Posted on 11/02/2006 5:23:50 AM PST by 8mmMauser
Republican gubernatorial front-runner Charlie Crist says he was perfectly clear in opposing governmental intervention in the Terri Schiavo case.
He spoke out loudly.
And he was silent.
Loudly silent.
The day after limping through a tough nationally televised debate, the Republican attorney general wanted to talk about his plans to slash taxes. Instead reporters questioned him about his debate assertion that, “Yes, I did’’ speak out against Congress trying to force the reinsertion of the severely brain-damaged woman’s feeding tube in 2005.
Crist did not publicly express his opposition to the Schiavo intervention until April 2006, more than a year after the Pinellas woman’s death. But he maintained on Tuesday that he forcefully expressed his opposition from the start.
“I spoke loudly,” Crist said in Tallahassee. “I think it’s important that when issues like that come up and you believe that government is the appropriate place for it that you act that out, and you walk the walk, and don’t just talk the talk.’’
The attorney general noted that his office “by not going to court and pushing the agenda on that issue, that was speaking out louder than anybody else did in Florida.”
This is one of many issues — from insurance reform to abortion and civil unions — where Crist has been accused of ambiguity or trying please all sides.
Contrary to his comments Tuesday, during the Republican gubernatorial primary in August he stressed to the weekly newspaper of the Florida Baptist Convention that his office helped the governor’s office with legal work to keep Schiavo alive, even though he personally had qualms.
“I don’t remember that, but I’ll check on it and see,” Crist said when asked about that interview with the Florida Baptist Witness.
Gov. Jeb Bush came to his would-be successor’s defense. “He spoke out to me,” Bush told reporters. Crist, however, said he never directly talked to Bush.
There are few issues in the political realm so black and white as the Terri Schiavo case. People either supported the state and federal government intervening to keep her alive or they didn’t.
But Crist is the second statewide candidate recently to face questions about how he acted during the Schiavo end-of-life controversies that erupted in 2003 in the Legislature and in 2005 in both the Legislature and Congress.
Democratic Attorney General candidate Walter “Skip” Campbell, a state senator from Broward County, has been on the defensive this week for having voted to keep Schiavo alive and later criticizing the governmental intervention. Crist’s involvement in the Schiavo case may be the only common ground between the Schindler family, Terri
Schiavo’s parents and siblings who fought to keep her alive, and her husband, Michael Schiavo, who insisted his wife did not want to be kept alive in a persistent vegetative state. Both sides have criticized Crist.
“When he said in that debate that he’s going to be a leader, my heart dropped. He’s not a leader, he’s a follower,’’ Michael Schiavo said Tuesday. “If he really wanted to stand up he would have said, 'No, this is wrong. The government should stay out of this.’ ... Charlie Crist did not say a word, he was nowhere to be found. He’s a coward.’’
Terri Schiavo’s father, Bob Schindler, wrote an essay in August accusing Crist of snubbing the family’s pleas for him to help their efforts. “Florida Atty. Gen. Charlie Crist let my daughter die. He had it within his authority to save her life, but he turned a blind eye to her suffering,’’ Schindler wrote.
The Florida Democratic Party issued a release saying Crist “lied” about his role in the Schiavo case, but at a brief campaign stop at Arco-Iris restaurant in Tampa on Tuesday, Davis would only say that Crist “misrepresented his position.”
“I was up fighting George Bush and the entire United States Congress, both political parties, and Charlie Crist was unwilling to take a position,” Davis said.
Davis, trailing in polls and campaign money, is hoping his debate performance Monday night will cut Crist’s advantages. No statewide viewership numbers were available Tuesday, but in the Tampa Bay area about 152,000 households tuned in — a ratings jump for that time slot on WFLA — and that doesn’t include those who watched on MSNBC.
- Tallahassee bureau chief Steve Bousquet and staff writer Alex Leary contributed to this report. Adam C. Smith can be reached at asmith@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8241.\
THE TROOPS ANSWER KERRY (PHOTO) "HALP US JON CARRY - WE R STUCK HEAR N IRAK"
8mm
CREW is one of several pro-abortion groups that have tried to tarnish the reputation of the thousands of pregnancy centers across the nation by claiming they are giving women false information about abortion's risks.
