Originally posted at
Hoffmania...
It's time for the Village Voice to take a breath. From their Mondo Washington column:
It's beginning to dawn on gloating Democrats who hoped the GOP had gone too far in the Terri Schiavo case that the spectacle may turn out to be a plus, not a minus for conservatives in the larger ongoing values debate.
Did the GOP overreach in the Schiavo case? Just as soon as the Supreme Court denied Schiavo a hearing, the Republicans shifted to a new spin. "It was not a partisan issue. It was one of conscience," said Virginia Republican Eric Canter, the deputy chief whip in the House.
"People will remember that the majority attempted to address a very difficult situation and did it with a real seriousness of purpose."
More after the break...
Schiavo has given conservative Republicans a way to raise other, wider issues: For example, what happens when the graying baby boomers hit 85? When these people get very ill, do they, as some have put it, "have a duty to die"? And, despite the advances in costly medical technology that extends longevity, will their duty to die become an even more harsh reality because Congress has refused to fix the Social Security and Medicare mess?
Whoa. When did we all give Washington ad hoc power over our personal conscientious decisions? (I ask this not to you guys, but to the Voice - it seems to be a new question to them.) Are the Democrats suddenly going to pass a law requiring mandatory death?
Please. Breathe deeply. The Voice is letting the wingnuts define us again.
Stop this now.
Again: The Schiavo case is and always was a very sad private family matter. The GOP, instead of leaving it where it should have been kept, decided to open the shark and let its guts spill out all over the nation. And might we remind you, it was proven time and time again to be solely out of political gain, NOT "one of conscience." The Voice is buying the bullshit with every last penny in their checking account.
Where the Democrats need to fight back is not over whether one lives or dies, but in AMERICAN PRIORITIES.
We need to remember that Bush has not succeeded on one single tangible issue that has affected America as a whole. He's only succeeded in pandering to the Christian Right by painting over his glaringly failed record with the spectacular colors of God and Jesus.
Democrats have always been - and should always continue to be - the party of real conscience. Not just in rhetoric or in invoking God into abstract ideas. But in the real world. In the New Deal. In human rights. In propping up the disadvantaged. In sparing as much human life in military conflicts as possible. Our legacy is not throwing the bible or bombs at every problem America has faced. It's dealing with them with actual getting-your-hands-dirty help and intellect.
You want to dumb it down? Fine. I'd rather be Bugs Bunny than the Coyote. Simple enough?
We need to convince America that there are decisions we all face which affect the entire nation - not just a few who drew attention to themselves to the media. There are bigger questions which we need to ask - and we need to provide the answers.
- HOW DO WE GET OUR TROOPS BACK TO THEIR FAMILIES?
- HOW DO WE CARE FOR OUR ELDERLY IF MEDICARE COLLAPSES?
- HOW DO WE REVERSE POVERTY SO EVERY CITZEN MAKES AMERICA STRONGER?
- HOW DO WE GENUINELY REACH OUT TO OUR ALLIES SO THEY'LL WATCH OUR BACKS?
- HOW DO WE INCLUDE ALL OF THE COUNTRY - OF ALL RELIGIOUS, ETHNIC, SEXUAL AND POLITICAL DENOMINATIONS - BACK INTO AMERICA'S DECISION-MAKING?
THESE are values. THESE are moral issues. THESE affect everyone, Christian or not.
There are many more of these which are far more urgent than legislating our way into a Florida family's tragedy for political gain. These are the issues we can own.
The Voice needs to start asking these questions.
The DNC needs to start answering them NOW.
We have to start a message and hammer it hard. Every day. Every hour. Every breath. NOW. Because if we wait until the week before Election Day 2006 as we usually do, we're dead.