Rift emerges in GOP after Schiavo case

[janx]

WASHINGTON -- Top conservative leaders gathered here a week after Terri Schiavo's death to plot a course of action against the nation's courts, but much of their anger was directed at leading Republicans, exposing an emerging crack between the party's leadership and core supporters on the right.

Conservative leaders criticized President Bush for failing to speak out strongly against removing the feeding tube from Schiavo, the 41-year-old incapacitated woman who died March 31. They blamed the president's brother, Governor Jeb Bush of Florida, for failing to employ State Police powers to take control of Schiavo. They condemned comments by Senate majority leader Bill Frist of Tennessee and Vice President Dick Cheney expressing support for the nation's judges.

And yesterday they issued an ''action plan" to take their crusade for control of the nation's courts well beyond Senate debates over judicial nominees, pressing Congress to impeach judges and defund courts they consider ''activist" and to limit the jurisdiction of federal courts over some sensitive social matters -- a strategy opposed by many leading Senate Republicans.

''This is not a Democrat- Republican issue; it is a liberal-conservative issue," Rick Scarborough, a Baptist minister and chair of the Judeo-Christian Council for Constitutional Restoration, sponsor of the gathering, said in an interview. ''It's about a temporal versus eternal value system. We are not going away."

MUCH more at link:

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/04/09/rift_emerges_in_gop_after_schiavo_case/

[coloradodem2005]

1. Yeah.

Let's open up a Pandoras box of Civil Unrest that will be as ugly as anything. We really did turn a dark corner on November 2, 2004.

[janx]

4. This is going to be fun to watch! n/t

[Eric J in MN]

2. Thank goodness the Party of Michael Moore isn't in power

because film-director Michael Moore is much scarier than Rick Scarborough and his fellow religious extremists who want to destroy the Constitution.

(end sarcasm)

[efhmc]

3. Don't want to be picky but aren't you worried that this post might be

taken without the scarcasm comment and quoted elsewhere? On edit, guess that is being picky but I have been doing some self-censoring lately with this in mind.

[Eric J in MN]

7. No. If someone tries that, he or she will just wind up looking

deceitful in the long run when the "(end sarcasm)" part is pointed out.

[janx]

8. LOOK!

Post in freeperland:




Don't Delay, Tom. Stop corrupt judges from robbing and killing innocent Americans.
23 posted on 04/10/2005 8:13:38 AM MDT by floriduh voter (www.theempirejournal.com Demand the Impeachment of Judge Greer...No More!!!!)

[Selteri]

5. Such Drama

The 'eternal' versus 'temporal'...

With how they are going on they sure keep espousing temporal values since Jesus told them to LOVE, not HATE one another and to treat EVERYONE not SOME PEOPLE like they wanted to be treated.

[janx]

6. I think I saw part of this meeting on CSPAN the other day...

It was very bizarre.

[janx]

9. Where does DeLay get this stuff?!

The gathering's hero was House majority leader Tom DeLay of Texas, now under fire on ethics charges. DeLay, who has called for retribution against judges in the Schiavo case, said Congress should ''reassert constitutional authority over our courts."