Posted on 03/31/2005 3:22:27 PM PST by SmithL
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - It seemed like Jeb Bush was in a no-win situation by taking up the cause of trying to keep Terri Schiavo alive.
He was going against polls that showed two out of three people thought government shouldn't get involved. Then when courts stopped him from stepping in, some of his conservative Christian base criticized him for not doing more.
But many people agree the Schiavo case was not a political issue for Bush and that the governor will not be hurt by it - especially since he doesn't have plans to run for office again any time soon.
"I can't see it having any impact on Jeb Bush and his political future," said Darryl Paulson, a University of South Florida political science professor. "He's not going to be running again in '06 and he says he's not running for the presidency and every one of his advisers is taking him at his word."
Florida limits governors to two terms and Bush's ends in January 2007. Even if Bush eventually decides to run for president, those close to him firmly say it will not be three years from now when his brother leaves office. By the time 2012 or 2016 roll around, the Schiavo case will be a distant memory.
"That's light years in political time," Paulson said. "This issue certainly would be laid to rest if he decides to run."
Those who opposed Bush's intervention may have had longer memories on the issue had he actually stopped the death through his lawsuits, or if he appeased the Christian right and defied a court order and taken custody of Schiavo.
Those on the Christian right may remember he was relentless - within the law - in pursuing a way to keep Schiavo alive. They are also likely to consider his overall record on issues they support and realize he is shared their views.
"He can get credit for trying, but not get blamed for going against her wishes if indeed that's what her wishes were," said Aubrey Jewett, a University of Central Florida political science professor.
Either way, Bush is adamant that his motivation was not political.
"This is not a political issue. This goes way beyond politics. I don't know if anybody wins politically having to participate in something like this, to be honest with you," Bush said.
Anyone who has paid attention to Bush's six years in office shouldn't be surprised by his efforts to keep Schiavo alive.
When Bush ran for re-election in 2002, he had already backed laws to restrict abortion, pushed through a voucher bill that allows some children to go to private religious schools at taxpayer expense and openly expressed his support for a state law that prevents gays from adopting children. He was re-elected with 56 percent of the vote.
"His involvement in the Schiavo case is not something out of the ordinary. He's put together a conservative social agenda from the beginning of his being governor," said Matthew Corrigan, a University of North Florida political science professor. "He's made a clear connection between his conservative religious values and his public policy."
This reporter is a moron. Doesn't he know Jeb is losing to JC Watts in the March Madness voting of GOP 2008 Presidential hopefuls? ;-)
The result will be the same so why not? Given the last 5-10 years it has become clear to me that beyond the far left kooks of the Democrat party the Republicans aren't much better.
Why wait that long? Put it right out of your mind.
As for me, I can't even stand to see the face of Jeb Bush nor hear his voice. If he wasn't going to take her into custody, he should never have given that press conference.
He's gutless.
John Lenin wrote:
"What planet did you come from?
Jeb 2008 ! "
And I say dream on, buddy boy.
And what you'll discover is that leaving the Republican party over one issue is the quickest way to lose on that issue. Imagine 20 years of freaky liberals like Hillary in the White House because you and others like you abandon the only party that can possibly beat them.
Thank you.
And a good place to start is joining leagues with the black community that apparently knew wrong from right more than any grouping nation wide. They and we clearly have the same concerns about the judiciary.
G32 wrote:
"I'm really worried about eating our own on this. It's totally uncalled for. Hopefully in a month this whole sad episode will be forgotten"
But it won't be. This is a scar on our nation. True, the Rats did it to themselves, but the Republicans blew a chance to make a BIG stride towards freedom in domestic policy. Honest, good people don't whitewash their mistakes. They refuse to ever repeat them and that's what the Republicans must resolve to do.
The GOP controls both houses of Congress, the Presidency, as well as the governor's office in Florida and the legislature of that state. Yet all of these people took no effective action against Judge Greer, who is, BTW, a Republican.
