On come the clowns
Waiting to join the Schiavo protests
What a lot of people miss in this is how personal the whole Schiavo mess is. When people compare it to Abu Gharib or Iraq as a whole, people forget how impersonal that is to most Americans. For 150,000 families, it is deeply personal. But for the rest of us, it's the news. People don't care about Muslims being tortured. Sad, but true. But they sure as hell care about Jeb Bush making family decisions on behest of their inlaws.
Jeb is now on the back of a wild animal he has no hope of controlling.
Some nutjob walked into a gunstore in Pinellas County to steal a gun to "take some action and rescue Terri Schiavo".
That line from Red October is running through my head again:"This business will get out of control. It will get out of control and we will be lucky to live through it."
Why? Because the Republicans are still counting fundie votes. They think they can control this, that nothing will happen and the base will be excited. But most of the base is revolted. They are horrifed at the sanctimony and the increasing rhetoric from people who should know better. Ignore judges? Kidnap a dying woman? Are they kidding?
Why is this happening? Because they thought it would be a gimmie. That the only people who would care is the radical right and their foot soldiers. They could get their way and trap the Dems in the process. But now, the Dems stepped out of the way and let the GOP take every bit of heat for this. You have the spectacle of Randall Terry, hasbeen, making demands on Jeb Bush, who meekly says "I can't go beyond my powers."
Bush and Bush seem to be puppets of the fringe elements, a group who would let their kids get arrested, which horrifies most people. All that political capital has been squandered, as Jim Wolcott said, on a Sunday flight from Crawford.
But Bush has never spread political risk. He has always heaped it on and expected to be rewarded in the end. There has never been a downside for this. But there is now. If Judge Greer or Michael Schiavo is harmed in any way, that turd is going to land right on the doors of the White House and Congress. They unleashed this madness and the idea that they could escape it is unlikely.
They and the media act like people want Terri Schiavo to live. They want her to die with dignity instead.
People are not rallying to the ultras side, they are fleeing from them. Even as the radical right pundits toss gas on the fire.
Oh yeah, someone raised this point and it needs to be repeated. When are the Schindlers going to ask people to behave peacefully? When are they going to ask no one to use violence?
One other point: what happens if Jeb kidnaps Terri Schiavo and has the feeding tube reinserted. Does he plan to pay for her care ad infinitum? He couldn't expect Medicaid to pay against the husband's wishes? Where will he keep her? In his mansion? How many guards will he keep around her? How long will he prevent Michael Schiavo from seeing his wife? All the radical rightists screaming for Jeb to seize her, are they willing to deal with the consequences and the massive legal judgement Michael Schiavo would win against the state of Florida? After all, Jeb would be acting illegally, and in the end, as Jeb is cooling his heels in state prison, not just being impeached, since he has no legal standing to take Schiavo anywhere, depsite the rantings of wingnuts, are they going to pay as well? Or do they just want Jeb to set up the Christian Republic of Florida.
It will be fun to see, when this is all over, the Cable News companies handing over seven figure checks to Michael Schiavo. If he were especially mean, he'd seek to have Nancy Grace barred from the practice of law forever. Remember the security guard the FBI tried to frame after the Atlanta bombings? He's now a millionaire cop. I think Michael Schiavo will be a millionaire jail employee.
One note for wingnuts: Michael Schiavo works for the Pinellas County Sheriff's Department. Any wingnut trying to harm him will be messing with his friends.
Update: This comes from Atrios
Cowardly Jeb Cancels Appearance
Gov. Bush Cancels Appearance at Good Friday Service for Fear of Facing Schiavo Supporters
To: National Desk
Contact: Rev. Patrick Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition [phone number removed]
TALLAHASSEE, Fl., March 25 /Christian Wire Service/ -- Governor Jeb Bush was scheduled to attend and participate in an outdoor Good Friday service at 12:30 pm, at Florida State University. According to event organizers, the Governor canceled at the last minute.
As part of this event Jeb Bush would have publicly read from a printed program that includes the following text entitled the Fifth Station of the Cross; "Lord Jesus, sometimes I don't want to do what is right or to help someone in need, but you want me to respond positively to the needs of others in my life. Help me to say 'yes' and be willing to give heroic assistance to all who are in need."
"It is clear that Governor Bush canceled his scheduled participation in this Stations of the Cross service out of fear and guilt of seeing supporters of Terri Schiavo pleading for her life. Our prayer for Governor Bush is the same prayer he would have prayed publicly on this Good Friday, had he kept his scheduled appointment.
The wingnuts are angry.
If Jeb doesn't invade that hospice, he's a momma's boy.
The fact that Bush should be miles from a loon like Mahoney is lost. My bet is that they are going to turn on their own. That's what you get when you let the Ultras take the stage.
posted by Steve @ 1:43:00 PM
