Posted on 03/19/2005 11:41:00 AM PST by snowsislander
Behind the scenes, Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Mel Martinez enlisted conservatives' help to create a formidable lobbying force to keep Terri Schiavo alive.
BY FRANK DAVIES, ERIKA BOLSTAD AND MARC CAPUTO
ebolstad@herald.com
Less than 24 hours before Terri Schiavo had her feeding tube removed, Gov. Jeb Bush knew the effort to keep her alive was slipping away.
So the brother of the president -- and a prime mover of the 2003 legislation that prolonged Schiavo's life -- called Florida's newest U.S. senator, Mel Martinez, with an urgent plea.
''I'm not sure we can get it done here in Florida,'' Martinez quoted Bush as saying just after a new Schiavo measure stalled in the Florida Legislature. ``Do whatever you can federally.''
What transpired over the ensuing hours was a testament to the influence of the governor and religious conservatives, and will be remembered as one of the most extraordinary moves in the halls of U.S. Congress ever seen on behalf of a single person who, until recently, was little-known to many in the country.
Meeting in the dark of night, the C-SPAN cameras off, leaders in the House and Senate hit upon the idea to stall the court-ordered removal of her feeding tube by issuing congressional subpoenas to Schiavo herself, her husband and some of her doctors and caretakers.
GOP DISAPPOINTED
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and House Speaker Dennis Hastert said Friday evening that they were disappointed with Friday's court decisions allowing the feeding tube to be removed, and they vowed to work through the weekend to prolong Schiavo's life.
The dizzying flurry of congressional activity is largely a response to a relentless push by conservative Christian groups -- using e-mail ''action alerts'' and persistent lobbying -- and the personal involvement of Frist and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas.
''I've never seen anything like this in Congress over an individual case,'' said Jayd Henricks, lobbyist for the Family Research Council, one of the groups battling to keep Schiavo alive by challenging state court orders.
Even as Congress struggled with the federal budget, Medicaid and other national issues, Republican leaders worked well into early morning Friday to intervene on behalf of the brain-damaged woman in a Florida hospice.
They passed bills, issued subpoenas, interrupted a debate on the annual budget, scheduled hearings and held press conferences, all designed to prevent the court-ordered removal of a feeding tube from Schiavo, who has been in a vegetative state for 15 years.
The unusual effort culminated early Friday. The House and Senate had passed different bills to give Schiavo rights in federal court, but most House members had left the capital before the differences could be reconciled.
Top GOP leaders scrambled ''quickly and creatively'' to find a way to block the removal of the tube from Schiavo without legislation, Henricks said.
A Senate staffer said ''the leaders and lawyers were looking at everything, trying to freeze the situation in place and buy time'' so legislation could be crafted and sent to President Bush in the next few days. What they devised -- the subpoena -- has generated new controversy about how Congress operates in a controversial case such as Schiavo's.
Schiavo's plight began dominating Congress at 2:59 p.m. Thursday, when the Florida Senate voted 21-16 to defeat an amendment designed to give Schiavo's parents another chance to delay the removal of the tube.
The previous night, The House had passed a broad bill that would make sweeping changes in federal law, giving federal courts jurisdiction in any case involving incapacitated people who have not given advanced instructions about whether they should be offered sustenance.
HOPE DWINDLES
But the Senate balked at the broader House bill, instead favoring a so-called ''private relief bill'' that would have applied exclusively to Schiavo and would have not have altered federal law in other cases.
Several senators objected to the House bill, which the Senate refused to take up, and passed their own narrowly focused bill Thursday afternoon.
The refusal to take up the Republican bill angered House GOP leaders: With differing bills, there was nothing for President Bush to sign to prolong Schiavo's life. The House and Senate convened a short time later.
Speaker Hastert and DeLay remained talking on the House floor.
''I did see the speaker and the House majority leader anguished, looking for ways for us to help,'' said U.S. Rep. Lincoln Díaz-Balart, a Miami Republican.
They cooked up a deal: The House Government Reform Committee, which had just held 11 hours of hearings on the issue of steroids in baseball, would launch an inquiry into the case and issue subpoenas to doctors and hospice administrators to stop them from disconnecting Schiavo's tube. ''This inquiry should give hope to Terri, her parents and friends and the million of people praying for her,'' Hastert said. ``This fight is not over.''
Committee members from both parties said they were not aware of the subpoenas until they were notified Friday morning.
''This all happened so fast, even the committee staff did not know,'' said Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Fla. ``This has just been thrown at the entire committee and Congress.''
Good thing you cleared that up!
