Contempt For Court

I'm sorry to even bring this up, but there is a good point buried in what follows. From the NYT, Supreme Court Rejects Request to Reinsert Feeding Tube:

A short time ago, George Felos, the lawyer for Mr. Schiavo, said he was "grateful" for the Supreme Court decision.

"It should become obvious to everyone and every observer that the entire judicial system of the United States, the state courts in the state of Florida, the entire federal judiciary, has said, this case must end, this case is over," Mr. Felos told reporters. "Mrs. Schiavo's legal rights have been ruled on again and again and again. The courts have consistently found that she did not want to remain alive artificially.

With that out of the way, let's take a look at this analysis:

Next month, the President’s judicial nominees will be debated on the floor of the U.S. Senate, many of them for the second time after being filibustered by Democrats in the 108th Congress. The nominees in question are no less radical than the first time they were nominated, but due to losses in the 2004 elections, the Democrats’ ability to stop them appears in serious jeopardy.

…the focus-group tested cry of “activist judges” will gain volume with Terri Schiavo as its martyr, a process now underway on each of the 24 hour news channels. And despite the overwhelming majority of Americans who believe that the Florida courts have done the right thing to date, the Republican talking points will no doubt take hold and influence the coming judicial debate.

…With the possibility that failure in this round will bring them bigger success when the confirmation fight begins, Terri Schiavo is worth more to Republicans dead than alive.

This view of the matter, which might otherwise sound far-fetched and conspiratorial, actually makes perfect sense in light of similar strategies employed by Republicans in the 2004 election; specifically the manipulation of the gay marriage debate to inspire widespread fear of the judiciary. The images and stories of people getting arrested for "trying to give water" to Terri Schiavo are obviously calculated to make judges look like Nazis. They're trying to extend executive and legislative power by eviscerating the judiciary. That's the whole point. These bastards need to be stopped.