Hey Jerry: What about Terri?

By: Lowell
Published On: 3/24/2005 2:00:00 AM

It's not often that Congress and the President manage, in one fell swoop, to do something that's incredibly stupid both morally AND politically.  Usually, it's one or the other, although it's not unheard of for them to do both simultaneously (i.e., the recent bankruptcy bill).  Still, this Terri Schiavo case has been a disaster of biblical proportions -- even by the low standards set by our current Tom DeLay ("the exterminator")/Bill Frist ("cat killer")-led Republican Congress.

Even leaving aside the horrendously misguided moral judgment that led the Republican Congress and Bush White House to intervene in a  private matter best left to doctors, families, and courts of law, this whole case has now turned into a complete political fiasco for Republicans.  Perhaps that is simply justice being done, since this whole charade started as an apparent attempt:  a) to shift attention from Tom DeLay's nasty ethical problems (which had threatened, just a few days ago, to bring him down as de facto leader of the House of Representatives); and b)  to pander the farthest right of right wing Christian fundamentalists. 

Sorry Republican "leaders," but the latest CBS news poll indicates, the emergency "Shiiavo bill" is not even popular among a majority of evangelicals -- some of your biggest supporters!  And among the general population, it's a total meltdown, with Congress' approval rating falling 7 points -- to just 34% -- since February. 

Asked whether "Congress and the President [should] be involved in the Schiavo matter," only 13% say "yes," while 82% say no.  Even two-thirds of evangelicals and conservatives disapprove of the President and Congress' actions, which might help explain why President Bush's popularity rating has fallen to 43%, down from 49% just a month earlier.

The bottom line here is that Americans -- liberals, moderates, and conservatives alike -- simply detest government intrusion into their most intimate family and medical matters.  And that's exactly what Tom DeLay, Bill Frist, and George W. Bush have done here. 

So what about that other right wing, government-intrusion-into-personal-matters "conservative" guy, Virginia's own Jerry Kilgore?  Ol' Jerry Boy seems to have an opinion about everything else we should or shouldn't be doing in our homes -- and, for that matter, even how much those very homes should be worth! 

So, where's our old busybody buddy been on all this?  Interesting, the guy who's always out there preaching the "sanctity of life" (except when they're poor, retarded, minorities, or under age, of course) has been awfully quiet about Terri Schiavo the past few days. 

Hey, Jerry, don't be shy, tell us what you think about Terri - inquiring minds want to know!

Comments



Sorry Lowell, I was (Duncan Brown - 4/4/2006 11:26:04 PM)
Sorry Lowell,  I was away for awhile.  All I meant is that he should avoid cheap shots like the "Cat Killer" remark (which PETA applied to Frist because he fraudulently adopted cats from animal shelters then experimenting on and killing them while he was a medical student. It
is sort of creepy that Frist would brag about that, but animals are used in medical research at Virginia's Universities, and we should be honest about that.

Duncan



Excellent site. Ver (Duncan Brown - 4/4/2006 11:26:04 PM)
Excellent site.  Very sharply written.  And this post raises real questions.  Tying Jerry Kilgore to the more notorious national wingnuts like DeLay and Tom Frist can only help. 

And I love the logo.

But I take exception to the PETA propaganda ("Bill Frist - cat killer"). When Tom Kaine is governor, he'll be responsible for the state university system, which includes many animal labs.

If Mr. Kaine can make animal welfare a real (as opposed to alarmist) issue, he'll win my vote and many others. 

Tnaks again. 

-DB