Exactly! A couple of years back, my sister's brother-in-law had a aneurysm (sp?) burst in his brain. They found him still alive. He had surgery and a drug induced coma for a while until the swelling went down and things. During this his father died. After it was time to bring him out of the coma, he never regained consciousness. He was on life support. His brain activity was close to zero. They gave him less than a 5% chance of recovering.
His wife wanted to pull the plug but his brothers and sister threw a fit. Of course we understand their grief in not wanting to lose both their father and their brother at the same time and the wife was really a jerk and supposedly they had been talking divorce. But it was obvious from listening to my sister that they saw hope in truly random movements. They had even gone to a lawyer and proceedings were started to block the wife. Fortunately, during that when things were really getting nasty, he died. (They had all agreed to a DNR.)
The saddest thing of all was listening to my sister twist scripture to say that it was God's will and that that were supposed to wait on God. I know that they were hoping that there would be a miracly recovery, but it was obvious that it just wasn't going to happen. The more they relied on that false hope, the more bitter and angry and venomous they became at the wife.
I know that in many ways, this is not like the situation with Terri. But in some ways it is. It also does make me realize that I really DO need to get a living will - and my husband also.
She might talk. He has to maintain that control.
I don't know where they are but I'd like to see them show up and apologize. Throwing words around like "grandstanding". The fools. Without the Reps leading this Terri wouldn't have any chance at all, and yet they were being slammed not only from the death crowd but those in favor of life as well. Just because we cannot see their actions behind scenes doesn't mean nothing is happening.
I want to thank the Reps for trying to help Terri. This isn't over by any means but maybe she'll have her feeding tube back in by tomorrow night. I'll even thank Dems for at least cooperating somewhat, even if the bill is limited.
I do think looking into legislation to favor life would ultimately be the direction we need to take.
Checking news sources, the Senate could approve the bill by Sunday eve. and the President stands ready to sign. That would enable Terri's parents to appeal to a federal judge. So, I don't know the exact time line of how that would unfold, it could be quick...
Pinging to the "blame the Bush family" crowd...
My concern remains the Judiciary. They haven't exactly instilled confidence up to now, so I'm still on the edge in reaction to their next move. I think someone stated 12 A.M. Monday she'd be allowed to be fed again provided everything follows as we hope. Filling the time by praying and keeping up pressure.
In agreement. Amen.
Hooray for your sister!
fyi
My question is, why can't the Florida Legislature impeach Judge Greer? This guy's power seems unlimited. Is there simply a lack of political will to impeach him, or has Congress been denied this power by the Courts?
Qwinn
Goofy, the blame was "if" he allows her to die.
Don't forget most of the pols didn't care to modify the idiotic laws until the GOP base put their political necks in the guillotine as a poison pill threat if they allowed her to die.
Yeah, because of the damned nonsense purported by the "REPUBLICANS" in the state legislature. I tell you what, when the Republican Party of Florida calls me up for a donation, which they are wont to do at least once a month, they are going to get a FREAKING EARFUL.
I may even drop a letter of anger to these guys....I donate my hard earned money to a party and a cause that will DEFEND the innocent, not to one that will sit idly by and make handwringing gestures about "keeping people from heaven". Give me a break.
I do NOT blame Jeb Bush for this, but I DO blame the gutless, mindless legislators who have the GALL to put an (R) after their name on the ballot, but won't represent the ideals of that party.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....Okay, I'm fine now. I just had to get that out.
He he. Just like all the other "don't worry he's got a secret plan" riffs we've heard for 4 years. Followed by...surrender. CFR, Grutter, amnesty, the budget, de dah de dah...except for (ta da!!) Hussein.
*yawn* dumped some easy marks, rounded up the usual suspects...
Here's what's really going on, children. This is not a legal battle, or a medical battle anymore. It's a political battle, on the most basic level.
Two Freaks and a Thug (Felos, Greer and Schiavo) just stuck their tongues out at the President of the United States and his entire court of followers and said: nyah nyah. We're bigger, badder, and meaner than you. Send us subpoenas? Stick 'em where the sun don't shine. Don't like us being mean to the poor little girl? Watch as we stick needles into her. Whatcha gonna do, tough guy? Huh?
That's the politics kiddies. They just drew the line in the sand, funded "behind the scenes" by the real Big Dog in the crowd: Soros. If Bush loses this one, he's a pushover.
The Noonan article was a goad, intended to catalyze this process. Push Bush into it, as well as point out that's where it's going in the first place.
The people in the administration understand that. The politics of this are being gamed at every level. But they know they have to win or they end up looking weak and flaccid.
Know what they say in the Middle East? If you are weak, you are dead.
So you can't look weak. Make your own conclusions about where it has to go.
A vigil doesn't create change, a riot does (ò¿ó)
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