Gov. Bush Frustrated by Schiavo Roadblocks

AP/Yahoo News ^ | March 24, 2005 | BRENDAN FARRINGTON

[FairOpinion]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - It's not often Gov. Jeb Bush is frustrated pursuing his goals. He was the first governor to start a statewide school voucher program. He got rid of civil service protections for tens of thousands of state workers. He pushed through billions of dollars in tax cuts. His goal of prolonging the life of Terri Schiavo is proving much harder.

"It is frustrating for people to think that I have power that I don't, and not be able to act," Bush told The Associated Press on Thursday. "I don't have embedded special powers. I wish I did in this particular case."

Bush canceled travel plans Thursday to monitor the case of Schiavo, a brain-damaged woman who has gone without food and water since a judge ordered her feeding tube removed March 18.

He was in constant contact with his legal office, ordered staffers to e-mail and call him with developments and demanded state laws be scoured for a way to reconnect Schiavo's feeding tube.

At his office, Bush waved an affidavit from neurologist William Cheshire that questions whether Schiavo is in a persistent vegetative state. The emotion in his voice rose as he detailed how the affidavit stated Schiavo made a crying sound, grimaced and pressed her eyebrows together when a doctor said he was going to turn her over.

She "signals her anticipation of pain. Just like you would, or just like I would. Now is it perfect? Is she responding with the same eloquence that you would respond to? ... No. She's severely, profoundly disabled," Bush said.

The governor's court record is mixed. He succeeded in removing affirmative action guarantees from state hiring and university admission practices, but a law requiring doctors to notify parents if they perform an abortion on minor girls was thrown out.

Still, he's been persistent. After a court threw out a law requiring tougher sentences for three-time felons, the governor went back to the Legislature and fixed the problem. Currently, he and lawmakers are working on a plan to require parents be notified before their minor daughters get abortions.

In the Schiavo case, he's running out of legal avenues — but not hope.

"You know what I hope for first and foremost? That Mr. Schiavo would say, 'I'm going to let Terri be with her parents. I'm going to move on with my life. I've made my point,'" Bush said, referring to Schiavo's husband, Michael, who insists she would not want to be kept alive artificially. "That obviously doesn't appear to be happening."

"So secondly I pray for an openness by the people who are responsible for making these decisions so we can act and allow for her to stabilize."

He says the courts appear to have turned a deaf ear to his arguments.

"For this lockdown to occur without having the ability to have an open mind, and say, 'Well, maybe there are new facts on the table, maybe there are new technologies, maybe, just maybe, we should be cautious about this' ... is very troubling," Bush said.

In 2003, when the Legislature passed a law allowing Bush to order the feeding tube reinserted after it had been removed, critics accused him of political grandstanding as his brother, President Bush (news - web sites), sought re-election.

Justin Sayfie, Bush's former communications director, said they were wrong: "He's term-limited out. His brother is term-limited out."

"Most strategists or political operatives would say 'Don't touch this,'" said GOP political strategist Geoffrey Becker, noting polls show most people don't believe government should be involved in the case. "I firmly believe that this is his personal conviction, that he believes this is the right thing to do."

[Siobhan]

I think you are mistaken. It is a sort of Andrew Jackson view of checks and balances meets Jeffersonian foundations of the nation.

[PhilDragoo]

This is truly a constitutional crisis, and no further amount of law-passing will solve the problem. The courts have shown they will merely throw out any law which presumes to limit their authority or reverse their decisions, and therefore, if the Governor is constrained to act only under "the law" and not according to constitutional principles he is now fully subservient to the courts by default.

Mark Levin author of Men in Black said as much on Sean Hannity today.

Greer has been rubberstamped by a succession of courts, all in defiance of legislation signed by the president.

[cubreporter]

Act, Jeb. Play the man!




Act??????? Play the man??????????? Shame on you!

[ohioWfan]

Yes, indeed. Well, I think I've had enough of the dark side for the time being.

See you in the light, jonny. I'm off.... :o)

[silent_jonny]

Me too. I'm sick of this.

[MTOrlando]

And when did he fail to do that, genius?

He could have started here:

FS 825.102 (3)(a)  "Neglect of an elderly person or disabled adult" means:

1.  A caregiver's failure or omission to provide an elderly 
person or disabled adult with the care, supervision, and 
services necessary to maintain the elderly person's or 
disabled adult's physical and mental health, including, but 
not limited to, food, nutrition, clothing, shelter, 
supervision, medicine, and medical services that a prudent 
person would consider essential for the well-being of the 
elderly person or disabled adult; or

FS 782.07 (2)  A person who causes the death of any elderly 
person or disabled adult by culpable negligence under s. 
825.102(3) commits aggravated manslaughter of an elderly 
person or disabled adult, a felony of the first degree, 
punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 
775.084.

