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Republicans?

33 durable postsStarted 2005-03-22Latest 2005-04-01
#12169Post 1 of 33

As a former card-carrying member of the republican party who got tired of non-republican behavior, I've got to know if any of you are starting to get irked with your party yet. For a party that is fundamentally based upon an idea that government ought not intrude upon citizens and states' rights, Bush and his buddies seem to be doing the exact opposite. Honestly, holding an emergency session of congress to push through a bill to see to it that the Terry Schiavo case, which has already been litigated ad infinitum in state court, would also be routed through the federal system, is the polar opposite of the party I once called my own.

I do find it ironic that the federal judge that ruled upon the issue declined to restore the feeding tube. Bush, through McClellan, has indicated that the administration would have preferred "a different ruling" and hopes that the family is successful in their appeal to the 11th Circuit. Good to see that the checks and balances system can actually work, although I'm sure some will view this as another example of "judicial activism."

#389094Post 2 of 33

Re: Republicans?

I didn't realize it when I had posted initially, but the bill that was signed into law actually mentions Terri Schiavo [b]by name[/b] and refers to her case [b]specifically[/b]. That is friggin' amazing. Who says the government doesn't care about individuals?

#389115Post 3 of 33

Re: Republicans?

[quote=toasty]Who says the government doesn't care about individuals?[/quote]

LOL. Me.

#389473Post 4 of 33

Re: Republicans?

Yeah, this shit cracks me up. Republicans trying to pass pointless unnecessary laws like Democrats. Democrats sucking the corporate dong like Republicans. What are the ideals of these two parties again??

I have found it quite ridiculous how one of the fundamental tenets of the Republican party (or so as I thought) was [b]shrinking[/b] the government and giving more rights to the states, but it all goes out the window when it is something involving appeasing the religious right...

  • constitutional ban on abortion
  • constitutional ban on gay marriage
  • special midnight laws passed specifically for one brain-dead person on life-support

I respect the ideals behind the republican party (even if I don't agree with all of them), but you guys really need to take your party back.

#389495Post 5 of 33

Re: Republicans?

this whole thing is digusting. completely disgusting. her family wants her, her shady husband cant wait to let her go. and everyone with a slight interest in politics, prolife vs nonproilfe, rep vs dem, all of you. this is a human being who will die, just leave ehr family alone. so many people just throwing thier agendas down the throat of the law on this. i really feel bad for her and her parents. gotta be fucking terrible to bury a child. this really is fucked up.sosososo sad. i only wish that if she is gonna die, they youthanize her, no need to torture her body into death. just be humane and put her to sleep so she can die quickly and peacefully......

#389581Post 6 of 33

Re: Republicans?

When it comes to issues concerning foreign policy and the economy I've agreed, for the most part, with republicans - but when social issues are brought up I have a hard time trying to find common ground with the right. And this disgusting circus that has been revolving around this poor girl is a perfect example.

I'll just be repeating what everyone else has already said, its a terrible situation this family is in and the sheer number of politicians, analysts, zealots and pub hounds that have leeched onto it is sickening. Let this poor girl die in peace and give her family the time and space they need to grieve. If they really wanted to treat Mrs. Schiavo like a human being (which has been what the Christian right has been clamoring for all this time) they would lose the cameras, the vigils, the speeches and the grandstanding and let this young woman go quietly and peacefully.

#389712Post 7 of 33

Re: Republicans?

[quote=thesightless]this whole thing is digusting. completely disgusting. her family wants her, her shady husband cant wait to let her go. and everyone with a slight interest in politics, prolife vs nonproilfe, rep vs dem, all of you. this is a human being who will die, just leave ehr family alone. so many people just throwing thier agendas down the throat of the law on this. i really feel bad for her and her parents. gotta be fucking terrible to bury a child. this really is fucked up.sosososo sad. i only wish that if she is gonna die, they youthanize her, no need to torture her body into death. just be humane and put her to sleep so she can die quickly and peacefully......[/quote]

Putting her to sleep is actively intervening, and punisheable by your laws...what they're doing now looks inhumane, but in fact she won't notice much of it. First of all because she's not aware anymore, second of all because she'll be sliding into a real coma like this, and then die in her 'prolongued sleep'. Not ideal, but the best given the circumstances.

