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."
Brad King by arresting Cooey without the relatives, somehow gets them off the hook? What if Brad King was found to be derelict in his duties? THEN, Crist should step in. But, he's an empty suited RINO and for being chief law enforcment officer of Florida, he's not tough on crime. J. Greer, now he's tough - he ordered Terri to be murdered.
Florida is a sick place.
I've been advised to start watching "Law & Order". They have covered the subject of forced exit and last night they had a case where the woman was said to have committed suicide because she had a "toolkit" from the hemlock society. They dug deeper in the plot of this fictional drama and concluded that the victim was actually MURDERED. Law & Order is on to something. That's their second swing at "the right to die nazi's".
The Red Nova article is very good. Giacino is the same doctor that the NY Times article from a couple of years ago quoted. Brain-injured patients are being hung out to dry. Isolate them long enough, and they won't respond to anything or anyone. Same thing would happen to me if I was abandoned and isolated. People need people.
God help us! I am still in shock over what we've done as a society!
Gallagher has a great resume and he is sound.
I heard that Sen. Jim King, for example asked Christine Todd Whittman to help him in his campaign. If he needs somebody from New Jersey, another RINO to help him, he must know that he's having trouble with the women's vote. He scared someone from this area in his office. He's an in your face kind of politician. My friend got physically ill after their meeting because he scared her.
JIM KING PING.
I believe Crist stated that he was not going to get involved in Brad King's district. He did a photo-op next to Jessie's dad though.
Caption this photo.
"Darn, I can't remember, was I a Democrat or a Republican in the last election?"
"did a photo-op next to Jessie's dad though"
He likes those photo-op's. There will be people who vote for him just because they recognize his face or name...I'm not voting for him and intend to spread the word. We need the photo of him and Janet Reno together on BIG signs here in the I-4 corrider.
Okay, that's your caption. Pretty good. He was a RINO last election.
Where is Tom Gallagher from again? I want to help Gallagher win the primary in September of 2006 as much as I plan to work against Crist's campaign. If Crist wins, Florida loses.
Bill O' Reilly asks "Is the ACLU Bin Laden's best ally?"
FV SAYS: If it's anti-American, the ACLU is for it.
http://www.fldfs.com/Treasurer/Bio/
TOM GALLAGHER FOR FLA GUV
So a politician, an extraterrestrial and a shark are sitting in a bar. The extraterrestrial says, "why do humans keep voting for Democrats and Republicans?" The politician says, "because we fool them into thinking there's a difference!> (rimshot! ba-da-bing!)
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