Frist Says Courts in Schiavo Case Acted Fairly

Reuters ^ | 4/5/05 | Thomas Ferraro

[Crackingham]

U.S. Senate Republican leader Bill Frist said on Tuesday that courts had acted fairly in the Terri Schiavo "right-to-die" case, differing sharply from a vow of retribution by his House of Representatives counterpart, Tom DeLay.

"I believe we have a fair and independent judiciary today," said Frist, now trying to resolve a battle with Democrats over judicial nominations that threatens to tie his chamber into knots. "I respect that."

Frist and DeLay, as the Senate and House majority leaders, had led a charge for emergency legislation calling on the federal courts to review the Schiavo case. President Bush flew back from a Texas vacation to sign the bill into law. But federal courts refused to intervene and let stand a Florida state court order to remove a feeding tube from the brain-damaged woman. Schiavo's husband had said she would not have wanted to live in her condition, but her parents fought against the tube's removal. Schiavo died last week after spending 15 years in what courts had ruled was a persistent vegetative state.

DeLay, a Texas Republican, said afterward: "We will look at an arrogant, out-of-control, unaccountable judiciary that thumbed their nose at the Congress and president when given jurisdiction to hear this case anew."

In a written statement, DeLay said: "The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior."

Frist, asked about the furor over the case, told reporters, "I will let members (of Congress) ... speak for themselves."

But the Tennessee Republican said he believed the courts "acted in a fair and independent way."

The Schiavo case was unique, Frist said. "Our bill said, 'let's let the courts take another look,"' he said.

[Nowhere Man]

Figures. This kind of thing is why I left the Republican Party and re-registered as "Decline to State".

I heard that Republicans are leaving in droves - Terri AND the illegal immigration issue.

What are the Republicans thinking? Can they really be this stupid?!

Well, I do foresee me staying registered Republican, been so since I was 18 in 1984, but there are times I do feel politically homeless, the Democrats, well, that's been hashed out here and rightly so, are not the place to go, but between the turkey of bankruptcy reform and now Terri, I feel likethe Republican Party is leaving me (to borrow from Pat Buchanan) as well. I guess I see myself as a "Michael Savage Independent Conservative" type.

[claudiustg]

Bad lawyers and no dough will get you killed surer than a 44.

[pollywog]

---DeLay risks losing the House with his crusade against the judiciary.---

No way! He needs to escalate!

YOU BET he needs to escalate it. He is the ONLY hope the conservatives have right now in bringing justice to the Judicial system. It will be a total SHAME if the moderate Pubbies throw rocks at him right now. A big loss for the party. Many are watching and making decisions right now concerning their future in the Republican party.

[pollywog]

Last week changed my whole perception of the Rep party. Eyes are wide open now. Wonder if it has registered with Rove & Company yet?

I have really let have at it, when I get my weekly calls from the RNC!!! Money, from ME? ya gotta be kidding!!! Until there is justice for Terri, count me out. It is amazing how sheepish these poor people manning the phones become when you mention the " Terri" word!!

[pollywog]

Frist thinks that now that Terri is dead, people will just forget the whole thing.

I think and I hope, he is wrong.

We had better not forget!!! If we do, we will deserve every bit of what will be coming our way.......DISASTROUS!!!!

[FairOpinion]

The Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation wants to continue the fight, we need to support them.

http://www.terrisfight.org/

Terri's family and the volunteers of the Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation have vowed to focus the Foundation, named for her, on assisting other desperate families in their efforts to protect vulnerable loved ones. Updates will be posted soon.

Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation.
4615 Gulf Blvd #104-103
St Petersburg Beach, FL 33706

[maine-iac7]

Sister Frist strikes again

I am sick to death of his jelly spine - sometimes I wonder if Hill&Bill doesn't hold something on him - they didn't steal, illegally and without any punishment - or even ethics questions - those FBI files for nothing.

I suspicion they have compiled from those files, a lot of blackmail info that keeps people in line. If that's not it - then they are simply spineless.

We need to freep Frist until he's snowed under.

They are letting the dems get away with everything as if they were the ones with the majority. It looks like they are going to p*ss away our whole advantage...God save America...it seems men wont

[jackibutterfly]

Please, someone, tell me what this "Nuclear Option" is. Thanks.

[maine-iac7]

and another thing!

If Frist is too spineless to act on an issue that had the UNANIMOUS (!) vote of the senate - and the majority of the country furious - what the h*ll WILL he ever be brave enough to stand up on?

[maine-iac7]

sigh - Frist needs to taken out to the woodshed

[Spyder]

My guess is that he got enough hate mail from Republican medical people wondering why he had all of a sudden given up any claims to believing objective data, which is why he's backtracking now.