#389850Post 8 of 33

Re: Republicans?

The sociological value to the attention this case is receiving, it makes us all aware of our very different views on death and it's meaning and how a person 'should' die. Does not matter if you are Republican or Democrat.

This case is about a family not willing to let a daughter die and an ex-husband claiming he remembers Terri's views of her possible desires if she were ever living a very position she now inhabits. It, for some reason, became a political platform to jump up and down on. Why certain issues have to bear the a political, racial, religious or other stigma is beyond me.

I do not know if I could sit back and watch my girls die. I hope to never visit this issue. I still see two persons I held with one hand, fed, laughed with and hugged. I do know I will impress upon them the idea of making a decision of they want remain alive.

As for me, I have a living will, pull the plug.

#390051Post 9 of 33

Re: Republicans?

[quote=thesightless]this whole thing is digusting. completely disgusting. her family wants her, her shady husband cant wait to let her go. and everyone with a slight interest in politics, prolife vs nonproilfe, rep vs dem, all of you. this is a human being who will die, just leave ehr family alone. so many people just throwing thier agendas down the throat of the law on this. i really feel bad for her and her parents. gotta be fucking terrible to bury a child. this really is fucked up.sosososo sad. i only wish that if she is gonna die, they youthanize her, no need to torture her body into death. just be humane and put her to sleep so she can die quickly and peacefully......[/quote]

it's funny how a braindead woman can somehow be transmuted into a politcal football overnight. i keep seeing this shit on TV and i'm thinking to myself: why is this even an issue?

then again, if she remains as-is, she will slowly die, and we treat our abu ghraib prisoners better than that. and euthanasia (sorry sightless, your spelling sucks =) is not exactly legal, now is it?

but, as was pointed out above, the bush administration does owe some 'political bones' that it needs to throw to the christian right. and somehow this fits their bill...

on that note, we have better shit to worry about than baseball players shooting steroids and a braindead vegetable. no offense, but our country is in dire need of reform right now and i think our priorities need to be assessed.

#390239Post 10 of 33

Re: Republicans?

From [url]http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/[/url] Terry Schiavo Must Die: The time has come for the inevitable end of this story, this miserable lot of the last fifteen years for Terry Schiavo. Brain-damaged and rubber-boned, barely human anymore, Schiavo has the indignity of having her nerve-reflex smile paraded out every time the moment comes close for her to have to sink or swim, to learn quickly to feed herself or starve. She is the unfortunate child of narcissistic parents who have pathetically deluded themselves into believing that, at some point, the rock that rolls around in her head will once again become a brain. She sadly lives in a culture so driven mad by religion that people will gather and pray for her to go on "living" (if by "living," you mean "devolving into a gelatinous mound with a nerve-reflex smile"). Anyone even barely touched by the rationality that is supposed to mark us as the most advanced creatures on the planet know this to be true: She must die.

And it doesn't matter at this point how. Take out the feeding tube. Wheel her into the alley behind the hospice and put three bullets into the back of her foamy skull. Put her on a raft on Tampa Bay and send her out to the lovely Gulf of Mexico. Hell, a merciful nation would rejoice at this act and make sure there's fireworks and live music on the bayfront to accompany her on her last journey. A merciful God would have sent avenging angels to smite all those preening idiots outside the hospice with Gabriel announcing, "Are you all out of your fucking minds?" before setting the whole place, Schiavo and all, on fire.

But we are not a merciful nation, for we believe that suffering is a gift from God or some such bullshit, and if you are chosen to suffer, then suffer you must. If you're dirt poor, single, and homeless and you get pregnant, you must keep your baby, even though the overwhelming chance is that you and your baby will be hungry, cold, and miserable for the rest of both of your lives. Despite the fact that virtually every competent medical person who has walked into Schiavo's room and smelled the shit-scent of death has declared Schiavo a cabbage or, on a good day, a pea pod, the right smells opportunity to distract people from the gutting of programs that actually do good for the living . Other "experts" who have witnessed Schiavo's eyes follow a balloon on videotape are nonsensical idiots (and that includes Senate Majority Leader and noted cat-disemboweler Bill Frist).

