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The Politics of the Schiavo Case Mike Noveck
The world of politics is often about picking and choosing the right battles to fight. This doesn’t always mean fighting battles for issues that are popular. As is shown by the war in Iraq, sometimes a politician can win the public over on issues that are unpopular. However, this was not the case with the Republican’s intervention in the case of Terri Schiavo. In the political sphere, this was a lose-lose issue for the Republicans – polarizing, unpopular, and unwinnable. Unfortunately for them, it was also an issue they could not avoid. As November’s elections revealed, social conservatives (and evangelical Christians in particular) are a key part of the new Republican coalition. And their voices were loud and clear in the Schiavo case: “Let Terri live.” The Florida state legislature had already set precedent for legislative intervention in the case. For the Republican Congress to ignore Terri Schiavo’s plight would have created an enormous political backlash. Yet this was not a case that they could win. While the Republican stranglehold on Congress and the Presidency is clear, the independent judiciary lives on. From a legal standpoint, Michael Schiavo was next of kin, and the courts accepted his declaration that his wife would not want to remain alive in her state. And these rulings could hardly be deemed political – the federal appeals court ruling was made by judges appointed by both Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush, and the U.S. Supreme Court, which rejected an appeal, consists of seven judges appointed by Republican presidents. Stuck in a bind, the Republicans reacted in the only way they knew how – by pandering to the religious right. From Tom DeLay declaring that the Schiavo case was a gift of God for the Republicans [1], to Bill Frist making a medical diagnosis based on videotape [2], to talking points distributed among Senate Republicans claiming the Schiavo case as a “great political issue” [3], the GOP again proved that it is the party of extremism and irrationality. And they did all this for purely political interests. But did the GOP even win this battle with the religious extremists? After all, they couldn’t actually save Terri Schiavo – certainly, some of those who supported keeping her alive are upset about that. And by cementing its reputation as the far-right party, the Republicans only instigated those who already opposed them, as well as frustrating the social moderates within its own party. And for once, the Republicans actually got outmaneuvered by the Democrats. Rather than being pulled into a shouting match, the Democrats actually made the right political move – doing absolutely nothing. While the Republicans stumbled all over themselves, the Democrats just sat back and watched. They had no reason to fight this battle – they were the victors no matter what. Additionally, the Democrats didn’t have a sympathetic figure to rally around. Michael Schiavo is, in the public eye, a rather arrogant man. With that in mind, they smartly chose to wait and fight other battles where their resources would be more effective. So let’s address the final question in this case – did the right thing happen? Regardless of personal moral views, I think the answer has to be yes. This is a case that spent over a decade in the courts. There was hearing after hearing, and expert testimony by independent, court-appointed lawyers. The case went though several different courts, all of which confirmed the original decision. And in the end, it was confirmed by the greatest arbitrator in the country, the Supreme Court. This is exactly the process that the framers had in mind when creating the Constitution. The failure of Republicans to accept this process is possibly the most worrisome political aspect of the case. Not surprisingly, the poster boy for this is conservative fireball DeLay, who claimed of the judges in the case, “The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior.” Of course, as everyone learns in school, the point of an independent judiciary is that it doesn’t have to answer for its behavior. While we should all mourn the death of Terri Schiavo and the horrible tragedy that befell her, we should also be proud to see the integrity of our constitutional system. Mike Noveck is a freshman and a member of the College Democrats. |
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[1] “Republican Leader Invokes God in Schiavo Battle”. [2] “Frist Treads a Delicate Path in Citing Medical Background”. [3] “DeLay Says He's Not Giving Up Schiavo Fight”. |
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