***GOTTA READ THIS! GOV. JEB BUSH'S PRE-INAUGURAL LETTER TO THE DISABLED IN FLORIDA (1998)***

Gov. Jeb Bush Gubernatorial Website, 1998 Archives ^ | Decemeber 1, 1998 | AmericanInTokyo (via archived Jeb Bush website)

[Bear_Slayer]

Not a single person who attacks the Bush brothers for their alleged inaction in this case have mounted a single commando style mission on the hospice to free Terri themselves

Hypothetical hostage demands,

"We want an IV and a feeding tube for Terri or we'll kill her . . . uh - or kill ourselves, . . .or somebody else - yeah that's it!"

[Bear_Slayer]

I doesn't take away from the fact that this is an issue that's best resolved through the legislative branch.

it was resolved through the legislative branch. The Floria courts said, "FU." The Executive branch needed to pick up the ball. It didn't.

[scars]

Exactly, I'm so tired of these people passing judgment and threatening political retribution on Gov. Bush. So many are criticizing him after he tried everything he legally could. I'd like to see them all get together and take the steps they want the Governor to take. I guess the "go to jail, lose your job, lose your home, shame your family" stuff is just for somebody else.

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

The charges against Bush are really unfair. Why don't you and the others criticizing him go break the law yourselves in an effort to save her. You pay the price.

If I thought it were doable I'd be for breaking the law to save her. The right to life is an inalienable right. But we cannot realistically expect to pit branches and divisions of government and segements of society against one another in an effort to save one person. Who else will be hurt in the process? And even if Jeb were to take Terri by force, what then? It would just return to the same struggle.... and the courts would rule in the same way.... and here we would be all over again, only without a wonderful Governor willing to stick his neck out for us. It just doesn't make sense. This is way beyond civil disobedience. We need to keep in mind that Terri is representative of many others. Let's work to save the rest of them in Terri's name. That means our allies need to survive to fight another day. As tragic as it is, sometimes you have to lose a battle or two before you can win the war.

I don't mean to lessen the value of her life. Just the opposite. Let's see that her sacrifice counts for something by redirecting our efforts and seeing to it that this never happens again. That's the best way we can honor her at this point.

[xzins]

what law is it that he's following?

No one ever knows the name of it.

[The Lumster]

"Terri cannot function on any level other than to breathe. She has no cerebral cortex. For all ostensible purposes she is totally functionless other than to lie there day after day, year after year"


And you know this to be a fact because...........

a.) A doctor said so and they are never wrong
b.) A lawyer said so and they only have the best interest of their clients at heart
c.) The media talking heads told me and they have no agenda other than truth
d.)I am Psychic and have spoken with Terry Schiavo personally.

[AmericanInTokyo]

I want people to know that many of the KEYWORDS on this article I posted here, have been added to in the last 10 minutes. A number of the "Keywords" are not mine. Thanks.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Good. The thread still stands. :-) I guess that's our answer.

[mcg1969]

Then I'll repeat what I said before. If her consciousness is gone completely, then we are doing no harm to her as a person to keep her body alive. If it is not gone completely, then we are committing murder. So let's not fool ourselves that we're doing her any favors, that we're being "merciful", by "letting her die." We're not.

[atomicweeder]

There have been many statements like this -- and they seem illogical to me. A commando-style mission by a group of private citizens has a high chance of failure. It also doesn't have any legal authority behind it. Chiding people for not rescuing Terri is pointless. It's basically saying "I don't see you committing an impossible and utterly foolish act!"

On the other hand, the Governor has Executive power, and the resources of the State Police at his disposal. He is the one person, other than the President, with the most capacity to rescue Terri, and has the legal authority to do so. That's why it's perfectly logical, and appropriate for us (the powerless) to admonish Governor Bush (the powerful) to do what he can -- which is so very much more than we can do.

[GLDNGUN]

Not a single person who attacks the Bush brothers for their alleged inaction in this case have mounted a single commando style mission on the hospice to free Terri themselves.

They have to ask themselves if they've done enough.

And I'm sick of hearing that idiotic argument. Comparing an ordinary citizen's power to that of a governor is beyond ludicrous. Are Terri's parents asking for a commando raid? NO. Are they asking for Jeb to intervene? YES. By your reasoning, the PARENTS shouldn't be asking for Jeb's help unless they are willing to mount a commando style raid. What a crock of crap.

I have been a big supporter of the Bushes, but they are wimping out here, big time. It's all politics. Ask yourself this question - If the polls showed that 70% of the public was outraged and thought Terri should be saved, do you still think Jeb wouldn't intervene?

[mcg1969]

Sadly it is.

[mcg1969]

If 70% of the public was outraged he wouldn't have to. Judge Greer is elected too, you know.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Good. You disabled that crank argument (that's been floating around and also serving as a further rationalization by some Bush-worshippers relieving the man of responbility in this case and putting it on conservatives and pro-lifers) right there.

One. Two. Three. Good job.

[mcg1969]

Don't you think that any individual has the legal right to take extraordinary measures to save someone else's life? I mean, I can shoot my wife's attacker, can't I?

[Dante3]

Good points. Of course, Jeb Bush could have saved Terri. But he didn't. If he were charged with something, his brother could always pardon him. Clinton even pardoned a drug dealer and a pedophile.

[atomicweeder]

Is a commando raid morally justified? Yes. Is it legal? In this case, probably. That wasn't my point. My point was to dismantle the argument: that if we private citizens won't do something, how can we expect the Governor to do something? Simple. It's his job.

[dead]

He has intervened. He has exhausted all his legal options.

Now people are demanding he saddle up the state police and go down and battle the local police to drag her out of there.

You support that ridiculous option?

[Indy Pendance]

Feel better?

[mcg1969]

If the polls showed that 70% of the public was outraged and thought Terri should be saved, do you still think Jeb wouldn't intervene?

You say that in a derogatory way, but in fact, it is both critical and defensible for Jeb Bush to take this into account.

Even if we accept the argument that Jeb is legally entitled to violate court orders and rescue Terri Schiavo, he remains accountable to his constituents. So if 70% of Floridians disapprove of the act---which is not unlikely, given that plenty of conservatives would see it as an improper overreach of executive power---then his time as governor will be sorely limited.

Now you might say, well, yeah, but since when are votes more important than lives? Simple: when votes ARE lives. Do you really think that those 70% would toss Jeb Bush out in favor of someone who is more pro-life than Jeb? No friggin' way. The backlash will be severe in its consequences on abortion and euthanasia law; and the conservatives will live to regret it.

It's called losing a battle but living on to fight the war.