Arianna Huffington: Schiavo Case Proves Dems Are Starving For Leadership

[Mass]

Sorry if this has already been posted.

http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_19448.shtml

Arianna Huffington: Schiavo Case Proves Dems Are Starving For Leadership

By: Arianna Huffington
Published: Wed, 30 Mar 2005



It is about Congressional Democrats and how they once again pathetically misread what moral values mean in a political context. May they miraculously wake from their persistent vegetative state--or it won't be long before they are receiving their political last rites.


The Schiavo case is a perfect example. Before the cards had even been dealt, Senate Democrats decided that the Republicans already held all the aces. So instead of calling Dr. Frist's bluff, they folded, sat out the hand, and headed into the kitchen to see what kind of sandwiches Felix was whipping up. Not a single Democratic senator formally objected to the pro forma voice vote that sent the Schiavo bill to the House, where, with a few notable exceptions--especially Rep. Barney Frank and rising star Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Shultz of Florida--Democrats were nearly as compliant.



And being steamrolled by the Republicans or dancing on Terri Schiavo's grave were not the only two options open to Democrats. If they hadn't been running around hiding from their own shadows, they would have easily found a larger moral frame in which to put the fight over Schiavo's fate.

If the Republicans insist on making the "culture of life" a federal issue, the Democrats should, by all means, let them. But they need to make sure that the national debate doesn't center on tragic anomalies like the Schiavo case but on the thousands of people whose lives are cut short because they lack access to decent health care or on the prolonged suffering of the millions of children living in poverty.

[sui generis]

1. really bad choice of words

:evilgrin:

yes, we are thirsting in the desert for someone to tell us how to think. The right wing has pulled our political feeding tube.

okay, bad attempts at humor aside I agree with her though. We're good at fighting but we suck at strategy and vision. As we all know from stupid video games, you can have the best character with the most amazing skills in the world but if you don't put him or her in the right place at the right time it's game over.

[cestpaspossible]

2. I don't agree with her at all

and I'm glad that most of the Democrats I consider to be leaders did not allow them to be distracted from the important issues of the day by this private family matter, which, despite the impotent attempts of the Republicans, has been properly settled by the courts.

[THUNDER HANDS]

7. Democrats didn't get distracted? Whaaaa?

They hold no power at all. What are they distracted from - sitting in their offices?

What do congressional Dems DO nowadays anyway?

This was an opportunity and they blew it. Because they are scared of Republicans and don't even try to fight anymore if they know they're not assured of winning.

[cestpaspossible]

9. If you don't know what Senators and Congresspeople do,

then you should educate yourself.

[City Lights]

3. Hey Arianna, DU has a new smilie for the Dems:

:hide:

[ZootSuitGringo]

21. LOL!

New GOP mantra--Just say "boo"!

such an eerie resemblance! :hide:

[peacetalksforall]

4. Nonsense - the entire country wants to make it what it is - a family

affair. They don't want to feed the fanatics. Let the fanatics continue to make fools of themselves. The Schlindlers are a god-send to them.

[Q3JR4]

5. I'm sorry to say this

to all of you democrats who still believe in the party structure, but I agree completely with Mrs. Huffington.

I've noticed, as the months go by, that dems. sit back on the sidelines and watch the reps. do their best to change our country for the worse.

No one, with a few exceptions, in the party stand in the way of the (seeming) juggernaut pushing down at them.

To me, it's as if we have one party in control of congress composed of the more vocal right-wing bloc and a less-vocal dem-in-name-only bloc.

I'm getting to the point where I want to throw my hands up and walk away from it all.

[Nikki Stone 1]

6. Dems: damned if they do and damned if they don't

This was a no-win issue for the dems. If they had taken the bait and fought Delay & Co., they could have been vilified during the 2006 election cycle as "pro-death". On the other hand, sitting on their hands has just added fuel to "The Democrats are dead" fire.

