Governor Defends Schiavo Memo Sent Around On Capitol Hill (JEB)

[sabra]

<<SNIP>>
http://www.wftv.com/news/4357555/detail.html

Governor Defends Schiavo Memo Sent Around On Capitol Hill

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Governor Jeb Bush is defending U.S. Senator Mel Martinez and other Republicans for their actions surrounding the case of Terri Schiavo.

Martinez is coming under fire for an infamous unsigned memo passed around on Capitol Hill emphasizing the politics of the Schiavo case.

The memo, which originated in Martinez's office, says the fight going on then over removing Schiavo's feeding tube was a political issue and a tough one for Democrats.

The memo was reportedly circulated among Senate Republicans while legislation was being considered to place the Schiavo case under the jurisdiction of federal courts.


Bush insists the motivation behind his actions and those of others in the Schiavo case had nothing to do with politics.


<</SNIP>>

[Endangered Specie]

1. "nothing to do with politics"

yeah, and I'm Elvis Presley.

[Supersedeas]

40. naw...political memo's just pop of thin air too.

[sabra]

2. So first they deny that it existed, now that it's been proven...

act like it's no big deal.

[movonne]

12. It is only a "big deal" when it is the Dems...

[roguevalley]

3. No wonder some old Repub guy from Florida says Jeb is too

'arrogant and immature' to be governor let alone Pres. He says it about both the Bushes. I wish I could remember the link.

[seafan]

20. Y're in luck! Here is the link.

http://news.tbo.com/news/MGBD715Q86E.html

Mar 13, 2005

Former GOP Boss Zings Party Leaders
By WILLIAM MARCH


TAMPA - Jacksonville businessman Tom Slade built a reputation in the 1990s as one of the key architects of the Republican political dominance in Florida, and one of the most important political allies of Gov. Jeb Bush.
Slade, chairman of the state Republican Party from 1993 to 1999, said often that getting Bush elected governor was his overriding goal in politics, and he was one of many who speculated on Bush as a possible presidential candidate.

But Slade's view on that may have changed.

In an interview in January, Slade said Bush ``does not have the maturity ... and wisdom'' to be president, and that Bush's administration has been marked by a ``dictatorial'' style and reluctance to take advice. That, he said, could prove a problem for the Republican Party in the future.

He said Jeb Bush and his brother President Bush ``are arrogant as hell.''

--snip--

http://news.tbo.com/news/MGBD715Q86E.html

[SillyGoose]

4. Good one, Jeb...

Bush insists the motivation behind his actions and those of others in the Schiavo case had nothing to do with politics.

Thanks for clearing that up for us, Jeb. <sarcasm off>





edited for typo

[SlavesandBulldozers]

5. oh now they

are positioning themselves as the persecuted.

[Erika]

6. Jeb and ilk used Terri for political pandering to far rightwing

minority groups. The hell he put her family and husband through for political advantage is sickening. The vast majority of U.S. citizens believe he and the GOP's attempt actions were political.

[annabanana]

7. geez... He's stupider than I thought....

Or he has a tremendous head cold, that he can't smell tha'
STINK

[flyarm]

35. the angels of the right are innocent of everything..

didnt cha know ?? it was a dem memo..it was all the dems fault..come on... get with the program...they lie..their holy ones nod..they go to the popes funeral..and they are exhonerated...and then jebby makes a statement and the flock follow in lock step...

its a very simple process..just look how the media loves their lies!!

lies are now holy!!

murdering lies..lies to war..lies about anything you can imagine..its christian now!!

take away the sins of the world...have mercy on us...ohhh and by the way..lying is no longer a sin...in the * family bible!!..its the christian way don't cha know!!

communion for everyone!!!

anyone want to place bets ..did * pick his nose while 300 + catholics took communion at the popes funeral??

well he would believe that was his blessing!!

ohhh holy ones...


from a very sarcastic floridian!!

fly

[Solly Mack]

8. OIC. So even though the memo emphasizes the political

aspects , the motivation behind the memo wasn't political...

gotcha...you betcha...okey-dokey...alrighty then

(and to think there will be people who will accept Jeb's statement as truth)

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

9. You mean the memo they denied having sent?

[DoYouEverWonder]

25. Yeah the one they accused the DEMS

of forging.

[jazzjunkysue]

10. And Iraq had nothing to do with WMDs, freedom, and terrorism.

Simple.

[wakeme2008]

11. Two questions Jeb

1) When was the last time you had sex with a female??

2) When was the last time you had sex with your wife?

[rodeodance]

14. and Jeb is the smart one!!

