[churchillbuff]

Farah: if Jeb Bush didn't just dispatch some law enforcement officers from the state down to Pinellas County to rescue Terri, but actually went with them, in person, to meet face to face with the Pinellas County sheriff and explain the situation?

KEYES: I think that there would have been no doubt--the Pinellas County sheriff knows good and well that his authority does not trump the governor's authority, and that if he resists the governor's authority or tries to stop the governor, lay hands on his person or anything else, he can be arrested, he even be shot dead on the spot, because to move against the governor is to move against the government of Florida. It is basically an insurrectionary act, because in his person the governor represents the executive power of government.

[kellynch]

Of course he's serious, but that's yet another reason why I am not fond of Keyes. He's just not rational.

I've heard people suggest that Bush send SWAT teams into the hospice. I don't know about the rest of you, but I cannot think any sane person would advocate "storming" the hospice and running the risk of hurting any of the other patients.

Not that I approve of what's happening to Terri, but Keyes is just not helping matters.

[Walkin Man]

KEYES: I think that there would have been no doubt--the Pinellas County sheriff knows good and well that his authority does not trump the governor's authority, and that if he resists the governor's authority or tries to stop the governor, lay hands on his person or anything else, he can be arrested, he even be shot dead on the spot...

I think this is the part that lots of Terri supporters were salivating over.

Dr Keyes must be crazy as a bedbug if he really wanted the sheriffs to go down in a hail of bullets in front of the hospice!

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

I think that Alan needs to think carefully about the limits of county and state authority. The sheriff is the highest law enforcement official in a county. In most states, even state law enforcement falls under the purview of county officials. Hence, it is entirely possible that a county official can, under Florida law, thwart the authority of a state official. And you know, I believe, as a conservative, that it's a good thing for state officials to be subservient to county officials.

The problem, dude, is that you are, in this situation, result driven in your political orientation. You would have condemned Reno's actions in 2000 because it resulted in returning a child to Cuba. Now you want heavy-handed state government action to thwart the authority of local officials. Because it would achieve the results you want. You can't have it both ways.