Tuesday, March 22, 2005
That's Not My Thumb I'm Waving
The wingnuts' goal in the Schiavo case was not merely to get into federal court--that was merely the most expedient move with the clock running. So it should surprise nobody that losing in federal court this morning doesn't mark the end of anything. Nobody's saying, "Well, we had our hearing, and that's all we could hope for." Nope. Rick Santorum has already thrown a hissy fit: "You have judicial tyranny here," Santorum told WABC Radio in New York. "Congress passed a law that said that you had to look at this case. He simply thumbed his nose at Congress."
To anyone not drunk on self-righteousness, however, it seems clear that judge James Whittemore did indeed look at the case, and his ruling is reasonable by the standards of the reality-based community, at least. He ruled that the 19 previous court hearings in the case have adequately protected Schiavo's rights, and that despite the life-and-death stakes at this moment, he had no choice but to apply the law, and by that standard, he wouldn't rule to reinsert the feeding tube.
But if by "thumbed his nose at Congress" Santorum means that Whittemore failed to get the message that he should ignore law and precedent to grant whatever the wingnuts decide they want, then, yeah, nose was thumbed. Schiavo's parents are ready to appeal--in effect, shopping for a judge somewhere who's willing to see it differently, i.e., to ignore law and precedent. (If it makes the Supreme Court before she dies, remember, Antonin Scalia awaits.) Meanwhile, Whittemore--a Clinton appointee who is for the moment as reviled in Wingnut World as Bill himself--had best invest in bodyguards and security.
The time frame for further action is short. Without feeding, Terri Schiavo will be dead within a week and her case will be moot. But the damage to the Constitution and the relationship between the judicial and legislative branches is done. It can't be undone, and it's likely to get worse, as Santorum's words make clear: The wingnuts are perfectly content to wipe out whatever stands in the way of their ability to govern by fiat. Law must give way to politics, deliberation to emotion, reason to faith, your rights to their whims. Today it's Terri Schiavo. Next week, it will be something else.
The wingnuts' goal in the Schiavo case was not merely to get into federal court--that was merely the most expedient move with the clock running. So it should surprise nobody that losing in federal court this morning doesn't mark the end of anything. Nobody's saying, "Well, we had our hearing, and that's all we could hope for." Nope. Rick Santorum has already thrown a hissy fit: "You have judicial tyranny here," Santorum told WABC Radio in New York. "Congress passed a law that said that you had to look at this case. He simply thumbed his nose at Congress."
To anyone not drunk on self-righteousness, however, it seems clear that judge James Whittemore did indeed look at the case, and his ruling is reasonable by the standards of the reality-based community, at least. He ruled that the 19 previous court hearings in the case have adequately protected Schiavo's rights, and that despite the life-and-death stakes at this moment, he had no choice but to apply the law, and by that standard, he wouldn't rule to reinsert the feeding tube.
But if by "thumbed his nose at Congress" Santorum means that Whittemore failed to get the message that he should ignore law and precedent to grant whatever the wingnuts decide they want, then, yeah, nose was thumbed. Schiavo's parents are ready to appeal--in effect, shopping for a judge somewhere who's willing to see it differently, i.e., to ignore law and precedent. (If it makes the Supreme Court before she dies, remember, Antonin Scalia awaits.) Meanwhile, Whittemore--a Clinton appointee who is for the moment as reviled in Wingnut World as Bill himself--had best invest in bodyguards and security.
The time frame for further action is short. Without feeding, Terri Schiavo will be dead within a week and her case will be moot. But the damage to the Constitution and the relationship between the judicial and legislative branches is done. It can't be undone, and it's likely to get worse, as Santorum's words make clear: The wingnuts are perfectly content to wipe out whatever stands in the way of their ability to govern by fiat. Law must give way to politics, deliberation to emotion, reason to faith, your rights to their whims. Today it's Terri Schiavo. Next week, it will be something else.
