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Republican Talking Points on Schiavo

By Jeralyn, Section Civil Liberties
Posted on Mon Mar 21, 2005 at 07:19:18 PM EST
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Raw Story obtained a copy of the Republican talking points on the Terri Schiavo bill.

The Judge has not ruled. Since time is so critical, it would seem that he is not going to order the feeding tube reinserted. Jeff Brown, a Tampa defense lawyer who is trying a case in the courtroom next to Judge Whittemore, was on Greta Van Susteren's On the Record tonight.

Brown said he tried a case in front of Judge Whittemore last month and seemed to know a lot about him. He said the Judge is a former public defender. He reported that the Judge got word just after midnight that he had been randomly assigned to the case and he called his law clerks to get to work at 3:00 a.m. to begin pouring over documents.

The dirty laundry continued to be strewn about tonight. Last night we told you Michael Schiavo's allegations . Tonight, Greta had three friends of Terri's on. They trashed Michael Schiavo pretty mercilously. He was controlling, he didn't let her see friends, he checked her car's odometer to see how far she drove, she had bruises on her arms and legs. One of these friends was a bridesmaid at her wedding, one hadn't seen her since the moved from Philadelphia, and one had spent a week at the Schiavo's with her brother while Terri was married. This third friend said he and Terri's brother used to take her out at night because she never got to go anywhere as she worked days and Michael worked nights.

In the bizarre department, on another show todeay, a doctor who says he spent a year evaluating Terri, her videos and medical records, who received no compensation for his work and who was nominated for a Nobel Prize for unrelated reasons, said he saw Terri in person numerous times said not only is she not hopeless, she is in better shape and more educable than several others he has seen.

The mud-slinging on both sides is beyond tiresome.

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    Republican Talking Points on Schiavo | 21 comments (21 topical)
    Re: Republican Talking Points on Schiavo (none / 0) (#1)
    by Rich on Mon Mar 21, 2005 at 08:22:54 PM EST
    This has reached a point where much of what each side presents seems lacking in credibility. The woman's brain has literally gone to mush (or atleast fluid) and a doctor think she's a candidate for rehab? The husband and the parents clearly had a falling out about something and are using Terri as their pawn/surrogate.

    Re: Republican Talking Points on Schiavo (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Mar 21, 2005 at 08:49:24 PM EST
    The next awful pr round of this brawl will be the beating that the Fed Judge takes from the Culture of Lifers if he/she declines to rule or rules as other judges have that husband is the agent for medical decision making. This is a well-established matter in long term care. Legal battles and character assassination can create exceptions, but the rebuttable presumption is that spouse is the authorized agent when there is no advance directive or durable medical power of attorney.

    Re: Republican Talking Points on Schiavo (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Mar 21, 2005 at 09:08:38 PM EST
    The Nobel Prize bit sounds interesting, perhaps we'll hear more about it. Oh, I'm sure we will. Say, could any liberals out there present the case to let Terry Schiavo starve? I'm a little confused about this issue, and I need some help to make up my mind. What's the liberal case for letting her die?

    Re: Republican Talking Points on Schiavo (none / 0) (#4)
    by Al on Mon Mar 21, 2005 at 09:30:33 PM EST
    There is no "liberal case". It's just common sense, it seems to me, that this is a private matter that politicians should not be involved in. And where is bin Laden anyway?

    Re: Republican Talking Points on Schiavo (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Mar 21, 2005 at 09:32:28 PM EST
    Lonewacko, have you stopped beating your wife? Your question presupposes that all liberals would come to the same conclusion.

    Re: Republican Talking Points on Schiavo (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Mar 21, 2005 at 11:13:26 PM EST
    Michael Ditto: Ditto.

    Re: Republican Talking Points on Schiavo (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Mar 22, 2005 at 06:55:57 AM EST
    This has reached a point where much of what each side presents seems lacking in credibility. Wha? The medically sound side says that whatever Terri might have been is long since dead; she's got less ability to respond to her environment than pretty much any vertebrate. There's no lack of credibility here except that of the people who want to use bad medicine and worse politics to create a controversy.

    Re: Republican Talking Points on Schiavo (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Mar 22, 2005 at 07:14:04 AM EST
    Folks, I think you all might be interested to know that the other day I discovered that I can fit an entire Spotted Owl nest with fledglings up my a**. These whiny liberals dont know what theyre missing. Live a little I say.

    Re: Republican Talking Points on Schiavo (none / 0) (#9)
    by Repack Rider on Tue Mar 22, 2005 at 08:05:57 AM EST
    What's the liberal case for letting her die? It's a natural part of the cycle of life. I expect it to happen to me also. What's the conservative case for making death illegal?

    Re: Republican Talking Points on Schiavo (none / 0) (#10)
    by Che's Lounge on Tue Mar 22, 2005 at 08:23:40 AM EST
    It's not NICE to fool Mother Nature.

    Re: Republican Talking Points on Schiavo (none / 0) (#11)
    by Dadler on Tue Mar 22, 2005 at 10:38:27 AM EST
    all a bunch of frauds. the same rights as ted bundy??? you think they'd at least have the smarts to pick a RELEASED death row inmate. you know, an INNOCENT person. we have more than a few these days. not only that, the ted bundy crack is as wretched and dishonest as 1988's willie horton (aimed at appealing to the lowest common denominator of prejudices). oh, that's right, dubya's daddy was president then too. the garden-variety-as*hole gene is alive and well.

