Too Far Gone

President Bush and Governor Bush and their Republican allies are in shaky territory. By taking direct action in the Terri Schiavo case, they have annoyed much of the country, who do not feel that this action was warranted. On the other hand, by not actually saving her life, they risk angering the religious right.

It's gotten so bad, that even some of the pundits are admitting the obvious. Matt Towery admits that the polls show this to be an unpopular proposition (previously Conservatives had suggested that such polls were slanted). He also noted the trouble that President Bush and his followers find themselves in.

The emergency congressional action two weekends ago that tried to save Schiavo's life could potentially have a boomerang political effect on the White House and the Republicans in Congress. My update is that the boomerang has come whizzing back even faster than expected.

. . . It had become painfully clear that much of the nation felt Congress had overreached in its actions.

Even more frustrating to Republicans was the verbal beating that Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was taking from fanatical, save Schiavo activists. They urged him to have state law enforcement officers storm Schiavo's hospice and take her into custody. They even accused both President George W. Bush and Jeb Bush of not helping at all!

Cal Thomas, on the other hand, suggests that breaking the law to save Terri Schiavo's life is probably not a good idea.

The Miami Herald reported Saturday that agents of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement told police in Pinellas Park they were going to conduct such an operation. The newspaper said agents backed down rather than confront local police outside the hospice. Certain people seem to be arguing that only those laws and judicial rulings with which they agree are to be obeyed. That invites anarchy.

The problem with this argument (that preserving the rule of law takes precedence over saving Terri Schiavo's life) is that when Democrats pushed it last week we were promoting a culture of death. And when Republicans push it this week, they are not promoting a culture of death. I think you can see what the deciding factor is.