All in all, I think the leadership made the right choice in not being a part of this Jerry Springer circus. But they need to be VERY visible on Social Security and fight the Delay junta like ALL HELL to get any respect back from much of the rank and file Democrats.

[Old and In the Way]

8. Exactly right.

It'd be like the Republican's offering up an "Apple Pie" amendment that all Americans must choose Apple Pie as their #1 dessert. Predictably, Democrats would stand as the Party against Apple Pie....but that would be the way the MSM would play it...not that it was a stupid, crass, hypocritical amendment for the Republicans to bring up....just that Democrats are against Apple pie, probably Mom and Chevrolets, too.

[cestpaspossible]

10. Scintillating simile

[DearAbby]

13. Whaaaaaaaa the Democrats should have stopped the Republicans from

looking like fools...:cry: they should have protected them, from this pending disaster :hide: The should have at least taken the fall for them! :nuke:


Geeze, like we should have taken the pistol they had aimed at their own heads and taken the bullet for them? They own this, they had no right to interfere in a private family issue. Legislating laws for one citizen? Like the Democrats could have stopped this? Hey lady...buy a clue.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

11. Well, they don't want to appear "too liberal". It upsets Rush.

Even my own supposedly liberal(D) rep voted with the Repugs on the Schiavo resolution.

Our "leadership" excels only at playing it safe.

[rocktivity]

12. "Never tell your enemy he is making a mistake." --Napoleon Bonaparte

What better way show that government shouldn't get involved in a private family matter than by NOT getting involved a private family matter?

Either through reasoned logic, analyzing the polls, good old-fashioned common sense, or dumb luck, the Dems figured out that there was enough public support in favor of Michael Schaivo to offset any from the religious freeper fringe. They also realized that they were in a no-win situation: Opposing Michael would render them GOP-lites, and supporting Michael would have had the MSM calling them murderers 24/7.

So the Dems let the GOP have their way, and hit the trifecta. President Mightymouse took a ratings hit and can now be haunted by the ghost of Baby Sun Hudson; Jeb Bush can be investigated for conspiring to circumvent a court order; and Tom DeLay was caught red-handed planning to use Terri as a weapon for selfish political gain.

You're not looking at the big picture, Arianna. With no Democrats to kick around on the Schiavo issue, the MSM inadvertently exposed the true nature of the religious extremists who rule the GOP (their meme now seems to be "Why are they LETTING Terri die?"). The Dems fought by not fighting, and won. Major damage to the GOP's credibility has been done--damage that can be parlayed into wins on social security and more relevant issues.

:headbang:
rocknation

[Nikki Stone 1]

14. Good analysis, rockthenation. Your 1st sentence is priceless.

n/t

[EBK]

20. As Bruce Lee once said...

"The art of fighting without fighting" -Bruce Lee, Enter the Dragon

[OzarkDem]

25. Unfortunately

that strategy (waiting for R's to make a mistake) is pretty lame and won't get them anywhere in 2006.

I'm beginning to seriously worry if they don't start showing some life soon, we can forget about 2006. They make Joe Lieberman look energetic.

[cidliz2004]

31. Your exactly right

At first I though why aren't the Democrats saying anything, then I realized that the minute that they did the Republicans would SUCCESSFULLY make them look like they were politicizing the Shaivo case.

I also realized that let the Republicans swing in the wind. Why try to help them look bad when they are doing a great job all by themselves. With 8?% of the Americans wanting the Government to stay out of situations like this here we have the Republican crazies, along with the radical Christains doing precisely that. They are making the Republican party look pretty bad and 2 Bushes are involved. No, I say let them hang themselves.

The knee jerk reaction of some Republicans is now being successfully avoided by Democrats staying out of the circus. Just imagine the Democrats saying something or other and the the "rather moderate" Republicans with 1/2 a brain would feel inclined to step up to defend their party and to combat the Democrats. Now they have nothing to combat. The Repubs have the full stage.