    Re: Republican Talking Points on Schiavo (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Mar 22, 2005 at 02:08:20 PM EST
    repack rider.... What's the conservative case for making death illegal? I don't think many of us would argue Terri's right to die. The issue here is, do we belive her husband (who never divorced her & has kids with another woman... aka - alterior motive) when he says she 'said' to him one day 15 years ago that she wouldn't want to live like that? Most of us don't understand the left's willingness to 'kill' this poor helpless woman...and your outrage in how terrorist prisoners (who would kill you in an instant if given the chance) are being treated in another country??????? There's a very important common sence thread missing here.

    Re: Republican Talking Points on Schiavo (none / 0) (#13)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Mar 22, 2005 at 03:58:51 PM EST
    "the statement she made in presence of Scott schiavo at the funeral luncheon for his grandmother that "If I ever go like that just let me go. Don't leave me there. I don't want to be kept alive on a machine." and to Joan Schiavo following a television movie in which a man following an accident was in a coma to the effect she wanted it stated that in her will that she would want all the tubes and everything taken out if that ever happened to her" link

    Re: Republican Talking Points on Schiavo (none / 0) (#14)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Mar 22, 2005 at 04:43:48 PM EST
    I can't believe that this is even negotiable. This is a helpless woman whose fate is left in the hands of her husband who is probably more then likely the reason she is where she is. The parents should have some control over this issue. The government thank God is getting involved. If she is left to starve to death, why not pull the tubes out of premature babies who cannot eat on their own. Pro life has nothing to do with this. This is a matter of Life Liberety and the Pursuit of Happiness.

    Re: Republican Talking Points on Schiavo (none / 0) (#15)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Mar 22, 2005 at 05:13:06 PM EST
    who is probably more then likely the reason she is where she is These baseless accusations provided by the Christian wingnuts play a big part in the mediaspin against Michael Schiavo. Scary people.

    Re: Republican Talking Points on Schiavo (none / 0) (#16)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Mar 22, 2005 at 09:39:11 PM EST
    Actually, it is NOT all religious right people on Terri's side; I've found several liberal bloggers who have spoken up in support of her right to live--THEY question why the left suddenly feels no need to defend the defenseless. Right to die, right to life--what about at least the right to a fair diagnosis, with a PET scan and a reasonable observation period by completely objective neurologists? (Not expert witness doctors who testify for euthanasia cases, thank you.) About your post, I can't stand the sight of "talking points" on the issue. That said, I'm sure talking points exist on the other side too. I also think making this a "pro-life" issue is completely misguided (I say this as a pro-life conservative, but in my case "pro-life" is beside the point) because it's a lot bigger than that. If it's an advocacy group for anyone, it's an issue for the DISABLED. It's shocking to me that most of the traditional supporters of the disabled are on the opposite side (or at least silent) on the issue. Some people complain that Tom Harkin, etc. are traitors (!) for being on the side of life, but they aren't paying attention to WHY they are. Honestly, I think the politicians who look at this from the perspective of the disabled are the ones who really DO "get it." This whole thing has made for some strange alliances--I find myself more closely allied with the liberals for Terri than many of the conservatives, and I know they think it's ironic that they're working for the same goal as the fundies on the Right.

    Re: Republican Talking Points on Schiavo (none / 0) (#17)
    by Dadler on Wed Mar 23, 2005 at 10:15:46 AM EST
    beth, where are those liberal talking points then? where? i am a liberal who thinks only that the courts have no business in this case. terri is gone. she is not suffereing from something she could come out of. but her parents don't want to let her go. and that is it. this woman suffers and lives absolutely no life. why aren't you spending all of your days in ghetto classroom, or domestic violence centers, or food banks if you're so concered about the "defenseless"? or about the six-month old baby who was taken off life support the other day in texas, despite the mother's protests, and all because bush and his boys passed a law in texas saying if you haven't got the dough then your life has got to go. this is grandstanding of the worst, most wretched sort. i feel sorry for her parents, they seem terribly sad and damaged people, incapable of accepting that death is a part of life, and that life is sometimes quite brutal and unfair. they can't wish her back, no matter how much they try. dozens of courts have heard this case. terri has had more defenders than anyone in her situation ever has. it's a terrible situation, but none of our business.

    Re: Republican Talking Points on Schiavo (none / 0) (#18)
    by roy on Wed Mar 23, 2005 at 02:29:30 PM EST
    Powerline is casting aspersions about the memo's authenticity. It seems like a long-winded attempt at rationalization, but some of the points are interesting.

    Re: Republican Talking Points on Schiavo (none / 0) (#19)
    by Dadler on Wed Mar 23, 2005 at 03:23:08 PM EST
    roy, forgive me for casting aspersions on theirs. the only thing making me buy this particular memo is logic. and the fact righty pols are sickeningly disingenuous about this.

    Re: Republican Talking Points on Schiavo (none / 0) (#20)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Mar 26, 2005 at 10:19:05 AM EST
    The memo is obviously a Trojan horse. When it first appeared there were many typographical errors including a misspelling of Schiavo. When ABC displayed a jpeg scan later, four of the errors were corrected. After they were confronted about the inconsistancy, they retracted their claim that it was ever an internal GOP document. FYI: it was Michael Schiavo's cohort (lawyer) who first brought political issues into the situation.

    Re: Republican Talking Points on Schiavo (none / 0) (#21)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Mar 27, 2005 at 07:39:13 AM EST
    I don't think many of us would argue Terri's right to die. The issue here is, do we belive her husband (who never divorced her & has kids with another woman... aka - alterior motive) when he says she 'said' to him one day 15 years ago that she wouldn't want to live like that? It isn't our job to believe or disbelieve her husband. That was the job of the courts, and they spent seven years on it.

    Republican Talking Points on Schiavo | 21 comments (21 topical)