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?
NOBODY thought, looking at the facts of the case, that Terri would be executed. It was a no brainer that this girl should live, so easy was it to see the logic of that argument that NOBODY took the case seriouly. NOBODY thought Greer was such a ass. Ergo poorly prepared appeals, poorly executed plans to save Terri, then horrors or horrors Greer pulled the tube and it was too late to get the save Teri act together, Jeb brings W in, W does what he can without risk, but ...... Time for jpsb's plan.
Did I miss something? Where did Peggy Noonan come from?
Irrational and illogical reply, precious. ;^)
Oh has Texas done away with dry counties?
My post included absolutely no comments about the law, yet you inappropriately responded as if it did. Strange.
Oh the writer. I thought you meant Howard, the radio guy. My bad. Yes, the writer is brilliant, a genius, sui generis, luminous and celestrial. And I have heard "Mark" on the radio as well. He is equally as good with his mouth.
Got a problem with my plan? Let's here it. I am getting tired of dodges and condescending remarks.
I'm thinking: How ruthless do the actually Amish get? What is an Amish cruise missile, anyway? A guy on horseback who throws the warhead when he gets close? An Amish ICBM could take weeks or even months to get there.
The bar is a hobby, or as I like to say community service, I don't run it.
Hand,
It's not about 'he should step in,' even if he doesn't have the authority.
That is a flawed premise. One that will get a lot of people killed.
He has the authority to suspend ANYONE who cannot be removed by impeachment.
THAT IS THE LAW.
The DCF had the authority to go into the hospice facility, even AFTER the judge said 'no."
THAT IS THE LAW.
What you appear to be missing is the LAW ITSELF dictated what his actions were to be.
DCF: Terri was/is in iminent danger of death. THEY HAD THE LAW - IT'S CORRECT, ON THE BOOKS, AND LEGAL.
The cops that blocked the FDLE: They were obstructing the carrying out of a lawfully given order. THAT IS MISFEASANCE. That is a LAWFUL ground for SUSPENSSION.
I am not talking about actions outside of the law.
AND YOU BET THEY KNEW THE LAWS.
That is the MOST TROUBLING ASPECT of this situation.
Prior to 1999, PVS did not exist. Jeb signed INTO LAW the change to the medical protocols, ADDING this very medical condition. AND when that was done, the FEEDING TUBE was added as an "heroic means of support," to people who are classified PVS.
Jeb Bush did that.
Now. One question:
"How hard is Jeb Bush going to fight against something he signed into law?"
This entire thing is puzzling, to say the least.
BUT HE HAS THE LAWFUL RIGHT TO INTERVENE.
He's not done that.
I sound like a broken record.
So do others.
It also doesn't mean people will listen.
So you're opposed to removing feeding tubes for everyone? Noted. Misguided. But noted.
Irrational and illogical reply, precious. ;^)
=======
Thank you, "sweetie" ... no one else calls me "precious" !!! ;-))
too bad. but one must learn not to let emotions run away with you. Hopefully it's just a time out.
Mark Steyn is fine on the radio. He's clear, concise and insightful. On the printed page, he is positively brilliant. He should get the Pulitzer, there is nobody like him and he makes all other columnists pale by comparison. I think the only columnist who compares is George Will and he's much less entertaining.
My point was that Steyn often uses pop culture references and knowing that Dennis Miller uses obscure references in his comedy would seem to be emblematic of that.
Well you have some points, degrading a bit until the end you have your "plan," but it was not so much that nobody thought, as it was that nobody thought through the legal end game in time. What was needed was a substantive statute, a federal one, since the Florida Supreme Court had done its thing with the Florida constitution, and was prepared to do itagain (thus no new state statute at the end, because legislators thought it would be bounced before the ink was dry). States should not have constitutions. I have posted that several times. They are a vehicle for abuse of state judicial power.
I'd like it if you wouldn't speak for me. Thank you.
Peggy has had a couple of hiccups. I'll forgive her for that.
Actually, I am too tired right now to come up with good insults.
After rounds in the morning I will try to think of something pithy worthy of a reply.
Have a good night.
When you morons nominate some extremist in 2008, and we lose the presidency to Hiliary Clinton, we'll see who comes running back.
Sheesh. Sometimes I wonder if any of you people are over 18. Remember the days when we were a minority party?
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