As the numbers continue to go down the Democrats can correctly sit back this time and let nature take its course. The courts have made numerous decisions in favor of Schaivo's husband and hopefully when the dust settles and the autopsy report confirms that Terry Schaivo was in no way EVER going to recover or was in no way AWARE of her surroundings and truly was "gone" 15 years ago,the Democrats can then talk about respecting the laws and the how the Government should stay out of families lives when they have to make decisions like this. And they can mention how awful it was for this family to have gone through this spectacle and because they were overcome with grief and how they were used by radical right wing Christan republicans for political purpose and political purpose alone.

[wiggs]

15. She's 100% right. If dems sit out, they get framed by pugs anyway

Dem leaders have sat out every important issue (except SS) that I can think of and the gop has successfully framed issues for the public the way the gop wants. Gop has had a free, unchallenged hand for 4 years on effective, coordinated PR and some think this lapdog dem strategy is effective for us?

As much of a planned distraction as Schiavo is, a much stronger "hands off" statement could have been made by dems if that's the message they want to send: "The pugs want to reach into your bedrooms (sex, gay marriage), living rooms (patriot act), libraries (patriot act), and now they want to reach into your most private events and control what you do. This is nothing short of a large step toward totalitariansim."

Is someone actually saying the dems did well framing any critical policy area...or issues like energy task force, Abu Ghraib, Plame, Edmons, WMD, 9/11, Pet Goat, education, environment, medicare lies, Iraq, deficits and dollar, corporatism, on and on? Dem leades have been HORRIBLE at getting an appropriate message out to take on very poor gop positions in almost every area. They've been so bad that I have to be cynical and suspect that they like the way things are going.

GOP is choosing the issues that get attention and they are choosing how they are perceived. Every time. If dems are silent and uncoordinated on Shiavo, gop will frame the issue against us. THIS IS WHAT THEY DO! Dem leaders allowing this to happen is duplicitous and irresponsible and it loses elections. A DANGEROUS, CRIMINAL, RADICAL, FASCIST ADMINISTRATION IS LEADING US TOWARD AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE AND OUR DEM LEADERS ARE SITTING IT OUT???

We are alone in trying to keep our future from looking like "1984", "Soylent Green" and "Rollerball".

I had a very pleasant morning...now I'm angry and frustrated.

[Griffy]

18. Right.. we are the "culture of death" now.. RATHER than...

the "culture of laws".. or "culture of justice" .. if we had leaders to help the public understand we are not for death, but we are for justice, and the courts have overwhelmingly shown Terri didnt want to live this way. We could have leader saying these facts, and that these facts show WHY congress SHOULDN'T be involoved! The media is corperate propaganda infotainment! If our leaders wont speak publicly as to what we stand for, then the repug wordsmiths will decide what to label us. With the nuclear option looming, we need representatives to vocally oppose these criminals and use every chance to expose the propaganda!

[madfloridian]

16. This time Arianna is just wrong.

This would only turn into a shouting match, and they are very eager for our Democrats to get into it.

I often agree with her, but she is wrong this time. It is a private matter.

[flpoljunkie]

19. Let's take Arianna's advice; she did so well in her campaign for Gov of CA

It looks now like letting the Rethugs be hoisted by their own petard was a damn good move.

The Democrats cannot get a break with the media normally. Do you really think the M$M would give them the Dems a fair shake now on Shiavo?

[wiggs]

17. And another thing

I don't like the way our dem leaders sat out framing discussion on obscene nominations for Gonzales, Negroponte, and Rice, nor do I like how the debates for Wolfowitz and Bolton are shaping up. Nor do I appreciate that throughout all of government, dem leaders have not condemned filling all kinds of regulatory agency posts with former lobbyists and corporate hacks that are there to basically give corporations anything they want.

Every damn day, they should be taking cues from Senator Byrd and ridiculing the gop and exposing truth.

