. Who's supposed to pay for all these people on long term 24/7 care? I'm not trying to be argumentative about this, but I haven't heard anyone put forth a plan. If somebody out there has one, I'm certainly willing to listen.

[kms61]

And I should add that I don't LIKE it being that way. I society didn't have these dilemmas. But it does.

[Trinity_Tx]

"I think you are with the hospice movement in Texas. you have made several comments that lead me to believe so. You are probably a hospice chaplain, or maybe even one of "the religious authorities" that they are putting on "ethic Committees" in Texas hospitals. The "ethic committees" are withdrawing life support from patients, when it is against the patient's and their families' wishes"

LOL Pure fantasy, completely untrue but hey...It's par for the course.

You think whatever makes ya feel better about the lies being told, Missy. I'm not the slightest bit surprised that merely pointing them out meets with such accusations - it's typical these days.

It also proves the points made by the wppff about the loss of concern for credibility here lately.

I find it pretty telling that so many of y'all think the truth needed embellished with lies to justify keeping her alive. I found reasons for it without the lies, myself.

[self_evident]

Provide a link to a poster that bashed her on the day of her death.

I am saying only that many, like myself, are likely to have avoided posting condolences and instead decided to do it privately.

You, however, continue to perpetuate the myth, now abandoned even by Delay, that all that didn't agree with the govt. intervention in this case somehow hated Terri.

[self_evident]

It's par for the course.

You give far to little credit. Despite all the flaming naziisms that have gone one.. THAT one was clearly a birdie, possibly an eagle heh.

[ran15]

"I ask again. Who's supposed to pay for all these people on long term 24/7 care? I'm not trying to be argumentative about this, but I haven't heard anyone put forth a plan. If somebody out there has one, I'm certainly willing to listen."


Good post people don't like to talk the economics. Because in our culture life is assumed to be above all else. So in the hypothetical sense you could impoversh 1000 people, to extend the life of one individual.

Of course even though culturally we think that way, as a practical matter we do make decisions which put economics above life. For example we use coal for generation because its cheaper.. yet thousands die early deaths because of the pollution from these plants. Of course millions of others have more enjoyable lives because of the energy. And in a way with the greater wealth of the nation, we are able to save and extend lives in other ways... like investing in medical technology.


Anyway so the costs of keeping these people who need 24/7 care is enormous. Shiavo wasn't even that bad.. 80k a year. But still we could pay for several full poor families to have shelter and food for that.

Others can be like 30k a month. And one figure I saw in a major news report was up to 1 million people are on feeding tubes today in America. The costs are incredible.. and not just for the government, but for the families who sell off all of their assets, the private companies who pick up the tab, and the general population who ends up paying more for loans as others go bankrupt.

Meanwhile nations like France who spends less then half we do on healthcare, but is considered to have the best healthcare system in the world.. they surely are just pulling the plug on people. At some point with increasing medical technology where we can keep almost anyone alive even if they have no chance of recovery.. We have to make a decision, or it will bankrupt us.

[ran15]

"Twenty two times this family court matter was reviewed by who knows how many Judges and Constitutional Lawyers all the up way to the Supreme Court of the U.S.A. and not one Court could cite an over-turnable decision by the Trial Court Judge Greer"


Many people who were against Judge Greer.. if they had the power, would have kept the feeding tube in, even if Terri had signed a notorized document saying she did not want to be kept alive in her situation. And even if they knew 100% she was PVS, with no chance of recovery.

Arguing over those points were just excuses to seem more moderate, and to hide their real agenda.

[Trinity_Tx]

" All i know is the numerous comments you have made about hospice, like you are very well acquainted with them. you provided the comments."

Has the commandment about bearing false witness just been completely been tossed out by y'all?

Show me my "numerous comments" you claim I have made, MercyMe.

I recall 1, *maybe* 2, stated in terms of loved ones near death.

And where on earth did you get the rest of that detailed fantasy you dreamed up about me? And why did you feel the need?
Do you think only one doc said she was PVS?
Do you think Cranford said Weland was PVS?
Do you think this was a quality of life case?

If not, is it OK with you to have those claims made?

And if not, then why the hell accuse me of being part of the Hospice death cult whatever because I pointed out they weren't true in the same breath as saying I think they shouldn't have removed her tube?

THIS is wrong. And that it is so unGodly rampant is the only reason why there was a WPPFF.