[jackibutterfly]

Vicomte13 - your post is absolutely AMAZING!!! Would you PLEASE give me permission to use it? I want to send it to the sitting Republicans - they ALL need to read this, especially your line, "The law must move to protect life." THAT paragraph, especially, is so profound! Thank you for posting it. You are a very articulate, insightful, thoughtful writer (you probably should write speeches!).

[rdcorso]

Here comes the sellout I was waiting for.They may have some excuse for not saving her life but there's no excuse for allowing the corrupt scumbags in Pinnellas county to go free.

[jackibutterfly]

P.S. I was referring to Post #188.

[Spyder]

My guess is that he got enough hate mail from Republican medical people wondering why he had all of a sudden given up any claims to believing objective data, which is why he's backtracking now.

[Nick Danger]

You're a lawyer, and you are looking at this professionally.

No I am not, and don't you ever call me one again :)

I am too

Oh. I guess I should take it as a compliment then. Very well, thank you.

Here, the law was allowed to become a vehicle, sword and shield, to do evil.

Yes. It's not the first time I've seen this. The courts are allowing themselves to be "gamed." Clever lawyers have learned to use the courts' own procedures to make them advance something that is fundamentally, cosmically wrong, but which "procedures" dictate must continue. This one was far scarier than the other one I've been watching, which is mostly just about money.

the law - especially the equitable power of the law - has got to find it and execute it when the law is being an ass.

Thank you for expressing so eloquently what I have been struggling to describe myself. I tried to put myself in Whittemore's shoes. I could not figure out how he could sit there and write what he did without noticing the starving woman in the room. It was like he was writing an exercise in hair-splitting for the amusement of the appeals court justices that he knew would be reading it. It was all very much "inside baseball" without a thought given to the starving human being at the center of it all.

As a legal decision, it was careful, meticulous, and perhaps even "fair." But it was a disembodied decision, a thought-sprite devoid of any humanity. A computer could have written it.

I read the 11th Circuit Appeals Court opinions as well, and Birch's in particular was the same kind of ivory-tower sophistry. "It's tragic that this woman must die, but... we have our rules, and the rules must be followed, and the rules were followed, so I guess she dies." And never mind whether any of it made any sense.

I grope to find that "higher purpose"

Also consider (d), that the opinions were written to impress their colleagues with their ability to recite the rules chapter-and-verse, to follow procedure, and to elegantly find ways to apply the procedures regardless of what the hell this is really about. Because that starving woman who is at the core of this case is ultimately no more relevant to the "rules" than the next case we'll hear about whether the garage-door-opener company should have to refund the purchase price.

What I saw was the judiciary frankly siding with the Devil, for death, and being positively Pharisaic about it

I did not get the sense that they were "siding with death." They certainly were being Pharisaic. My sense was that they were being so extremely Pharisaic that the fact that a woman was going to die here was actually outside their deliberations. I don't think they were trying to achieve the death of an innocent woman. It was just the regrettable side-effect of following procedures. And they have their noses buried so deeply in the law books that the death of a human being didn't even phase them. If evil is the absence of good, then they are evil. Not malevolent perhaps, but evil nonetheless.

[Nick Danger]

I don't think that merely asking for a de novo trial on the facts of the case would suffice for this judge

His decision seems to imply that it would have. I agree that we don't know what he would have done had they brought him such a plea.

[maine-iac7]

Not all Senators are limp willed, at least one has cajones

http://exposingtheleft.blogspot.com/2005/03/santorum-terri-ruling-defied-congress.html

thanks for the site address, traderrob:

OKAY, everybody, let's freep Santorims site with comments about Terri's case and the out-of-control-judiciary.

I notice both Frist and DeLay don't have a way you can either comment or email them - wienies. (and snail mail these days, because of secruity, takes a month - ) But if you are in their district,you can email them thru the senate or the Congress site

Senate:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Congress:

http://www.house.gov/

[maine-iac7]

This is a very inflammatory and potential damaging statement. Don't say it unless you can back it up.

you are right - just what the DU lurkers are looking to grab onto.

Instead of deserting, remember what Lincoln said:

"He has the right to criticize who has the heart to help."

It seems every time some republican says something we don't like, there's a rush to jump ship.

Well, it might be a long swim. It might be better to help batten Don the hatches and help with the sails.

Unless you can convince yourself we would be better off with another Clinton or Carter? (How soon we forget)

[maine-iac7]

Don't you understand how much worse the Rats are?

Exactly - it was, after all, the Rats that have been working for so long, so hard, to bring the activist judiciary about