It's the least we can do on Easter weekend.
Seriously, 47 House Democrats shamelessly voted for that ridiculous Terri Schiavo legislation last weekend, the one that let the Congress enact a legislative coup d'etat and take this issue out of the state courts and throw it into the federal courts in an effort to invalidate the rule of law in America.
47 House Democrats chose to cave on their principles and act like Republicans because they didn't have the balls to stand up for what's right. And what's the result? People like Tom DeLay are running around saying this was a bipartisan effort, and now Republicans are saying that no one can use this issue against them in the next elections since the Dems were on board. From today's Wash Post:
Some Republicans said they do not believe the vote to allow a federal court to examine whether any of Schiavo's constitutional rights had been violated will become a political issue, especially since 47 House Democrats voted for the measure, while 53 voted against....And did you check out that last line? The Dems are talking about joining the Republicans in putting through legislation to address THIS ISSUE NATIONWIDE?!
Democrats struggled with their own internal divisions over whether to join Republicans in urging federal courts to consider the Schiavo case -- or to oppose it as a dangerous legislative overreach. The decision of so many Democrats to support Republican action represented a rare moment of detente between the two otherwise warring parties.
Even House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), one of the most partisan politicians in Washington, conceded, "There's been incredible cooperation by the Democrats and Republicans." Aides in both parties say a shared concern about the fate of incapacitated people could lead to bipartisan legislation addressing their rights.
Dont. You. Dare.
It's time to beat the crap out of wimpy DINO-Dems every single time they go spineless. It's time to start waking up our party to the reality that WE are still proud of our beliefs, that WE are willing to fight the Republicans even if far too many Dems in Congress aren't, and that WE aren't going away.
Please check out this vote count from the Schiavo vote, find your local members of Congress, and if they voted for this travesty of justice, for this attempt to undermine the foundation of our entire democracy, send them a note and a phone call beating the bejeesus out of them. If you feel you must be nice, that's fine. But I worked on the Hill, and more often than not, wimps like this don't respond to nice phone calls. They respond to irate constituents. Feel free to go irate.
I'm serious. It's time our party stood for something. And if these conservative Democrat frauds are afraid to be Dems by the light of day, they can get out of the party. Because the candidate we run against them next time WILL stand for something and THAT candidate will win the election.