Way back in 2000, before Schiavo became the rallying call for people who have nothing better to do, here is how the St. Petersburg Times described Schiavo's end: "If [the feeding tube] is removed, Mrs. Schiavo would die painlessly in a week or two. She does not feel hunger or thirst, and she would just drift away, doctors say." That fact, that Schiavo will not actually experience anything differently, is now left out of most media stories on her. The distorted face of Terry Schiavo is now merely a canvas upon which ideology has been writ large, where the notion of "life" has been perverted to mean "a heartbeat," and where the cruel vicissitudes of politics now rear their ugly, hydra-heads.

The right loves this. This is better than Elian Gonzalez. The National Review's Andrew McCarthy (who was so good in Pretty In Pink, but has really let himself go) rants like a baboon about to tear out the liver out of a fallen baboon enemy about Schiavo, saying that "she'd be better off if she were a terrorist." Schiavo's fate is like manna from heaven because anyone who dares to say, for instance, "Terry Schiavo Must Die," can instantly be labelled as uncaring and cruel and then you can go on Fox "News" and Hannity'll show that reflex-smile of the damned and everyone can say they are doing "what's best" for Schiavo.

Terry Schiavo was a vain woman, driven to bulimia by a sad desire to be thinner and thinner, afflicted, as so many women are and so many women aren't, by pop culture standards of thinness. Chances are it was the bulimia that led to the heart attack that led to the brain damage that led to the gooey being that is Schiavo being prayed over by the President and his brother. Now ask yourself: if Terry Schivao saw herself right now, knowing what we know about who she was and how she felt about looks, would she want to stay alive? You who know men and women like the pre-gelatinous Schiavo understand of what the Rude Pundit writes.

Now the Congress is involved. And the Republicans want Schiavo brought into the hearing room. What a spectacle that's gonna be. What a fucking horror show. What an embarrassment to this nation. All those righteous members of Congress, weeping because Schiavo can't answer their questions, listening to her machine sounds, the suckings, the gurgles. They called Schiavo before the committee in a little over a week because "it is a federal crime to harm or obstruct a person called to testify before Congress." Another person, another prop. Those fuckers in the GOP know what they're doing: force Democrats to vote against the bowl of jello in front of them and then use that as immunity in elections against charges that the Republicans are eliminating Social Security. What these disgusting, dirt-covered worms won't do to eat the flesh off the body politic.

The only comfort in any of this is that Schiavo won't know a fucking thing that's going on. She is an object, not a subject. She is acted upon. If Bill Frist wanted to test her reflexes by pulling up her gown and raping her in front of the gathered media, she would not care. If Tom DeLay wanted to pick her up and dance her around like a puppet, she would not care. She will never, ever care again. There is only one caring solution. She must die.

#390311Post 11 of 33

Re: Republicans?

:RockOn:

#390550Post 12 of 33

Re: Republicans?

after sunday's and monday's news about the whole cremation thing, i really am beginning to think about the husband as being a complete fucking scumbag. i mean, i guess im ok with letting her go, it might be the better thing, i dont know, im not in the hospice room with her for 15 years, but the cremation and burial in an area she was never from, i dont know, there really is something fishy about this guy.......

such a sad situation.. they should just fly terry, her family and the husband to an undisclosed location and let what's gonna happen, well, happen, in quiet peace rather than having to fish your way through media, protestors and scores and religious fanatics just to watch your sister/daughter/wife die...... :? :| :(

#390590Post 13 of 33

Re: Republicans?

I party for one weekend and instantly I miss out out everything...lemme catch up....

#390601Post 14 of 33

Re: Republicans?

my highschool had a familiar problem like this, cept there was no spouse and no family for the marianist brother at the time.

read this..

