Posted on 03/30/2005 4:07:26 PM PST by churchillbuff
I never had any desire to run for political office, but, if I did, it would be to make a difference.
If I didn't think I could make a difference, what would be the point?
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush told us last week he just didn't have the power and authority to save one innocent woman forced by court order and armed guard to starve to death in his state.
I don't believe that's true. Not for a minute do I believe it. Jeb Bush blinked. And that weakness that he showed for the whole world should represent the end of his political career.
It's unfortunate, because I believe Jeb Bush knew, deep in his convictions, it was wrong to let Terri Schiavo be murdered by a judge's order.
He even dispatched a team of state law enforcement officers to seize her hours after Judge George Greer refused to listen to his pleadings in the courtroom.
But he backed down. When local cops informed the state officers that they would enforce the judge's order, the agents of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement stopped.
That's not leadership. That's capitulation.
Gov. Jeb Bush shouldn't have merely dispatched officers to the scene to negotiate with the local cops, he should have led them. He should have personally persuaded those local officers that he was the highest law enforcement official in the state and he was ordering them to stand down.
He should have been a field general, not an armchair general.
He should have walked up to that hospice with overwhelming force behind him.
He should have done so with the whole world watching.
Jeb Bush has been talked about as a potential presidential candidate. But who is going to seriously consider a commander in chief who backs down at the first sign of resistance?
Bush may have been trying to take the safe route in this crisis, but it represents, in my estimation, the end of his political ambitions.
Jeb Bush was tested, and he was found lacking.
He allowed a terribly immoral action to take place in his state and did nothing but huff and puff about it.
And it wasn't the first time.
Say what you will about former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno. I think she was a fascist. I think she was a criminal. I think she was possibly stark, raving mad. But she backed up her misguided convictions by sending armed federal agents swooping in to pick up little Elian Gonzalez and take him back to Cuba. It was wrong, but she wasn't afraid.
Back then, Gov. Jeb Bush sat by and watched his authority breached by Washington.
This time, he sat by and watched his authority breached by a puny, little county bureaucrat, a local politician, Judge George Greer.
Does the Florida governor have any authority?
If not, we shouldn't take the position seriously as a stepping stone to higher office. If it does, why didn't he use it when it counted?
I feel sorry for Jeb Bush today.
I think he knew right from wrong in this case but didn't have the courage of his convictions. I think he listened to all the wrong advisers. I think he will carry regrets about Terri Schiavo to his grave.
He could have been a hero. He could have been a leader.
Instead, he appears weak. Instead, he appears to vacillate.
My wife told me: "If Jeb Bush had done the right thing for Terri, I would have given up six months of my life to campaign for him. I would have done anything to help him."
I'm sure many people feel like that. Let me ask you today: Is anyone excited about the possibility of a third Bush administration?
Do it for Terri ...
More of the New Zoo Revue....comin' right at you!!
What happened to Bill and Janet? NOTHING. They stated that the 11th Circuit had no jurisdiction and that the Florida Court had no jurisdiction.
...and when they did this forum screamed like a stuffed pig on a spicket! You want both Bush's to be on the equal scumbag "piss on the law" level as Bill Clinton?
I agree with you about the prevention of a bloodbath, which I think was Jeb's motivation in not sending DCF in past Greer's police force. It's pretty shocking that a judge has those powers, though.
I also wonder why U.S. Marshalls weren't sent, since it does seem that they would take priority over the local police. Or maybe not - I'm not familiar with the law on these matters.
Yes, I am sure Jerry Falwell was stricken by God for supporting Jeb Bush. (Insert Twilight Zone theme here.)
You nailed it there.
Damned if he does, Damned if he doesn't
"(after eight years of Brownback)."
I like him, I voted for him...but Sam Brownback will NEVER be POTUS!
Check out #24. Moon-bats who can't read can also be whipped into a frenzy.
Bingo!
No, the question is, how many people who are in mid-life, and NOT dying, have their feeding tubes pulled because they're disabled and somebody has determined that they're living a life "not worth living"? That's very different from somebody in the end stages of terminal illness.
I can't believe that disabled people are being killed like this every day, simply because they're disabled - not because of terminal illness. If you know otherwise, give us the information.
I blame them, too. And also the governor who let them get away with it.
Imagine the courage it must take to be an armchair critic of Jeb Bush! :^)
I could not disagree with the article and most of you here more wholeheartedly. He did what he could under the law. Did you really want an Elian Gonzales scene with National Guardsman showing up to rescue her?
That he acted under the laws limits and boundaries shows more for his suitability for any office more than a lot of people in national offices now.
As I don the flame retardant suit, I feel that we should err on the side of life, in this case hers. I do not agree with the tube pulling. When you let radical elements of any party hijack it you have lost the party. Ask the dummycrats.
Jeb as a practical matter was never in the running to be President after Dubya won in 2000. Too many Bushes freak people out - the critical juncture was when Dubya won the Texas gov race in 1994 and Jeb lost the Florida gov race in 1994.
If Jeb had won FL in 94, he would have most likely been the man to get the GOP nod in 2000) provided he got elected again in 1998). He lost in 94, Dubya won in 94 (kind-of against the conventional wisdom at the time). I recall Dubya's victory speech in 94, which I think he opened with 'Texans can dream!' with that classic Dubya delivery we have come to like!
He vanquished 'poor' Ann Richards - a good thing!
There should be a separate thread on Sandy Berger. I too would like to know what happened to him. Who is the prosecutor in charge? Or was he given a pass and if so, by whom?
Why didn't they run some war games on it? Why does it seem he is completely shocked about being involved in this. I have been following this case for over three years. I knew it would be a big issue after following a few links on FR and reading the court papers for a half an hour.
How it is that Jeb didn't know this was going to be huge?
I still think you are a decent guy Jeb and I think you doing something but that is your job. Darn it Jeb- you messed up. Huge sigh.. I am so bummed about that.
Let 'em rant. Next they'll be calling for a boycott of Florida.
Here, he did and he didn't. He DID let a low-level judge defy state authorities in an unconstitutional way. he DIDN't exercise his authority to save an innocent woman from a murderous fate.
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