The GOP Has Lost Its Mind

I have never seen a political party or political representation implode so quickly in my life. It seemed like it took years for the Democratic Party to completely go to pieces but this GOP party has managed to fall apart nearly twice as fast. I also didn’t think that the GOP having a monopoly on federal power would wreak this much havoc within the first few months of year one. As the saying goes, power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely…and apparently faster than normal.

Of course I’m talking about the never-ending saga of concerning Terry Schiavo and the multiple intrusions on her behalf by the GOP in congress. Frankly, I didn’t want to have to write about this anymore. I made my point in the first article and I figured from my vantage point there was nothing else to be said. As from the start, let justice take its course and God’s will shall be done, that was my philosophy so I might as well move on to other topics. However, what I heard today on talk radio and then was confirmed on Newsmax.com has made me madder than a wet hen.

This from Newsmax.com: “Legal experts say that if Florida Gov. Jeb Bush defies state judge George Greer and orders state troopers to rescue Terri Schiavo, he and any other officials who participate in such a move risk a contempt citation from Greer that could put them in jail.

But with a powerful ally in the White House, Terri Schiavo's would-be rescuers have nothing to fear from the runaway judge.

In 2001, President Clinton pardoned drug dealers, international money launderers - even FALN terrorists, who were spared in a blatant bid to win votes for his wife's Senate campaign.

The episode taught a bewildered nation that the powers of the president to pardon anyone he wishes are absolute and irrefutable.

Today Clinton is the most popular American politician in the world and his wife is the front-running candidate for her party's presidential nomination. In other words, the Pardongate scandal's lasting political fallout was nil.

He even pardoned his own brother, who had been convicted of selling cocaine.

Should Gov. Bush decide to rescue Terri Schiavo by force in violation of Judge Greer's order, President Bush could do the same for his brother - along with any other officials the right-to-die judge tries to punish.

Would there be controversy? You bet. Would the Bush family's political enemies try to capitalize? Absolutely.

But a nation that forgives one president for pardoning terrorists will certainly forgive another who uses his pardon power to save a life.

Once Terri Schiavo begins to receive the treatment she's been denied for more than a decade, her condition will almost certainly improve. Nurses who have cared for her have already testified she can speak and eat without a feeding tube, in stark contradiction to Judge Greer's findings.

Terri's recovery, however minimal, would serve as powerful evidence that the Bush brothers did the right thing in coming to her rescue.

In the meantime, the nation would be spared the haunting specter of its government starving an innocent citizen to death.”

So it’s come down to two wrongs make a right, is that where we are? The GOP and their buddies in the media echo chamber are seriously suggesting sending in the National Guard a la Janet Reno and “rescuing” Terry Schiavo. You people have lost your bloody minds! I cannot believe that in a matter of weeks the GOP has moved from disingenuously political, to Moveon.org level shrill, to flat out full goose bozo. I'm simply amazed at how little respect they have for the law and for our legal institutions. I thought this was the small government, less intrusive party? Apparently they are small government, less intrusion so long as they can legislate morality a la Iran. I used to chafe at the term, "Taliban Wing of the Republican Party" but now I can see where it's accurate. I stand here as a proud registered Republican wondering just what the hell happened to my party? They bet the farm on saving this woman’s life and now they will in fact reap the whirlwind.

It feels pretty macabre to talk about the political fallout from these events as the woman hasn’t actually died yet but when you are talking about sending in the National Guard to “rescue” her like she’s Princess Leia from Star Wars then it’s politics we must discuss.

Jeb Bush and Bill Frist are done. Neither of them will be able to recover enough from this to seriously contend the presidency, especially against Hillary Clinton. The political calculations of attempting to save Terry and then failing are so overwhelming that I just don’t understand why they would be so eager to throw their careers off of a bridge like this. The fact of the matter is that there aren’t enough “saved” Christians in this country to elect anyone president. That’s what the whole last election was about in the first place. If you lose us moderates, Republican or Democrat moderates, then you don’t win the election, period. We were turned off when Congress intervened in the first place, do you honestly think we’re going to be pleased if you repeat the mistakes of Waco and Elian Gonzalez?

It is truly scary watching a political party disintegrate like this. It’s like when we saw Howard Dean implode after the Iowa caucus. For the love of this country, the Constitution and all that we hold dear, would the GOP and their compadres in the talk radio echo chamber get a grip and come back to reality before you take us all off a cliff!