[url]http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lideath0328,0,5555817.story?coll=ny-topstories-headlines[/url]

#390631Post 15 of 33

Re: Republicans?

Interesting read...thanx sightless.

Well...all I hope is that Terri dies before there can be any decisions made now that force the hospital to put the tube back in. That would just be crazy, like that subpoena thing CNN mentioned...jam the tuba back in, put her in a wheelchair and roll'er out to face the congress. Like a fucking circus. Have the congressmen(women) stare at her, make them pose questions to that thing that once was a thinking person.

It is a fucking parody of life they're trying to 'save'.

#390675Post 16 of 33

Re: Republicans?

The smartest quote I have heard by a Bush so far has been Jeb, "My hands are tied. I cannot go against a court order or the Constitution." (DTGunslinger paraphrases quite nicely)

Did you think a Bush could be so smart and step aside? Not me.

Let her go, no matter what anyone stands to gain. Terri deserves to go to whatever you believe in as an afterlife. If God, Allah, Buddah (insert your denominational deity here) is around for her than she desreves to be with him. No self respecting believer in faith would deny her that, except all of those assholes on Capital hill right now.

#394236Post 17 of 33

Re: Republicans?

[quote=toasty]As a former card-carrying member of the republican party who got tired of non-republican behavior, I've got to know if any of you are starting to get irked with your party yet. For a party that is fundamentally based upon an idea that government ought not intrude upon citizens and states' rights, Bush and his buddies seem to be doing the exact opposite. Honestly, holding an emergency session of congress to push through a bill to see to it that the Terry Schiavo case, which has already been litigated ad infinitum in state court, would also be routed through the federal system, is the polar opposite of the party I once called my own.[/quote]

No I'm not the least bit fed up. I have absolutely no interest in the case or the gov's role, her husband has custody if he wants to kill her instead of giving custody to the parents i guess i have to let it be. All power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely----Lord Acton. That quote shows that this isn't really political at all. If you give the government power it's going to abuse it. It amazes me that with the events in Iraq and now Republican interference in private family affairs that democrats still don't realize the benefits of limited government. The writing is on the goddamn wall. As long as the government has money, and lots of it......it will have the power to coerce, influence, persuade, and deceive the American people. It's not rocket science. Democrats tax money from companies and the wealthy, use it to buy votes through grotesquely ineffecient social programs, then they lead poor and middle class workers into the quagmire of class warfare.........that is the real American tragedy.

P.S. lets not forget that the Schiavo case is clearly driven by the media, politicians don't really care they are just responding to the media assault.

#394241Post 18 of 33

Re: Republicans?

[quote=mylexicon]It amazes me that with the events in Iraq and now Republican interference in private family affairs that democrats still don't realize the benefits of limited government. [/quote]

I can't speak for deomcrats on the whole, but speaking for myself, I absolutely realize the benefits of limited government. I just wish the party that professes to have limited government at its center would actually practice it more regularly. That's the whole point of the post -- the right's intrusion into this poor family's private affairs is very un-Republican.

[quote=mylexicon] P.S. lets not forget that the Schiavo case is clearly driven by the media, politicians don't really care they are just responding to the media assault.[/quote]

If I'm not mistaken, the media hadn't really taken hold of this story until Congress held an emergency session, and Bush actually took a break from his vacation, to see to it that this case made its way into the federal system. Since then, the media has been all over it, but the suggestion that politicians -- at least those on the right -- have been above the fray ignores what has actually happened over the last two weeks. Whether the politicians actually care about Terri Schiavo or if they are just pushing a political agenda is of course a debatable point, but I don't see Delay, Frist or Bush as a victim of the media here...

#394400Post 19 of 33

Re: Republicans?

This situation makes me ashamed to be called an American. I can't believe the family continues (and for the last time today in Atlanta) to push the courts and the politicians to show support for Terry. It doesn't take common sense to know that she's a vegitable and cannot act on her own free will. I can only see countries and allies mocking us for such ridiculous matters.

