That would give a sense of satisfaction to a lot of people here. It would also confirm in a lot of swing voter minds the suspicions that the Schiavo case has already raised: That the Republican party has been taken over by the Religious Right.
The GOP coalition is self-destructing before my eyes. Another thread talks about the Democrats keeping a low profile on all this. Well it's not because they're scared, as somebody on that thread claimed. It's because they know it's smart not to take the spotlight off the circular firing squad taking place among the Republicans.
This is going to be a SERIOUS problem unless people of good will step up and try to patch the fissures that have appeared over the Schiavo case.
"Stupid Party" indeed. Karl Rove couldn't have dreamed this up in his worst nightmare.
I agree that people here need to calm down. Not everyone here is a *religious* conservative and we need to respect that some of us are, and some of us aren't. I'm sure the DUmmies are looking upon this thread with glee. The simple fact is that the law (read: legislature) ultimately failed Terri. Common sense tells me that there should be numerous safeguards in place before taking anyone's life, including (duh, obviously) checking for any possible conflict of interest. Whatever legistator suggested amending a law to allow a plea for death from a spouse based only on hearsay should be slapped. Talk about a lack of common sense. That's not to say Greer is blameless, but if he has an out for his judgments it's because the legislature gave it to him. That's something that we, the voters, can and must fix. Granted, hindsight is 20/20 and between this and the Scott Peterson case it looks prettu obvious, but now that it *is* obvious there's no reason to get the law done right. There will be future Terri Schiavos and it's important not to fail them. Instead of getting acrimonious *with each other* this is a mission we can take on: make sure our laws are structured to always "err on the side of life". This is a worthy cause and I will be shocked if we don't see a full-court press from George and Jeb on it.
"This is going to be a SERIOUS problem unless people of good will step up and try to patch the fissures that have appeared over the Schiavo case."
I am afraid that no amount of good will can change the vast chasm of differences that exist between groups in the party; this current situation just brought it to a head. Social/religious conservatives came to the rescue of President Bush, et.al.(they voted FOR him not against Kerry) and expect to be rewarded for the effort with their agenda being realized. The old Goldwater republicans refuse to realize they are passe and have deluded themselves into thinking they still own the party.
The only thing I can see that could possible hold this strange confederation together is a renewed fear of a common enemy. However, that can only work a limited number of times. People of any stripe expect to get from an elected official what they voted them in for.
Take heart in one thing though. The Democratic party is an even more fractured jumble of self-interests groups.