Michael Schiavo, who endorsed Tim Kaine for Governor this past election cycle, has now started a
national political committee called TerriPAC. Schiavo's goal is simple:
to hold the (overwhelmingly Republican) politicians who interfered in his wife's case accountable for their actions. That's great news for all Americans who care about protecting their lives, liberties, and loved ones from tyrannical, overreaching government power.
And let's not forget who controls all three branches of government right now: Republicans who call themselves "conservatives." In fact, those Republicans actually are right-wing extremists, bent on using government power to dictate what individuals and families can do in their bedrooms, their doctor's offices, and their hospital beds. In contrast, Democrats and Progressives are the ones who believe that we should be allowed to make the most personal, life-and-death decisions ourselves, without Big Government looking over our shoulders every step of the way.
What's particularly significant here is that Michael Schiavo was, as he puts it, "a life-long Republican before Republicans pushed the power of government into my private family decisions." In other words, Schiavo is not a partisan Democrat. To the contrary, Schiavo is an independent and a libertarian, making him a great spokesman to reach moderate Republican and Independent voters. And that's exactly what he intends to do, starting right now.
It is important to point out that Michael Schiavo was no political activist - by any stretch of the imagination - before his wife's case caught the nation's attention. In fact, Schiavo says that "[t]he easiest thing would be to move on and let the headlines fade." But now, having been through that horrible situation, Schiavo says:
...my experience with our political leaders has opened my eyes to just how easily the private wishes of normal Americans like me and Terri can be cast aside in the destructive game of political pandering. The best way to hold them accountable is to make sure voters know where the candidates stand when they come looking for votes next November.
Those politicians lost a basic respect for marriage, family and personal privacy. Their blind obstruction of my wife's wishes and the legal courts orders that enforced them was a sickening exercise in raw political power.
In other words, despite the fondest wishes of Republicans that this issue would just go away, and that people would just forget how those Republicans interfered in one family's most personal decision making process about life and death, Michael Schiavo is determined to not let them get away with it. As a result, the Schiavo case -- and the behavior of George W. Bush, Jeb Bush, and the Republican Congress -- could very well be a major campaign issue in 2006 and 2008.
Specifically, Schiavo will be busy reminding people about how Republicans used the power of Big Government to hurt him and his family, while undermining the rule of law and the U.S. court system. But Michael will not just be talking about the Terri Schiavo case as an aggrieved husband. More than that, he'll be speaking out in political terms and in campaigns -- where and when it will hurt Republicans the most. As Michael says:
If our political leaders have taken no lessons from their shameless exploitation of Terri, and the public outcry against it, I have. I have taken my sadness, anger and worry and channeled them into a personal resolution: I will do everything in my power to keep another unsuspecting American family from re-living our private national nightmare.
In a recent interview on the Ed Schultz Radio Show, Schiavo said he was going to personally campaign against Tom Delay, Rick Santorum and others. Can you imagine anything more fun than seeing Michael Schiavo at a press conference in Tom Delay's district? Or having Michael Schiavo follow Rick Santorum around Pennsylvania for a week, stealing his message and media? How about George Allen in Virginia? Hmmm....
The powerful thing about Michael Schiavo talking about his wife's case during this coming election cycle is that it will force Republicans to continually explain the unexplainable. That should be interesting to watch. And the more Michael Schiavo speaks out, the more voters will be reminded about what the Republicans did to his family, betraying their own supposed respect for the sanctity of families.
Interestingly, just this past Friday, Republican Congressman Chris Shays (CT) told reporters that he feared Republicans could lose control of Congress in 2006. And, Shays added, if they did, one of the main reasons would be Palm Beach Post resported "[v]oter revulsion over Republican ethics lapses and the party's efforts to keep brain-damaged Terri Schiavo alive last spring."
For those skeptical about Michael Schiavo as a political player, it is worth considering the fact that he openly - and strongly - endorsed Tim Kaine in the recent Virginia Governor's race. As we all know, Tim Kaine won that race. Obviously, one endorsment cannot be said to have propelled Tim Kaine to victory in this race, but Schiavo's personal touch certainly didn't hurt Kaine in any way. Instead, it may even have helped to motivate Democrats and Independents to vote for Kaine over Jerry Kilgore.
Recall that Tim Kaine's lead over Kilgore exploded during the last week, ending in an emphatic 6-point victory on Election Day. Is it possible that the Michael Schiavo endorsement of Kaine, just six days before Virginia voters went to the polls, played a small role in that surge - reinforcing Jerry Kilgore's overreaching on hot-button social issues like the death penalty? We'll never know for sure, of course, but here's an interesting thought to contemplate: millions of Americans remain VERY angry at Republicans for what they did to the Schiavo family, and a strong reminder of that VERY WELL may motivate them at the voting booths in coming elections.
The bottom line is this: Democrats will win next November if they are seen as the party of personal liberty standing up against the tyrannical, right-wing, Pat Robertson extremism practiced by Republicans. That's why someone like Michael Schiavo - a former Republican with a powerful story to tell - could be so important. I'm just glad we have him on OUR side for the battles to come...
Cross posted at the Raising Kaine blog