And it's because the GOP leadership decided to waste its political capital on this fools' errand.
The crucial issue is the nuclear option. If the Republicans go Quisling on that, they will lose the pro-life movement. Every indication is that that is precisely what they are going to do.
Because the pro-life movement couldn't prioritize their tasks.
A pro-life party will start forming within the year. And that will spell the end of the Republican Agenda.
It will also spell the end of the pro-life agenda.
No matter who would be appointed guardian, the tube would stay out."
Per Terri's wishes.
You know, that makes me sick. To think that a mentally disabled woman being starved to death is a "fools' errand"... What kind of human being are you? The pro-life agenda will not end, just as the anti-homosexual agenda will not end. Our earthly life begins at conception, and ends at death. If it is cut short any time before this by another human being, it is murder. I see this issue as a junction point for our nation. We must choose to go down one of two roads: one leads to our success, one leads to our demise. I believe that if this woman dies, our demise will be imminent. I'm not sure where you stand in regards to an Almighty, but I can tell you with a fact that He exists, and when we are KILLING the innocent, be it a baby whose brains are being drilled out by a doctor at birth, or a court ordered starvation of a mentally disabled woman. The last society to define "Quality of Life" and the taking of that life based upon that quality was Germany circa 1930s to the 1940s. The empowered dictator ordered the extermination of millions of Jews, mentally disabled patients, and homosexuals. To not believe life needs to be preserved is disgusting and totally uncalled for...
Ah, the sweet light of reason. The hysterics may not see the truth of what you wrote, but the people who drive these issues into hysterics certainly will. If the agenda dies, their gravy train of donations and such will go away. So as soon as Schiavo dies, the people who make their living off whipping up hysteria will tamp things down a bit -- still use it in their fundraising, but with reduced heat.
"It will also spell the end of the pro-life agenda."
What you fail to see is that the pro-life agenda is itself nothing but a dream. This is a pro-death society. We have Roe. We have this travesty going on in Florida.
The pro-life movement has gained NO victories in anything for 30 years, other than electing increasingly large numbers of Republicans.
We trusted the REPUBLICANS to do the job when they got the power.
Well, they got the power: 55 Senators, but now they appear to be welching on the job. Which means that all of this pro-life support for the Republicans over thirty years has itself proven to be the fool's errand. We are not the only reason Republicans are in power, of course, but without us, the Republicans would not be in power.
None of that matters.
Push has come to shove, and the Republicans are backing away from the Nuclear Option, the only way to change the courts. They are backing away from actually saving this woman. They are, simply, chosing to favor the other parts of their coalition, and after 30 years, to deprive the pro-lifers who have fought so hard for them absolutely EVERYTHING.
What is left?
What has the loyalty of the pro-lifers gotten us?
Name me ONE pro-life victory.
Partial birth abortion ban?
Struck down by the courts, as we knew it would be.
And the Republicans are CONSCIOUSLY CHOOSING not to alter the courts by applying the nuclear options, which is within their power to do.
You speak as though discouraged Christians who don't vote Republican will hurt the pro-life agenda. Actually, the pro-life agenda has no life in it at all other than a dream and a belief. Our laws are pro-death. We have won no victories, at all. If the Democrats swept back into power, things would not be any worse than they are. We ALREADY HAVE a liberal judiciary and abortion on demand until birth. And the Republicans are CHOOSING to not change that, by CHOOSING to not exercise the Nuclear Option, which is within their power to do.
We have already lost everything. We cannot lose MORE. There is no worse position than the status quo. If the Republicans don't pull their heads out and reverse their disastrous present course, the thing that will be clearest is that what we have lost is 30 years in a fool's errand, building up the Republicans to a majority, to have them betray us and change NOTHING when they finally got the power.
If this week turns out as it looks like it is going to, with a dead innocent woman from the Bush boys playing Pontius Pilate, and no conservative judiciary because the Republican Senate plays Judas, there is nothing left in the Republican party for a pro-lifer to vote for.
Why?
The GOP has the power, and won't use it.
We are still at zero.
Maybe if we had organized a Christian Life Party starting 30 years ago, instead of putting all of our eggs in the Republican basket, we would actually have accomplished SOMETHING.
As it is, we have nothing but broken hearts right now.
We have lost.
Now, I still think the Republicans could pull this out. They could recognize the truth of what people like me are saying about the utter demoralization and sense of betrayal in the Christian pro-life community. If the Bush boys don't save Terry Schiavo, they will be tainted, but the Republican Party could avoid a similar fate by going ahead and passing the Nuclear Option of the Senate, so we can finally get life-respecting judges on the bench who will prevent this sort of travesty from happening again.