..... "I knew that going in that sometime you've got to take a stand based on conviction and based on important things that go beyond politics," said Gov. Bush. "So for someone to write a memo about the political implications or taking advantage of it for political purposes, a, they weren't really good at politics. Their lack of understanding of politics is striking. and b, I don't think that was Mel Martinez's motivation to get involved and it certainly wasn't mine."

Martinez says he found out Wednesday that the memo had been written by an aide in his office. He adds that he has accepted the resignation of the staffer but would not disclose the person's identity.

The Washington Post says it's the senator's legal counsel, Brian Darling. The Washington Times is reporting that only one senator has acknowledged seeing the memo.

[AnnInLa]

22. DeLay involvement?

From www.oliverwillis.com:

The Campaign for America’s Future today challenged House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, to explain his relationship to corporate lobbyist Brian H. Darling. Darling is the author of the Republican strategy memo that said the personal tragedy of Terri Schiavo presents a “great political issue” for Republicans.

Rep. DeLay last month told the conservative Family Research Council that "God brought to us" the Terri Schiavo tragedy and linked it to a strategy to defend the conservative movement.

Darling worked for the Alexander Strategy Group, a Washington-based corporate lobbying firm heavily connected to Rep. DeLay. Darling’s clients included Universal Bearing, Inc., a company owned by the Hanwha Group, which has direct ties to the foreign agent that paid for Rep. DeLay's improper trip to Korea. The Korea-U.S. Exchange Council was created to promote Hanwha Group Chairman Seung Youn Kim, according to the New York Times.

www.oliverwillis.com

[dArKeR]

18. When was the last time he dropped Xanax with Noele?

[biscotti]

13. Lying Thugs

one and all.They are so far over the top. Their hands are so dirty. Hopefully the Delay things will bring light onto this pack of despicable jackals.

[sasquatch]

15. Jeb's lucky he has paperless voting machines

otherwise his ass would've been out of office a long time ago.

[Rex]

16. Lower than pond scum!

Almost as bad as profiting from 911.

[proud patriot]

17. I'm running out of popcorn darnit

:popcorn:

[NVMojo]

33. HAHA! good one!!!

[UTUSN]

19. Atta Boy, Jeb Crow Shrub---Link Yourself Tight to That Memo! n/t

[dave123williams]

21. Can the republicans please STOP WITH THE LYING?

It's getting to be like, every day on every issue.

[AnnInLa]

23. Kos really liked rubbing it in today....very amusing

www.dailykos.com

Waiting on mea culpas
by kos
Thu Apr 7th, 2005 at 08:57:34 PDT

They won't apologize, because being wrong and lying aren't impeachable offenses if you're Republican and are guided by Divine Providence. But we can still have fun at the expense of the blowhards who just made shit up. Aravosis found most of these:

Sen. Bennet:

Sen. Robert F. Bennett, Utah Republican, said the issue "stinks" of a news fabrication similar to the one that engulfed CBS anchorman Dan Rather during the 2004 presidential campaign, after he reported that President Bush did not fulfill his duties while in the National Guard, citing documents that CBS later admitted could not be authenticated.

Tucker Carlson:

"Last week a memo surfaced, reportedly written by the Republican members of Congress explaining how to make hay with the Terri Schiavo case, the Talking Points Memo, Ah, I think within a week or two it will become clear that that memo was a forgery, possibly written by Democrats on the hill in an effort to discredit Republicans. Bloggers are saying that now and it sounds like they may be right."

Fred Barnes:

"So rather than an example of aggressive reporting, the memo story turns out to be yet another instance of crude liberal bias, in this case against both Republicans and those who fought to have Schiavo's feeding tube restored. Naturally, the memo had a second life when the story was picked up by other news outlets, pundits, and columnists. How did ABC and others get wind of the memo in the first place? It came from 'Democratic aides,' according to the New York Times, who 'said it had been distributed to Senate Republicans.' Not exactly a disinterested source."

Newsmax:

There was just one problem: Closer examination by The American Spectator, talk show hosts Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, The Weekly Standard, and Accuracy in Media (AIM) indicates that the memo is a fraud - a political dirty trick, if you will, specifically aimed at causing public revulsion at Republicans.

Rush Limbaugh:

"Truth Detector: Supposed GOP Schiavo Memo Forged by Democrats."
Michelle Malkin:
I suspect that no one at the Post or ABC News still believes the amateurish, unsigned, misspelled memo was circulated by Republican Party leaders.

Accuracy in Media:

Accuracy in Media today questioned the authenticity of the much-publicized "GOP Talking Points" memo on the Terri Schiavo case.

