RockThrower

Something to Think About

"In resolving the Schiavo controversy it is my judgment that ... the legislative and executive branches of our government have acted in a manner demonstrably at odds with our Founding Fathers' blueprint for the governance of a free people -- our Constitution."

-- Judge Stanley Birch, Federal Court of Appeals 3/30/05

Schiavo Case Will Intensify Conservative Push for Control of Courts

"Hell to Pay."

The rule of law apparently stands - for now anyway.  This past week federal judges demonstrated the importance of an independent judiciary, rejecting the efforts of conservative congressional leaders to intervene in the case of Terry Schiavo and promote the "pro-life" agenda of right-wing Christian leaders.

In so doing, the federal courts fulfilled the vision of the constitutional framers. As Alexander Hamilton wrote in 1788 urging ratification of the Constitution, "independent judges guard the Constitution and the rights of individuals from the effects of those ill humors, which have a tendency to occasion dangerous innovations in government." (Credit for this historical gem goes to Stephen Henderson, who first reported it in a terrific news analysis of the Schiavo case for Knight Ridder Newspapers)

Chastened by the response of the courts, not to mention public opinion polls showing that more than 80 percent of Americans disapprove of the actions of Congress in the Schiavo matter, Congressional leaders doing the bidding of their right-wing Christian backers have crawled back under the rocks that they came out from.

But anyone who thinks they will stay there long is kidding themselves.  Having failed to get the courts to agree to expand the "pro-life" agenda by intervening in the Schiavo case, conservative Christian political groups will accelerate their efforts to place judges on the courts who agree with their beliefs.

In the words of Randall Terry, the radical anti-abortion leader, "if Terry Schiavo dies, there will be hell to pay."

Even before the Schiavo case, conservative Christian forces were girding for battle to ensure that the Senate would approve "pro-life" judges nominated by President Bush.  Failing in their efforts to block the appointment of moderate Republican Senator Arlen Specter as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Tony Perkins, president of the conservative Family Research Council pledged to "hold Specter's feet to the fire" on the nomination of pro-life judicial nominees.  The appointment of pro-life judges to the federal courts is a top priority for the Family Research Council and other like minded groups.

The Schiavo case will only intensify those efforts. Attacks on the Courts have already begun by conservative Christian leaders such as the Reverend Louis P. Sheldon who said this week that "the greatest blessing is that people are realizing that the court system in America has dictatorial control over too many people's lives. This is a precursor to what I believe is going to be happening when there is a vacancy on the Supreme Court."

And the Christian Right won't have to look far to find friends to help in the battle.  Congressional Whip Tom Delay, who has previously said that "God is using me to promote a biblical world view in American politics," apparently called the Schiavo case "a blessing for the cause" at a meeting last week with the Family Research Council. Delay was followed at the meeting by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist who has threatened to end the time honored Senate "filibuster" in order to prevent Democrats from blocking Senate confirmation of Judicial appointees. Frist, like the rest of the Republican Senate leadership has a 100% rating from the Christian Coalition.  My guess is that the Schiavo case will only increase the pressure from conservatives for Frist to pull the trigger on what is called the "nuclear option."

If there is one bright spot in the sordid mess that the Schiavo case has become it is that many Americans may have gotten a glimpse of the Republican base with the blankets pulled down, and they may not like what they see.  While it's not easy to look at, maybe it will help voters to realize that in the words of Republican Congressman Christopher Shays "the party of Lincoln has become the party of theocracy."  And that if Tony Perkins and Tom Delay get their way, that is what America will become.

Schiavo Case: Will Republicans Overreach ?

An Out of Control "Moral" Majority?

Do you now or have you ever used Steroids? What's next, naming names?

While baseball looks bad for failing to police performance enhancing drug use, existing state and federal laws, not to mention a new League drug policy provide more than adequate tools to address the issue.

The Republican-led Congress on the other hand appears to be out of control, seeking opportunities for political grandstanding wherever they may find them. Emboldened by their recent electoral victories, and prodded by their conservative Christian supporters, Republicans are turning over every rock in search of political opportunities to build their majority in 2006.

Which is why the only person happier than baseball chief Bud Selig to see the Terri Schiavo case catch fire was Republican Whip Tom Delay.  The Schiavo case was a two-fer for a scandal plagued Delay and the Republican majority.  Not only did it blow news coverage of Delay's dealings off the front page, but according to a report in the Washington Post, a political memo distributed to Republican members of Congress calls the case a "a great political issue" that will appeal to the party base or core supporters."

Never mind that Congress has no jurisdiction in the matter and that the action trashes Constitutional protections of state's rights, conservative Republicans backed by their far right Christian-base see this as a golden opportunity for expanding the "pro-life agenda in the 2006 elections.  Apparently the Constitution no longer applies to cases where the religious right wants their way.

As the Los Angeles Times editorial page wrote in "The Midnight Coup" an editorial on the intervention of Congress, "this case once again shows that some social conservatives are happy to see the federal government acquire Stalinist proportions when imposing their morality on the rest of the country."

And so on Monday morning, leaving Ariel Sharon at the ranch to tend the cows, President Bush cut short his Texas vacation to fly back to Washington DC to sign legislation seeking to force the Courts to reinsert a feeding tube into a woman who has been brain dead for fifteen years.  Too bad Bush didn't move so quickly to prevent the loss of life when he was presented with a memo detailing an imminent terrorist threat a few years back while on vacation at the Ranch.  Maybe we should have had Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council give it to him.

The hypocrisy of the Republicans on this issue knows no bounds.  Republican leaders are spouting endlessly about how deeply Republicans care about states rights and how Republicans will protect those rights, and then in the next breath saying that Congress was right to intervene in the Schiavo case.

As I understand their reasoning, states apparently have rights, as long as Republican members of Congress and their conservative Christian supporters agree with them.  The Republican majority apparently seems to feel that it can make up the rules as it goes along. 

But this Republican hubris is making some folks nervous. In a recent analysis, Gary Langer, director of polling for ABC News, reports that "Americans broadly and strongly disapprove of federal intervention in the Terri Schiavo case, with sizable majorities saying Congress is overstepping its bounds for political gain. The ABC News Poll finds that the public, by 63 percent-28 percent, supports the removal of Schiavo's feeding tube, and by a 25-point margin opposes a law mandating federal review of her case.  More than two thirds of the public say it is inappropriate for Congress to get involved.  The public's sentiments apppear to back Terri Schiavo's husband Mike who on ABC"s Good Morning America news program Monday said "This is a sad day for Terri. But I'll tell you what, it's also is a sad day for everyone in this country because the United States government is going to come in and trample all over your personal, family matters."

"Republicans might want to take a good look at those numbers before they overreach on this issue.  And while they are at it, they might want to remember that the United States grew into the world's strongest Democracy by living under the rule of law, not the whims of the religious right.