Terri Schiavo

In addition to the most recent revelations of George W. Bush authorizing leaks of critical intelligence information to silence Iraq war critics, Bush had this to say when responding to the decision by disgraced Republican Congressman Tom DeLay to retire from Congress: “I wish him all the very best and I know he is looking to the future. My own judgment is, our party will continue to succeed because we're the party of ideas.'' The party of ideas? Off the top of my head, here’s the only Republican ideas I’ve seen in the last five years:

• Doctoring evidence used to start a war with a country that did not attack us and posed no threat to America.

Remember how Bill Frist lied about Terry Schiavo's persistent vegetative state? According to RawStory.com, the Tennessee Medical Board is currently reviewing complaints against Frist. If you were outraged by Frist's conduct, consider writing a letter like this one, sent to us by Dr. Jeff Wade of California. Dr. Frist is licensed in both TN and DC.

Board of Medical Examiners:

As a physician, I was deeply dismayed recently upon seeing the actions of Dr. William Frist. Dr. Frist is on public record as giving an apparent diagnosis and prognosis on Mrs. Terry Schiavo during the nationwide debate and political jockeying that surrounded her death.

It's time to start a serious campaign to impeach George W. Bush.

Doctors Are Warned on Fetus Care
Guidelines Are Issued on Born-Alive Infants Protection Act

By Ceci Connolly
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 23, 2005; Page A07

The Bush administration issued guidelines yesterday advising physicians and hospitals that under a 2002 law they are obligated to care for fetuses "born alive" naturally or in the process of an abortion, and medical providers could face penalties for withholding treatment.

Tom DeLay is right - someone is out to get him. But who?

Karl Rove, of course. Rove's fingerprints are all over the March 28 Wall Street Journal editorial that stuck the first knife deep into DeLay's back. The WSJ editors don't give a crap about corruption by Republicans, which they have aggressively justified since the rise of Gingrich and DeLay in the early 1990's. They only decided to suddenly turn on DeLay because Rove ordered them to.

From Media Matters:

Despite a lack of evidence, several media sources have repeated conservative speculation and accusations that Democrats secretly authored a "talking points" memo that described the Terri Schiavo case as a "great political issue" for Senate Republicans. These baseless accusations, apparently hatched on right-wing blogs and in conservative media such as The American Spectator, were given credibility by The Washington Post and CNN's Inside Politics. But as recent reports indicate, Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL) has admitted publicly that one of his aides is the true author of the memo.

From the Center for American Progress:

On a day that should have been reserved for the Schiavo and Schindler families, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay again thrust himself into the limelight to issue a thinly veiled threat against judges. Following Terri Schiavo's death, DeLay released a statement warning that "The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior, but not today." This vague and provocative comment came in the midst of a broadside of attacks against those judges – several of them self-described conservatives appointed by conservative presidents – whom DeLay said typified "an arrogant, out of control, unaccountable judiciary." With attacks on judges increasing across the country, DeLay's rhetoric is the height of recklessness and poor judgment.

Sam Parry writes:

The media frenzy surrounding the Terri Schiavo case is new evidence of the American Right’s ability to dominate national news cycles, a power that has become possibly the most intimidating force in modern U.S. politics. In the Schiavo case, however, the Right has discovered that even its impressive message machinery sometimes can push the envelope too far.

In the Schiavo tragedy, leaders of the Christian Right and the Republican Party marketed themselves as the defenders of life and painted their liberal adversaries as intellectual elitists lacking compassion for a defenseless woman. Conservative leaders also hoped to rally their base around the need for more conservative judges who would defend the so-called “culture of life.”

With stunning bravado, the Right played on the Schiavo story’s appeal as a round-the-clock cable TV drama: a life-or-death countdown; grieving parents; a husband who could be made into the heavy; supposedly insensitive judges; Republican leaders rushing to the rescue, including both Jeb and George W. Bush.

Byron Williams writes:

I realize that the 109th Congress has not been at it long, but I do not feel it premature to question whether we have the makings of bad government.

Since the 109th Congress convened in January, they have passed tort reform legislation that clearly places the interest of multi-national corporations over those of the wrongfully injured or killed. The tort reform passed by this Congress is nothing more than a limitation on the rights of victims.

'Following the money' reveals a host of right wing organizations, many affiliated with the right wing Philanthropy Roundtable, abundantly funding the Terri Schiavo case

Bill Berkowitz writes:

The Most Obscene Intrusion by an Outsider Award, however, goes hands down to Randall Terry, the founder of the radical antiabortion group Operation Rescue and the President of the Society for Truth and Justice. Terry was brought on board by Schiavo's parents, who hoped he could mobilize Christian fundamentalist support for their daughter. "Our family asked Randall Terry to come, and we gave him carte blanche to put Terri's fight in front of the American people," Bob Schindler, Terri's father, said. "He did exactly what we asked, and more. Randall organized vigils and protests, he coordinated the media, he helped us meet with Governor Bush."

The ruthless efforts by Bush and the GOP to exploit Terri Schiavo's tragedy has backfired "big-time," as Big Dick once remarked to Little W.

W's polls have dropped as much as 12% in just one week, bringing Bush to his lowest job approval rating ever (45%) according to Gallup.

One thing we know about the Busheviks is that they play the game to win. So who is responsible for this fiasco?

Looks like Karl Rove is the architect of this particular disaster, as Dan Froomkin reports: