Man. This Schiavo thing is becoming even more a disaster for DeLay and company. First, Democrats got to sit back and quietly watch the GOP make asses of themselves with the public. Now, we get to watch an encore -- Republicans
turning on each other.
Senator John W. Warner of Virginia, the sole Republican to oppose the Schiavo bill in a voice vote in the Senate, said: "This senator has learned from many years you've got to separate your own emotions from the duty to support the Constitution of this country. These are fundamental principles of federalism."
"It looks as if it's a wholly Republican exercise," Mr. Warner said, "but in the ranks of the Republican Party, there is not a unanimous view that Congress should be taking this step."
In interviews over the past two days, conservatives who expressed concern about the turn of events in Congress stopped short of condemning the vote in which overwhelming majorities supported the Schiavo bill, and they generally applauded the goal of trying to keep Ms. Schiavo alive. But they said they were concerned about what precedent had been set and said the vote went against Republicans who were libertarian, advocates of states' rights or supporters of individual rights.
"My party is demonstrating that they are for states' rights unless they don't like what states are doing," said Representative Christopher Shays of Connecticut, one of five House Republicans who voted against the bill. "This couldn't be a more classic case of a state responsibility."
"This Republican Party of Lincoln has become a party of theocracy," Mr. Shays said. "There are going to be repercussions from this vote. There are a number of people who feel that the government is getting involved in their personal lives in a way that scares them."
Man, when Shays talks about the American Taliban in his party's ranks...
What a monumentally stupid move by the GOP.
Update: In Florida, the locals aren't happy with the Feds. The latest (first?) poll on Floridian reaction to the story:
Strategic Vision. 3/18-20. MoE 3%. (No trend lines.)
Do you support the decision to remove Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube?
Yes 61
No 30
Do you approve or disapprove of the Congress and president intervening in the Terri Schiavo case?
Support 33
Oppose 64
Would you want to be kept alive if you were in a state similar to Terri Schiavo’s?
Yes 13
No 81
These numbers despite the hideously skewed coverage of this mess on the cable news networks.