Governor, lawmakers in daily contact on Schiavo, e-mails show

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Jeb Bush was in daily contact with congressional leaders in March as court efforts to intervene on behalf of Terri Schiavo faltered, according to e-mails obtained Monday from the governor's office.

The e-mails, released to The Palm Beach Post in response to a public records request, also show that state lawmakers persevered with legislative maneuvering to keep the severely brain-damaged woman's feeding tube intact, despite advice from Bush's top Schiavo attorney that such an effort was hopeless.

Throughout the first two weeks of March, Bush's executive staff exchanged dozens of e-mails with attorneys for Sen. Bill Frist and Rep. Tom DeLay, the respective majority leaders of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, drafting and revising legislation that legal and political teams in Florida and Washington hoped would halt the removal of Schiavo's feeding tube.

The lawyers at the center of the electronic exchanges were Raquel "Rocky" Rodriguez, Bush's general counsel, and Allen Hicks, Frist's top lawyer.

more…
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2005/05/24/a9a_schiavo_0524.html

And pointlessly raised the political pitch of the entire contrived event. And let's not forget that they recklessly accused Micheal Shiavo of murder (along with others).

"The e-mails, released to The Palm Beach Post in response to a public records request, also show that state lawmakers persevered with legislative maneuvering to keep the severely brain-damaged woman's feeding tube intact, despite advice from Bush's top Schiavo attorney that such an effort was hopeless."

This all shows an appalling lack of faith in their god!

They devoted all this energy and time to manipulating the political and judicial system to save Terri Schiavo. Why didn't all these people just drop to their knees and beseech their god to save her? Why? Because they don't really believe their god answers prayer. Or maybe they don't think their god can work miracles of this kind (too much Kryptonite?).

Yet they insist that our country's morals are going to hell 'cause kids aren't forced to pray in public schools.

What these people actually did was play politics with a tragic personal situation and demonize her husband, judges, and politicians who didn't go along with them. Makes you wonder just how low these GOP bastards will go to win a few more votes.

May 24, 6:53 PM EDT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- As it grew closer to the day Terri Schiavo's feeding tube was removed, lawyers for the House, Senate and Gov. Jeb Bush worked at an exhausting pace to write a bill all could agree would keep the brain-damaged woman alive and pass each chamber.

"This may be the toughest issue I have ever worked on, because there are so many unknowns," Eric Maclure, a staff lawyer in the Senate, wrote to Bush lawyer Christa Calamas two days before the feeding tube was removed from the brain-damaged woman.

"Trying to craft a policy for the future and one that helps with a current situation is really tough. My hat is off to those of you who have been working on this so long," Maclure wrote.

In 1,300 pages of e-mails and documents received by The Associated Press, the effort the governor and Republican lawmakers made to keep Schiavo alive against the wishes of her husband reflects some hope, some frustration, but mostly a businesslike approach to finding a legal means to stop Michael Schiavo and the courts from letting the woman die.

http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FL_SCHIAVO_E_MAILS_FLOL-?SITE=FLPET&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=state.shtml&CTIME=2005-05-24-18-53-48

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What a dumpload of crap! It was poorly worded and written to be legally dumped by any federal judge; that is, if that judge was willing to comply with existing constitutional, statutory, and case law.

Sheesh. Talk about painting a portrait that does not exist. This bullsh*t from the Republican rightwing is totally without merit. What else is new?




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was it haaard wooorrkkk?

tossers

on issues that really matter to people, like Medicaid, better schools, election fraud...

My mother was in that place in the same year and to think we could have kept her alive like an animal for all these years just gives me the creeps. It is like growing something in a dish. What is wrong with those people? I am sure they would not have wished their daughter like that for all those years. To use that poor women like that was a shame on us all.

....."I don't think the FL legislature needs to pass a separate law to do this. I'm still trying to research whether Florida's governor has ever defied a court order in the past," wrote Erin Berry in a message sent to Feeney's staff.

When the e-mail eventually made it's way to Rodriguez along with a question on whether to respond to Feeney, she replied simply, "don't see a need."

Bush himself didn't express his thoughts in e-mail. Most e-mails from the governor contained news articles or were messages from others that he forwarded to his legal staff, including one from an exasperated Bob Schindler.

"Stop for a moment and look at the pattern that has developed since the Gov. got involved in 03," Schindler wrote in an e-mail forwarded to Bush, which the governor passed on to Rodriguez. "You can bet your house, the Florida Courts communicated at all levels informing (Michael Schiavo's lawyer George) Felos they 'run it up Bush's butt' ... It is a territorial dispute. They, the courts, are resigned to stop anyone from interfering in their domain, and make an example to prevent future meddling."

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That would be suicidal.

Besides, they've already got election fraud down to a fine art.

DeLay also.