Pro-Abortion Group Files Lawsuit Over Pregnancy Centers, Federal Funds (CREW)
8mm
Today, George Not Feelin' It does an opinion piece in the Tampa Tribune opposing Charlie Crist. It's a good read because it's been a long time since we've read anything from that warped mind.
Regarding Mikey, he's not supporting Skip Campbell for Fl AG or probably not the GOP's McCollum. He won't be able to complain if he doesn't vote for FL AG, not that it ever does any good around here...
It seems to me that compassionate liberalism and compassionate conservative are BOTH DEAD.
The hospice nurses who were kind to Terri were fired. They appeared on Hannity's program on Fox right from Hostage Woodside. Hannity hasn't mentioned Terri in quite some time.
NATIONALLY: I don't believe the GOP will lose the House which has been wildly predicted to happen. The Senate is where most of the RINOS are in D.C. imo.
The GOP had the means to save Terri Schiavo but the fact that AG Gonzalez cancelled her rescue was my exit and I'm an indy now. I'll be voting against some candidates and for others. I do not support RINOS.
That is just awful - they are making it sound like a noble thing.
That's why I remain yours truly,
floriDUH voter
Well, based upon Doyle's statement, there's no need for lifeguards, firemen, police officers, paramedics or doctors. They are all intruding on families when they try to save lives!
There's been no mention of the email that Charlie Crist's Office did to the Florida Bar Association while Terri was being tortured to death about "protecting judges", judges like George Greer and James Whittemore. They both belong behind bars.
Charlie Crist's AG Office was intimately involved in Terri's departure. He was playing on Jeb's side of the fence sometimes and covertly through his staffers, he was protecting the worst judges in Amerika.
http://www.judgegeorgegreer.com/
I doubt any of the morons afflicted with Terriphobia ever saw the videotape where she followed instructions and did a number of tasks. Terri's videos are STILL AVAILABLE if you visit Terri's blogs but I can't recall the url at the moment.
sun, something's gotta give. I don't know when the parties will end their identity problems. The dems are out of touch and the rinos are out of touch. It's all about money now, more than ever. If you believe the campaign ads, they are all liars! How can that be? LOL
That's not entirely fair. Ths US Congress did pass legislation allowing federal review of the case and the President signed it. The Courts, however, did not respect the spirit of that legislation.
The problem is that they did not pass it until after the courts had already ruled. They should have passed legislation on this years ago. And they did not even pass legislation banning it on a going forward basis. They could pass legislation today, that would prevent this kind of confusion in the future, but they won't. They are too lazy.
It's the same reason that they use the courts to sue tobacco companies. If they wanted to do it right, they'd just pass legislation requiring the tobacco companies to pay taxes into a fund for smokers who get cancer like they did for black lung disease. But they're too lazy to do that, so they leave it up to the courts to accomplish the same thing, except it costs billions more since we are now paying legal fees.
I didn't say you were wrong, just that, in that particular case, you weren't entirely fair. Could they have done more? Should they? Yes and yes, but still they did do *something*.
That case was swept under the rug very quickly. The state tried to blame his death on everything except the smacking down he recieved upon arriving at the boot camp.
http://www.terrisfight.org
(one goal is to establish safe houses for the disabled where they can live without fear.)
Terri was very strong but she was very afraid. We were afraid for her. Shame on politicians who claim it's okay to starve and dehydrate a human being to death!
Liberals are SO smart!!!
Except that's not a "law of thermodynamics." It's Newton's Third Law of Motion.
Thanks for the laugh, Mr. Pointy Head :-) :-)
I think we need to focus on the fact that florida law can have positive change through the legislature.
We have strong republicans and so we can redo the guardianship laws. If a husband or wife is cohabitating with a boyfriend/girlfriend then there should be standing for blood family to be able to come in and intervene. Standing does not mean guarantee.
I do know if Davis gets in, the whole effort is DOA. If democrats get in it is DOA. Paternity laws were recently modified to allow DNA proof for up to 18 years. Similarly DNA exhoneration evidence was allowed without time limit.
One battle in a larger war. The new effort for Terri Schiavo's memory should be reform guardianship so this does not happen again.
(
I support Dottie Reeder for District 51 State Rep. She's against physician assisted suicide and all that nonsense. Crist won't ever sign anything to upset the death lobby's applecart. The judges and trial lawyers are his bosum buddies.
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