TERRI WAS NOT PVS, freepers & lurkers and it appears that she even had a crush on Attorney David Gibbs.
Posted on 07/31/2005 3:38:47 AM PDT by amdgmary
TALLAHASSEE - It was one of the shortest speeches of Charlie Crist's career, but as a campaign for governor unfolds, it may prove to be one of the most memorable.
Two weeks ago, the Republican attorney general and candidate for governor gave a late-night speech to a roomful of lawyers in Miami where he referred to the judges in the Terri Schiavo case as "heroes."
Crist insists he wasn't endorsing court rulings that prevented the brain-damaged woman's feeding tube from being reconnected, but critics view it differently. And by appearing to break his silence in the Schiavo case, Crist has sharpened the contrast between himself and Republican rival Tom Gallagher, who has said he favored government action to "prevent Terri's starvation."
At the dinner in Miami, Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge George Greer and U.S. District Judge James Whittemore of Tampa were honored as jurists of the year by the Florida chapter of ABOTA, the American Board of Trial Advocates. The group champions judicial independence and its members are lawyers who represent both plaintiffs and defendants.
Greer is the judge who ordered Schiavo's feeding tube removed, rejecting a subpoena from Congress and pleas from Gov. Jeb Bush, and Whittemore also denied emergency requests to reinsert the tube in the weeks before Schiavo died March 31. Both men's decisions were later upheld by higher courts, and both were praised and vilified by opposing sides of the emotionally charged end-of-life case.
Crist said he was "proud" of both judges.
"You are heroes to all of us, and your defense of the judiciary and what is right is beyond admirable," Crist was quoted in the Daily Business Review, a Miami newspaper that provided the only news account of the July 15 event at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables.
In an interview, Crist did not dispute the quotations. Nor did he offer a view of whether he agreed with their decisions. Rather, he said, he praised them for fulfilling their constitutional duty to provide checks and balances against the other two branches of government.
"I try to say nice things about judges. I'm sure I was complimentary," said Crist, who as the state's chief legal officer often speaks at bar-related events. "I didn't talk about any specific case. ... It's important that those checks and balances exist. Our system of government needs to have that."
Crist's comments have resonated far beyond the Biltmore.
"Judge Greer is a poster child for everything that's wrong with the judiciary," said Gary Cass, executive director of the Center for Reclaiming America, a grass roots Christian political group in Fort Lauderdale that lists "sanctity of life" as one of its priorities and plans to form a political action committee.
"For Charlie Crist to hold that up as an example of good judicial practice concerns me," Cass said. "I think it was a mistake for Charlie to say that. I don't know how anybody can be happy about a woman being deprived food and water."
Rep. Dennis Baxley, the Republican from Ocala who sponsored legislation last spring to force the tube to be reconnected, said Crist's speech was revealing.
"I think it is one of those very important moments for us to know where he (Crist) stands," Baxley said. "I truly believe there's a lot of people out there who were sensitive to this case who are going to find those comments, and that association, very instructive. I'm understanding where people line up on this."
Baxley said that while Crist was "conspicuously absent" from the Schiavo debate in the Legislature, Gallagher sent Baxley a personal letter of support last spring. While activists in the Schiavo debate take aim at Crist, his Republican rival Gallagher is not.
"Tom's made his position very clear in the past. There's really no comment we're going to make on that," said David Johnson, a Gallagher adviser.
Polls show a majority of Americans agreed with the judges' decisions to order the removal of Schiavo's tube, as her husband, Michael, said she wanted. By a greater margin, polls show people were opposed to Congress' intervention in the case.
But to those who view the long-running Schiavo saga as a test case of support for the sanctity of life - like abortion - Greer and Whittemore are "judicial activists" who starved a woman to death.
Many of those people can vote in the Republican primary for governor in September 2006. Crist's stand on the Schiavo case could prove to be an asset if he wins the GOP nomination and faces a Democrat. But one Republican strategist said the damage has been done.
"Schiavo killed the Republicans. They've lost the women's vote," said Matt Towery, an ex-Republican legislator who now runs an Atlanta media and polling firm. "It's one of those turning points that you just can't get away from."
Here's the opinion of pro-life nurses re: Living Wills: http://www.priestsforlife.org/euthanasia/prolifenurses.htm
thing is when Terri had her incident in 1991 hardly anyone knew what a living will was. Sure they were slowly coming into hospitals, etc... but Terri was young and back than no one would have thought of a living will. To blame her is really rediculous!
If Greer is lawless from the get go, there's no reason to cut him a pass as if suddenly, he follows the rule of law. Greer is a corrupt, judicial despot. Whittemore's friend is strip club magnate Joe Redner who is in the ACLU and the Atheists of Florida. Is Judge Whittemore in the ACLU or is he an atheist too? They all act like they could be atheists or worse. They don't look good in a side by side comparison of good vs. evil. They are in the evil column.
Finally, Judge Greer defied the US Congress and the POTUS as did Judge Whittemore. IN DEFIANCE OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT, got it?
I was just listening to Laura Ingraham talk about eminent domain, and she said that someone like Donald Trump - she actually mentioned Trump by name - could just take your property.
So it triggered a thought when someone said that Trump and Crist were friends, at least politically, and Trump has interests in FL, so I don't think Crist would protect Floridians from eminent domain if it came to his friend, Donald Trump.
Does anyone from FL here have any input about Trump/Crist/eminent domain?
Jeb blamed Terri for putting her family through her death. Excuse me, but she wasn't a bystander. She was being starved and dehydrated for two weeks! I believe I actually told his staffer to tell him to "shut up". I regret that Jeb didn't listen to me when I'd call that we knew about all the corruption and all the psychopath/sociopaths who were involved in the agenda to kill her. The death lawyers sure knew what stated to set up shop in to start their little "social revolution." I wonder who they're killing today.
You'd get excited if someone cut off your food and water. You'd be terrorized. Crist is not a champion for the disabled, until it's about him getting a hangnail or an eyelash caught in his eye.
While I thoroughly understand their reasons for doing what they did, there is plenty of reason to doubt the authority of the US Govt to get involved in a case like this. Could it be that he was still following the law to the best of his ability?
I don't particularly care who Greer's friends are; that's a very weak, circumstantial indictment in any event. For Pete's sake, I have liberal friends too. They don't affect my beliefs at all.
ping to 124 re: eminent domain and Crist/Trump.
Bump!
Birds of a feather stick together - friend argument over and out.
FREEPERS & LURKER: Dirt on Greer and company. http://www.judgegeorgegreer.com and at http://www.theempirejournal.com.
Floriduh Voter: "Greer handed Terri's rehab monies to a grifter attorney and his sidekicks. Michael Schiavo should have been kicked out as Terri's guardian and HINO violated countless guardianship laws."
Does anyone have a list of the announced Governor and Senate candidates?
"ping to 124 re: eminent domain and Crist/Trump."
Thanks for pinging my question.
TERRI WAS NOT PVS, freepers & lurkers and it appears that she even had a crush on Attorney David Gibbs.
Katherine Harris for Senate v. Bill Nelson is up: www.electharris.org
www.myflorida.com did not have anything.
I will try the others.
Good luck on your search.
I will NEVER forget the excruciating two-week public spectacle of Terri Schiavo's court-ordered murder.
Easter Sunday was excruciating.
And Holy Week was almost too much to believe or comprehend.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.