#394558Post 20 of 33

Re: Republicans?

where talking about the right of a mother and father and sister, and brother, to keep there daughter or sister alive. geez people can't you look threw all this jesus and political bull shit. even thou i feel different and would have pulled the plug. i understand how hard it is for people to let go of someone who is family. just imagine these where your parents, and they where trying to keep you alive, for what ever reason. wouldn't you want someone to stand up for you if you couldn't do it yourself. and from what i understand terrie has no clue on what going on, so what's the difference if you keep her alive or not she doesn't know the difference.

#394573Post 21 of 33

Re: Republicans?

[quote=fishingnut]where talking about the right of a mother and father and sister, and brother, to keep there daughter or sister alive. geez people can't you look threw all this jesus and political bull shit. even thou i feel different and would have pulled the plug. i understand how hard it is for people to let go of someone who is family. just imagine these where your parents, and they where trying to keep you alive, for what ever reason. wouldn't you want someone to stand up for you if you couldn't do it yourself. and from what i understand terrie has no clue on what going on, so what's the difference if you keep her alive or not she doesn't know the difference.[/quote]

I don't necessarily disagree with you -- it would be really tough to pull the plug on someone I love, regardless of their condition. I'm just saying that the government has no business participating in this whole mess regardless of what side of the issue you happen to fall on. Ditto that for the media. It's a private matter, and the saddest thing about all of this, apart from the obvious fact that Terri will lose her life, is the circus it has become.

#394578Post 22 of 33

Re: Republicans?

all the government did was put there face in the news, i don't think they had any other motive. i also feel that we didn't get the hole story from either side, the politicians and the media just picked and chosed what they tought would get the people all riled up. but hey that's nothing new.

#394584Post 23 of 33

Re: Republicans?

[quote]The Los Angeles Times reported on March 27 that when DeLay's father was "badly injured in a freak accident at his home," leaving him "in a coma, kept alive by intravenous lines and oxygen equipment ... the congressman quietly joined the sad family consensus to let his father die." The paper noted DeLay's prominence in advocating the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube.[/quote]

what a scumbag...

#394593Post 24 of 33

Re: Republicans?

[quote=face][quote]The Los Angeles Times reported on March 27 that when DeLay's father was "badly injured in a freak accident at his home," leaving him "in a coma, kept alive by intravenous lines and oxygen equipment ... the congressman quietly joined the sad family consensus to let his father die." The paper noted DeLay's prominence in advocating the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube.[/quote]

what a scumbag...[/quote]

it might sound hipocritical but why, it says him and the FAMILY came to a consenses, the only person, that i know that wanted terri dead was her husband, her family wanted to keep her alive. am i wrong or just misinformed.

#394597Post 25 of 33

Re: Republicans?

[quote=fishingnut][quote=face][quote]The Los Angeles Times reported on March 27 that when DeLay's father was "badly injured in a freak accident at his home," leaving him "in a coma, kept alive by intravenous lines and oxygen equipment ... the congressman quietly joined the sad family consensus to let his father die." The paper noted DeLay's prominence in advocating the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube.[/quote]

what a scumbag...[/quote]

it might sound hipocritical but why, it says him and the FAMILY came to a consenses, the only person, that i know that wanted terri dead was her husband, her family wanted to keep her alive. am i wrong or just misinformed.[/quote]

yes, you are right. but the people arguing to keep her alive are not arguing for a consensus (which may lead, like in the case of delay's family, to the pulling of all feeding tubes). delay and other republicans want to keep her alive because it's morally right, and so on (i.e., to appease the christian right to which they owe so much).

#394599Post 26 of 33

Re: Republicans?

well, she passed early this morning...

god/allah/budda/yahweh whatever better do her right. shame her life was a fucking political tool for the end of it..

i can only hope that after all of this, she did indeed want a DNR and i hope her husband doesnt turn out to be a shady character. that would really make things worse for the family.

#394603Post 27 of 33

Re: Republicans?