No amount of huckstering the GOP label can change things. We have had the GOP control the White House for 18 of the last 30 years. The Republicans have held at least one house of Congress for 16 of the last 30 years. Yet on our Supreme Court, only Thomas, Scalia, and Rehnquist can be considered conservative. Keep in mind that seven of the nine justices were appointed under Republican administrations.
This system is broke, maybe irrevocably. Until someone with more guts than Jeb Bush confronts this judicial tyranny, we should no longer call ourselves a representative republic with free elections and an established Constitution.
I don't intend to leave the Republican party. I intend to change it.
First order of business is get rid of the RINOs.
He and President Bush might have been better served to try and educate the public on this issue, rather than precipitate action that they had to know would lead nowhere.
I do think there was a bit of pandering involved on the congressional side of things. I don't really think Jeb was pandering, he just found himself in a set of circumstances that seemed to demand he do something, and his heart probably was never in it because he saw the situation as untenable.
You do know that Hillary has been quiet on this because in 1993, she made her sentiments that correspond to those of MS' legal victories known. Yes?
Do you also consider Ronald Reagan gutless for not ordering Federal Troops to close every abortion clinic in the country?
Well, it appears that a lot of people are abandoning major Republicans because they didn't march in there and cause a total scene.
Frankly, this type of extremism is exactly what pushes people away from the Dems usually. It breaks my heart seeing it come from our side.
Reagan never said he was going to close abortion clinics.
Jeb Bush said that he had the authority to take Terri Schiavo into protective custody. I watched the press conference live.
Not only him, but two lawyers and an adminstrator, all working for the State of Florida.
Then he failed to do so.
Extremism in the defence of liberty is no vice. Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.
That quote comes from one of the all time great Republicans, Barry Goldwater.
They said he was an extremist, too, so we got Lyndon Johnson, instead, and the Great Society, that has almost destroyed us.
"And what you'll discover is that leaving the Republican party over one issue is the quickest way to lose on that issue."
And what WE have discovered, after 30 years of organizing, contributing, and being the footsoldiers for the party in many parts of the country, is that we have ALREADY LOST on the issue we care the most about: the sacredness of life.
Republicans, Democrats, it's all the same: abortion on demand, imposed by an imperial judiciary, is the law of the land. And now so is euthanasia, imposed by an imperial judiciary. Including nearly all the Republicans on the judiciary who decided anything in the Schiavo case.
So, the only possible way to change that dynamic and actually put one single WIN in the pro-life column, was for the Executive to act, and for the Legislature to act on the nuclear option.
They both welched on both last week.
So, there is no sting or threat in your words.
You imply that we will lose something if we walk away.
We have already lost everything.
We remain where we were 30 years ago: at zero.
And the Republicans this week turned away from the chance to assert the sacredness of life over and above bad law and imperial judicial overreach.
They chose not to.
So, the "quickest way to lose"?
Actually, the slowest way for us to lose was to take 30 years to support the GOP, to have 5 of the 6 branches of government controlled by the GOP in the Schiavo case all turn away from doing the right thing.
We took a long time to lose.
We started at zero and stayed at zero.
We cannot lose MORE than abortion on demand and euthanasia on court order by becoming discouraged and leaving the folks who were not really our allies (and still aren't: where's the Nuclear Option?)
The only people with anything to lose, actually, are the rest of the Republicans. Because we got zero and are still at zero, but they got an economic agenda which will be dismantled if we are not there to support them.
There is still one thing the Republicans can do to save their coalition and agenda: pass the Nuclear Option now.
Not next year. By then, there will be a million new former Republican Christian pro-life Independents.
This is not hard.
Once again the Republicans have the POWER to do something, but just won't do it.
After the past two weeks, people like me believe that is because the Republicans don't ever really intend to spill any real political blood over life. They'll talk, but they won't act.
And that is not acceptable.
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