In the Agora:

On Friday four staffers accused a renegade aide to Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) of distributing forged "talking points" to members of the media and claiming Republican authorship. In the Agora's extensive investigations in the alleged "GOP" Schiavo talking points memo reveal possible tricks from low level Democratic aides. Two of the four GOP staffers tell ITA they were eyewitnesses to the exchange.

Ass Rocket:

In the meantime, there is not a bit of evidence connecting the memo to any Republican, and, for all of the reasons we have repeatedly spelled out on this site, there are excellent reasons to believe it is a hoax perpetrated by still-unidentified Democrats.

So much crow, so little time...

www.dailykos.com

[Erika]

24. How sweet it is. Any apologies from the "right" yet?

Or are they just like Bush...they've never made a mistake, so there is never a reason for an apology. I can't believe these clowns.

[Jack Rabbit]

26. The usual suspects . . .

. . . caught with their pants down.

They are liars, not journalists, and they know they are liars, not journalists.

[Mz Pip]

27. Bull

F*cking sh*t it had nothing to do with politics. That's all it had to do with. Let's use the plight of this poor woman to advance our agenda. They did not give a rat's ass about Terri Schiavo.

It was politics at its worst. THese people are scum and they play fast and loose with the truth, then when they get caught they're like all humble and crap. BS.

Let them take up the cause of folks who are about to be pulled off of life support who actually have a chance of returning to the real world. But they can't pay. Then maybe I'll take them seriously.

THese are the worst kinds of hypocrites.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[rocktivity]

28. GO, JEBBIE, GO GO!

Keep turning the stomachs of those moderates!

I know it's been tough having to hold your tongue since the Schaivo meltdown while DeLay and Martinez have been having all the fun doing all the alienating. But you've come up with a brilliant solution--publicly endorse their behavior!

You ARE the governor of Florida, after all, and you SHOULD remind people that you are not without influence. Look at how well you did arranging for the Florida state police to rescue Terri Schiavo before you knew whether or not you could do so legally--now, THAT'S leadership! It's not your fault that the state cops ratted you out by calling the local ones, who in turn called the press. Just pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and defend your fellow Florida Repub Senator Martinez!

So what if the talking points memo was allegedly nonexistent, and then was supposed to be a Democratic dirty trick? So what if the person who claims to have written the memo also claims to have never printed or distributed it? So what if Martinez's explanation that he doesn't know where the memo came from or what was in it doesn't make sense? So what if Martinez TOLD someone that it WAS a talking points memo as took it out of his pocket? Martinez came up with a fall guy, and your defense of him not only rewards him, it puts you back in the national spotlight for the RIGHT reason.

Well, you'll have to excuse me now, Jeb--I have to make more popcorn. I was so afraid that the MSM would revert to liberal-bashing after Terri finished dying, but you and your esteemed colleagues have made that impossible--KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

:popcorn:
rocknation

[splat@14]

29. I haven't seem it brought up but..

At some point in the future , if stem cell research was to be advanced, does anyone know if it could possibly have helped someone in Terry Schaivo's condition?

Would seem to be a valid argument for the cause of science against the Dobson crowd not to mention the hypocrisy of those in congress so staunchly against the research.

[AuntiBush]

32. Highly doubt it. Her brain was 75% gone.

Sadly.

[The_Casual_Observer]

30. Jeb, do the world a favor

and wrap your lips around the exhaust pipe of your gubernatorial limo.

[AuntiBush]

31. Screw Jeb & the Chimp!

F-um all!

[truthisfreedom]

34. okay, so it WOULD have been political had the DEMS distributed that memo

to make the thugs LOOK BAD, but since the thugs distributed the memo themselves and were the source of it (although every thug on earth denied that was the case until it was revealed that the thugs REALLY DID distributed the memo) THEN it's OKAY and NON-POLITICAL?

jeb, jeb, jeb, you should have left well-enough alone. you stepped right in this one. phew, buddy, you're going to need a new pair of shoes.

[seafan]

36. kick n/t

[ProfessorGAC]

37. The Memo Said It Was A Good Political Issue

The memo said it, in black & white. So how could it not be about politics? This is dumber than i thought i would hear, even from a Bush.
The Professor

[redqueen]

38. Well that clinches it. He's just as dumb as chimpy.

Not political? Serioulsy... how many people could possibly buy these lies?

[in_cog_ni_to]

39. Oh Puhleeeeeeze stop it, Jeb. Do you think we're all as ignorant as

the sheeple who follow you? You damn idiot. :grr: Of course it was for political gain...READ THE DAMN MEMO!