This is MAJOR stuff....completion of a sea change in government and global geo-political dynamics for the benefit of a few. Perhaps dem leaders are happy to be among the few.

[ZootSuitGringo]

22. That's right!

If Dems can't kick ass, how is the GOP ever going to get their ass kicked?

[sandnsea]

23. She is officially an idiot

First, I heard her say on CSpan yesterday that Kerry voted for the bankruptcy bill, which wasn't true. Now she says no Senators objected to the Schiavo vote, which wasn't true, I know mine did. Then she points to Barney Frank, who has stated he wants to have federal law on these issues because of pressure from disability activists. For someone who supposedly saw the light and turned away from the Republican Party, she sure spends alot of time bashing Democrats.

[Mass]

24. She says no Democrats called for a roll call

which is true. "Not a single Democratic senator formally objected to the pro forma voice vote". Wyden said he did not agree to the bill and a few other Senators, including Warner did, but nobody objected to the voice vote.

She is often confused, but this time, I am not sure she is. If this story is private, how is it that the senate voted for a bill with an apparent unanimity (in this case, refusing to agree was rooting for privacy).

Frank understands perfectly well the problem. The Schiavo bill was bad because it was the governement intervening in ONE case. There is nothing wrong trying to understand the problems of the disability activists (where even liberal groups seem to be worried with this law) and see if they can get the warranties they want without infringing on privacy.

I understand that politically, it may be good to have stayed silent (actually I am not sure, but a lot of people seem to think so), but morally, I was disturbed by the Democrats in the Senate agreeing to this vote and not forcing a roll call.

[sandnsea]

26. I disagree

The implication is that Democrats didn't say a word about this bill, which isn't true. Barney Franks wants to drag the end of life debate into Congress, which is already clear under state law. Barney Franks is being political in his own way. Who does it benefit to have yet another Congressional "culture of life" debate? Arianna and Ralph Nader, two peas in the same useless pod.

[Mass]

27. Why would Frank be political here?

He is sure to be reelected as long as he wants in his district and this would not help him be elected MA Senator if a seat came to be vacant. He has nothing to win there. I fully expect Kennedy and Kerry to take the same position when the time comes. I also expect that none of them will vote for something that restrict personnal freedom.

[sandnsea]

29. oh my gosh

What's he supposed to do, spit in the face of disabled people? The Schiavo case is not a disability issue in any way, shape or form. Yet we've got politicians who won't tell them so. Seems political to me. Activist groups are just a reality politicians have to deal with.

[Mass]

30. I dont know what you mean.

Frank did not say the Schiavo case was a disability issue neither did the responsible disability groups. What they say is that they see a risk of slippery slope from this case to other cases that are less clear cut.

Of course, we can choose to ignore them, or we can say that we should talk about that outside of the Schiavo case, which seems to be exactly what Frank did.

I think we have to agree to disagree on this one.

[sandnsea]

32. I guess so

Because I have heard the disability groups say this was a disability issue. It hasn't been a slippery slope in the 30 years that we've had the right to remove life support. I don't know why they think it would be now. Except as it pertains to futile care laws, and that concerns me a GREAT DEAL.

I would have to say Frank talking to them might keep them from getting more vocal, which I don't think we need in this case.

My point on Arianna though, there are alot of groups that aren't aligned perfectly on this issue, including disability groups. There were alot of reasons for the Democrats to just stand back on it. Purists always want everything their own way, without looking at the overall picture.

[thebigidea]

28. shrug. she's currently slicing and dicing Wonkette/David Brooks/Beinart on

... CSPAN at 8:30EST - good stuff.

Wonkette is such a clown, babbling about the Weekly Standard being witty and Fox being her favorite news channel. Blegh. Like like like... stutter... like - like like.

[Uzybone]

33. She is totally right.

I thought Dean was supposed to be our "savior". The guy vanished into thin air as soon as he became DNC chair.