This is cross-posted on Ambivalent Mumblings
Members of both parties were extremely disappointed when Tom Davis inappropriately subpoenaed Terry Schiavo to appear before the House Committee on Government Reform. The Washington Post, for instance, reported that there were many Republicans who felt as though Davis, Hastert, and the other Bush cronies over stepped their boundaries by making a spectacle out of Ms. Schiavo's illness. When he was asked about the subpoena in a debate last Thursday, however, Tom Davis proudly gave an extremely hypocritical answer that provides voters with yet another example of why he shouldnGÇÖt be reelected.
During ThursdayGÇÖs debate, Davis stated "that Michael Schiavo was living with another women when he wanted to make these decisions," and, therefore, was unfit to make a decision relating to Terry SchiavoGÇÖs life. Davis, as a result, decided to subpoena Ms. Schiavo so that he and his cronies could make a spectacle out of her few remaining days. One potential reason for Davis providing this response is that he was hoping to appease his conservative base by trying to portray himself as a man who is disgusted by Mr. SchiavoGÇÖs decision to try and continue his life after suffering from the tragedy of his wife falling into a coma. It is reasonable to assume he was trying to appease conservative Republicans because has been desperately trying to separate himself from President Bush and any other conservative over the course of this election season. Tom Davis, however, is one of the last people who should be questioning Mr. SchiavoGÇÖs love for his dying wife because Davis himself is currently in his second marriage.
The fact that Davis was divorced and has now married a second woman is not extremely out of the ordinary and he by all means has the right to be happy. It is a small percentage of those divorces, however, that are a result of a person cheating on their spouse. Nonetheless, it is largely believe that the reason DavisGÇÖs marriage ended was because he had an affair. While Davis was still married to his first wife, it is believed he was also sleeping with his second wife --Jean Marie, who if you recall, earns $78,000 for working 10 to 20 hours a week for a consulting firm that has business before Congress. So in affect, by stating that Michael Schiavo should absolutely not be involved in anything related to his wifeGÇÖs life, Tom Davis was saying that it is okay for him to get a divorce and remarry, but he frowns upon Mr. SchiavoGÇÖs decision to start a new life after his wife fell into a permanent coma.
As if it was bad enough that Davis was trying to blame an innocent man for his grossly inappropriate decision to subpoena Terry Schiavo, the story does not end there. Prior to divorcing his first wife in 2003, Davis used his ties with the Republican leadership and PACS to direct $147,658 to his second wife, Jean Marie ($92,042 from his PAC and $55,616 from the NRCC while he was the Chairman). Ultimately, Tom Davis funneled almost four times the yearly salary of the average America to the woman many believe was his mistress. Earning the title of a hypocrite, however, Davis still tries to appeal to the conservative members of the Republican Party by claiming that he wants to protect the institution of marriage. Apparently, Davis is only willing to do that when it will give him a political edge. When it comes to his own life, however, he has no problem directing tens of thousands of dollars to his current wife while still married to another woman.
In recent weeks, Tom Davis has also sent out a significant amount of campaign fliers, many of which were extremely negative in nature. One of DavisGÇÖs fliers claimed that he is Northern VirginiaGÇÖs GÇ£Hometown Hero.GÇ¥ A hero, however, is a person who has an extremely distinguished character and is a great role model for the rest of society. Tom Davis conduct in this situation, however, demonstrates that he doesnGÇÖt have the distinguished character that would earn him the title of a hero. Instead, Davis has earned the title of a hypocrite by claiming that it is Michael SchiavoGÇÖs decision to create a new life that resulted in Terry SchiavoGÇÖs illness become a spectacle for conservative lawmakers to gain a political edge. Terry Schiavo deserved better, DavisGÇÖs first wife deserved better, and VirginiaGÇÖs voters deserve better.
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Tom Davis dared to criticize Michael Schiavo for fighting time and the odds to make sure the wishes of his wife Terri were honored at the end of her life. Tom Davis’s own marriage vows did not stand up to a lesser trial. Let the timeline of Michael's persistence to serve his wife's wishes speak for itself:
From the Schiavo timeline here
1990 – Terri falls into a coma Michael appointed as his wife's guardian
1991 - Michael attends nursing school to care for Terri. Eventually, he became a respiratory therapist and emergency room nurse
1991 - First diagnosis of persistent vegetative state (PVS) for Terri
1992 - malpractice suit
1993 - malpractice award. Michael’s relationship with her parents disintegrates
1994 - guardian reviews Michaels care and finds he is providing adequate care;
Another PVS confirmation
1995 - Michael begins dating Jodi Centonze
1995 Devolites loses her first race in VA
1997 Davis serves as her campaign manager and largest donor. She wins
2000 Devolites and her husband John Devolites filed for divorce in September
2003 - Tom Davis’s June bio still refers to his wife Peggy and their three children, Carlton, Pamela and Shelley.
Devolites gets a job at ICG Government, run by Davis contributor Don Upson
2003 - Davis divorce is final in late 2003
2004 March - Davis announces his upcoming marriage to Devolites
By March 2005, the legal history around the Schiavo case included fourteen appeals and numerous motions, petitions, and hearings in the Florida courts; five suits in Federal District Court; Florida legislation struck down by the Supreme Court of Florida DCF had investigated Michael’s care and found he had followed doctors orders
March 2005 - Subpoena signed by Tom Davis
Terri’s feeding tube was removed a third and final time on March 18, 2005. She died thirteen days later at a Pinellas Park hospice on March 31, 2005, at the age of 41.
2006 - Michael married Jodi Centonze.
I am worried though - doing alot of phone banking to Dems - the are voting from Webb do not know who Andy is? Andy has been working hard so I hope the turnout in high concentrated areas are the key - we will be slamming GOTV for the next 14 days.
It is up to us to promote Hurst as we promote Webb. If everyone in northern Virginia who votes for Webb votes for Hurst, Hurst beats Davis. Davis knows this. That is why he is spending so heavily this time.
The problem is that many Democrats vote for Davis. They believe the trash talk that Davis is moderate and they are constantly exposted to the lies in his ads that he is bipartisan and works with both parties.
It is a bunch of crap. Davis is a major strategist for the House Republicans and one of their top fundraisers. He has helped elected many of the arch-conservatives in Congress who have brought our country to a new low.
But many Democrats are oblivious to the REAL Tom Davis. They buy into the fraudulent image he presents here in Virginia.
We need to make sure that Democrats vote Democratic this year right on down the line. I know that some Webb voters will be Republicans and they will probably vote for Davis. This can't be helped. But let's make sure that no Democrats cast their votes for Davis.