Posted on 03/24/2005 10:10:41 PM PST by Former Military Chick
WASHINGTON, March 24 - Gov. Jeb Bush's last-minute intervention in the case of Terri Schiavo, even after the president had ended his own effort to keep her alive, may have so far failed in a legal sense, but it has cemented the religious and social conservative credentials of a man whose political pedigree is huge and whose political future remains a subject of intense speculation.
On one level, the Florida governor's emergence as the most prominent politician still fighting, despite a string of court and legislative defeats, to have a feeding tube reinserted in Ms. Schiavo was very much in keeping with someone who has repeatedly declared a deep religious faith.
Several associates noted that he had been devoutly religious longer than President Bush, and even critics said his efforts - prodding the Florida Legislature and the courts and defying much of the electorate - were rooted in a deep-seated opposition to abortion and euthanasia rather than in political positioning.
Yet inevitably, the events of recent days have fed the mystique of Mr. Bush as a reluctant inheritor of perhaps America's most famous dynasty since the Adams family two centuries ago.
He has assumed a very high profile in this polarizing case just as Republicans are contemplating the void that will be left when President Bush begins his walk off the stage in two years or so. At a time when many of the most frequently mentioned possibilities to lead the party are moderates like John McCain and Rudolph W. Giuliani, the governor now certainly has a place, if he wants it, as a prime contender in what is shaping up as a fight to represent a conservative wing that has proved increasingly dominant.
"He has strongly identified himself with the Christian conservative movement," said Matthew Corrigan, a political science professor at the University of North Florida. "If the Republican Party is looking for someone with good ties with the Christian conservative movement, he is the one who is going to have them."
Mr. Bush is barred by term limits from seeking a third term in 2006, and associates say they cannot imagine his running for a third term even if he were permitted to do so. Further, he has said he will not run for the presidency in 2008, an assertion that all but a few associates say they accept, though some Republicans think he may well run in 2012 or 2016.
"He's got no - as far as I know, and I really believe him - he's got no future political ambitions," said Cory Tilley, a longtime adviser. "And even if he did, he would be doing exactly what he is doing now. This is very clearly an issue that strikes at his core beliefs."
Susan McManus, a political science professor at the University of South Florida, said: "He is a very ideologically consistent person. He made no bones about that from the first day he ran for office. Those of us who watch him think this is Jeb, and how he truly believes and what he truly believes, and this may be one of those instances where he's putting politics aside."
Still, several Republicans said that while Mr. Bush might be ignoring any political calculations in a case that has etched grief on his face, it would be foolish to underestimate the political skills of someone who has managed to win two elections to lead one of the nation's most divided states. His decision to continue the Schiavo battle on his own, within hours after the White House had effectively withdrawn, followed a letter in which Bill Frist, the Senate Republican leader, urged that he make sure the Florida Legislature acted "expeditiously on Terri's behalf."
Dr. Frist is arguably the other most prominent Republican seeking to inherit the president's mantle as leader of the party's conservative wing. But Mike Murphy, a close adviser to the governor, disputes the notion of any rivalry between the two men, especially in regard to the Schiavo case.
"I don't think it's a competition at all: Jeb's the guy on the spot," Mr. Murphy said. "He's the governor of the state."
Some Democrats were skeptical, however.
"This is less about Terri Schiavo and more about shoring up the Republican base, and that's a shame," said Scott Maddox, who is departing as chairman of the Florida Democratic Party and is a potential candidate for governor. "Politics has to be in play here."
At times this week, it almost seemed as if the Bush brothers were working in tandem; the governor's decision to re-enter the case once the White House had dropped it in the face of repeated judicial rebuffs may have saved the president criticism from the right. (Paradoxically, the governor himself was pummeled Thursday by some conservative activists, who demanded that he have state authorities physically seize custody of Ms. Schiavo and reinsert the tube.)
That would not be the first time the governor has come to the aid of his brother. But it is also not the first time he has intervened in the Schiavo case. In 2003, after a court ordered the tube removed, he and the Legislature enacted a law that empowered him to order it reinserted. That measure was later overturned in another judicial decision.
"Jeb Bush is not doing this for political reasons, in my opinion," said Jim Kane, chief pollster for Florida Voter, a nonpartisan polling organization. "Jeb Bush is smart enough to know that he is not going to gain anything from this, and he's probably going to lose something."
Pressing the issue could prove particularly problematic in a state like Florida, with a heavy population of elderly voters, who analysts say are more likely to recoil at government intervention in such a case.
In any event, some of Mr. Bush's associates suggest that for all the intensity stirred by the Schiavo case now, it will ultimately fade.
"Issues have a way of coming and going," Mr. Tilley said. "This one is a very deep one. But it seems like other ones always come up, especially here in Florida."
Dream on...
Don't you get that the problem in FLa was that the GOP 9 in the state legislature were less conservative than Jeb.
Had that bill that Jeb was pushing past, Terri would've been saved by now.
Mark my words, the nominee will be far less conservative than the Brothers Bush.
Got that right!
Clinton ever brought up on charges for the multiple crimes he's perpetrated?
Gore ever slapped on the wrist for the Buddhist fund raising scam - (for one thing)
when is Sandy Burgurlar going to go to jail? etc...
this is such a sad situation, I am not a Christian, but you will see, about 3 pm Good Friday, she'll be dead
He would be a Christian hero, at par with Mel Gibson!
My impression is that his "big sin" is not using the full force of government to sweep Terri Schiavo from the hospice in defiance of the law because some Freepers want him to.
What's the evidence that they were less conservative? A lot of conservatives don't think government should be making such decisions. But, you are right, the Bushes are most definitely "big government" conservatives.
Jebs been working his butt off. He looks so tired and frustrated when they show him on TV.
I like Jeb. He's a good man.
THank you. Bumping your comments to the top.
I really liked Mel, until I read those things he said about his own wife. I still like him, but just not quite so much...
Well, except when it comes to illegal immigration, then they are closer to "no government" conservatives.
It would be great for Jeb to intervene... I bet he wants to.
But I think it would be an extraordinary thing for him to do.
It's hard to ask Jeb to do it. The people that now hate Jeb don't understand that the blame lies with the Republican 9 in the Fla Legislature and the awful state and federal courts.
Jeb is a mere mortal... a good guy that has tried to save Terri and is obviously anguished over all of this.
Be careful saying stuff like that - - there's plenty of people around here today who swear there's nothing Jeb can do except look anguished, hold his palms up, and shrug his shoulders.
Noted.
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