[quote=thesightless]well, she passed early this morning...

god/allah/budda/yahweh whatever better do her right. shame her life was a fucking political tool for the end of it..

i can only hope that after all of this, she did indeed want a DNR and i hope her husband doesnt turn out to be a shady character. that would really make things worse for the family.[/quote]

heh, well technically god and allah are the same.

anyway, jesse jackson is on cnn now. this ought to be good. i wonder how long it takes for our media to completely forget about this whole story. i give it 24 hours? man, they are so fickle.

as for the husband, he will probably get a nice talk show or reality tv show for all his troubles.

#394604Post 28 of 33

Re: Republicans?

moral issue my ass, they are just trying to get votes, he's going to say anything that might get him some more votes. he new he can jump on the christian bad wagon.

#394605Post 29 of 33

Re: Republicans?

[quote=face][quote=thesightless]well, she passed early this morning...

god/allah/budda/yahweh whatever better do her right. shame her life was a fucking political tool for the end of it..

i can only hope that after all of this, she did indeed want a DNR and i hope her husband doesnt turn out to be a shady character. that would really make things worse for the family.[/quote]

heh, well technically god and allah are the same.

anyway, jesse jackson is on cnn now. this ought to be good. i wonder how long it takes for our media to completely forget about this whole story. i give it 24 hours? man, they are so fickle.

as for the husband, he will probably get a nice talk show or reality tv show for all his troubles.[/quote]

don't forget the made for tv movie that will probably hit every network

#394649Post 30 of 33

Re: Republicans?

Despite what most of you think there are people that didn't view Terri as a political tool. I was opposed to removing her feeding tubes from the beginning, not for political purposes but because I respect her life and her parents wishes. If her family is willing to take care of her, then what's the problem?? What kind of a sick person spends 13 years of his life trying to make sure someone dies? Oh because he loved her so much and wanted to see her wishes through?..that's bullshit! If he loved her so much, why is it that he has a new family? I say there's money behind this.

Also, many of you think that the Judiciary is some kind of untouchable entity. This is entirely false. The judiciary is there to interpret laws made by legislators. The judges had every right to make this decision now, but the legislature(Congress) has every right to change the laws at any time. It's called Statutory Reversal and is one of the checks(among others) that is placed on the judiciary by the Constitution. That how our system works. Until now, judges had never been regarded in this way. We've been conned into thinking that they are above the law and, in fact, make the law. Regardless of what political side you are on, this is a serious problem that has to be addressed. Otherwise, all our rights will be jeopardized by the courts.

You all can be glad now that Terri's dead and the "circus" is over. :|

#394660Post 31 of 33

Re: Republicans?

i think i heard that she might have had a shot if they had approached it from a different angle. the judges just made a decision on the fact that where presented to them. i feel that the only thing congress did wrong was try to get publicity at of a sorry situation. they never over ruled the judges, all they did was ask the judge to reconsider, i think.

#394826Post 32 of 33

Re: Republicans?

I don't want to sound mean but i am happy that she is dead. I would want them to pull the plug on me if i was a PVS.

Sounds like the pope is about to bring her to heaven

#394849Post 33 of 33

Re: Republicans?

[quote=HoneyBearKelly]From [url]http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/[/url] Terry Schiavo Must Die: The time has come for the inevitable end of this story, this miserable lot of the last fifteen years etc etc... [/quote]

This is absolutely correct.

The moral decision would be to let her die, simply because it costs money to keep a body alive, and that money should go toward helping other people who have some sort of chance at living a real life.

acmatos, it would be most respectful of Terri to let her die, not the other way around. Terri was braindead- she's been gone. Virtually every doctor that examined her came to the same conclusion- she isn't conscious, even though she shows conscious-like behavior, like smiling, grabbing your hand, eyes tracking movement, etc. Her husband has had to move on- it's senseless to accuse someone of being heartless because they have remarried after the loss of a spouse. And Michael Shiavo spending 13 years to "kill" his wife is a gross distortion of his or one in his position's intentions: to free someone of their life when it has become an unending nothingness.

The fact that the media have construed Terri as brain-alive when in fact she is braindead and in turn have made it look like anyone who wanted her to die as soulless monsters is unacceptable and undermines critical thinking on this issue.

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