Now that we've established that we are witnessing aggravated manslaughter in progress, the Governor can exercise his constitutional authority to send in the national guard (previously cited).

[timburton]

>>>...our system of checks and balances and seperation of powers would crumble

Of course, the problem with your response is that there presently ARE NO "checks and balances" as Jeb Bush makes abundantly clear by bowing down before his masters, the judges. A governor with guts would tell them to go pound sand in a case where an innocent person's life is at stake.<<<

Bingo! We have a winner! The Judge is not checked by anyone, therefore he is a tyrant.

Traditional Philosophical understanding of the Court was that they were in check by the Executive Branch, because the Exec could chose not to enforce the law.

By logical extension if a person says a Judge's ruling is final, that would mean that if enough Judges agreed with a Muslim who brings a complaint demanding the death of all Jews in the US by Gentile hands, then we would all need to be executing Jews.

This rings irrational on a philosophical level and a moral level, which means that the only rational conclusion is that the Exec Branch must enforce or deny any judgment by a judge depending upon the compliance of the judgement on Natural Law.

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

What are *you* personally doing to assist Terri?

[ohioWfan]

If you hang around this kind of garbage too long, it can discourage you, and we need all the courage we can muster to fight the REAL battles, against the REAL enemies........and that isn't the Bush brothers.

Praying fervently for Terri and her family, and for Jeb to have the wisdom of Solomon, that he needs right now.

God bless our President and the good Governor of Florida!

[SolomoninSouthDakota]

I think your afraid of shadows. Leaders should not be afraid of such shadows when it's clear they should defend innocent life.

I'm for sending in the state troopers, federal marshals, the swat team and all. I am hoping they actually have it planned to coincide with the taking of Elian Gonzales. If not, my opinion of the Bushes takes a hit.

[My GOP]

I think you are mistaken. It is a sort of Andrew Jackson view of checks and balances meets Jeffersonian foundations of the nation.


I hate Andrew Jackson. According to his view, chief executives only have to enforce the court rulings they like. Sounds kind of dictorial to me.

[ARCADIA]

And when did he fail to do that, genius?

Where is the criminal investigation?

Do terminally ill patients normally linger on for 15 years, or was there fraud committed? Is poligamy the law of the state; can a man who has a common law wife claim dominion over another? What kind of rules of evidence would proscribe the deposition of a witness, and rely on an incomplete set of material facts to condemn her to death?

Perhaps Terry is and has been brian dead; perhaps we do owe Michael a sincere apology; but, I for one would like to know beyond a reasonable doubt before we starve someone to death.

[TAdams8591]

Oh, the Judges CLEARLY bear SOME OF THE BURDEN OF GUILT particularly Judge GREER who is the MOST GUILTY OF ALL the government authorities. I totally agree about Judge Whittemore, who took 24 hours to say NO!

Please read THOMAS MOORE LAW CENTER Response To JEB BUSH Request for OPINION ON SCHIAVO CASE supplied 10/15/2003.

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

I saw that, too. Lol.

[PhilipFreneau]

Cute.

[antiunion person]

I have a comment about the survey on FR today. From what I hear, Terri is bleeding from the nose, kidneys have shut down and she is having other medical problems. She is past the point of saving. She, I hate to say this, is better off dead. Her system is shutting down and reinstalling the feeding tube will not her anymore. I think we should let her die and then go after her husband for neglect, endangerment and whatever the police can think of. Her husband demands that her body be cremated immediately after death before an autopsy can be performed. What is this bastard trying to hide?? What are the courts allowing this murderer to hide?? Why do murderers and rapists on death row get more rights than Terri?? Maybe someone can appease my feelings some. I can frustrated that a person can allow another person to starve to death and the courts won't help the victim. I hope someone takes dear old Michael on a ride he never returns from. She deserves better and he doesn't.

[smoothsailing]

Good Idea, no doubt they have more when they are alone with each other.

[johnb838]

A bullet in the head, naked in a trench is really a very calm and peaceful way to go. We should all be engaging in some reflection rather than all this complaining.

[ohioWfan]

More what?

Oh, never mind.........I don't want to know. ;o)

[TAdams8591]

I agree.

Instead he had a press conference and then went back to get permission from the same Judge (GREER) who ordered Terri's execution.