Blatant Left-Wing Hypocrisy

In March, 2005, when a memo was discovered calling the Terri Schiavo case a "great political issue" and "a tough issue for Democrats," leading Democrats and liberal bloggers, with the eager assistance of the mainstream media, immediately began to attack Republicans for politicizing a tragic, personal family matter. It didn't matter that Republicans vehemently denied any knowledge of the memo and expressed disapproval of its content. It didn't matter that it was later determined that the memo was not a high-level Republican strategy document but the amateurish creation of a Mel Martinez (R-FL) staff member, who spelled Terri Schiavo's first name incorrectly and got the Senate bill's number wrong. It didn't matter that the staff member responsible for the memo was forced to resign. The only thing that mattered was that Democrats saw an opportunity to denounce Republicans.

When Congress later passed and President Bush signed legislation granting a U.S. district court jurisdiction to hear an abuse suit on behalf of Terri Schiavo, Democrats had more fuel for their Republican-bashing fire. The possibility that this legislation could have been the result of genuine compassion for Terri Schiavo or for her parents, who did not want to see their daughter die, did not seem to occur to the left. It didn't matter that a woman's life was at stake. It didn't matter that, according to national media polls (which have since been shown to be seriously flawed), this action was not popular and therefore could not result in political gain. It didn't even matter that 47 Democrats joined the 156 Republicans in passing this bill. The only thing that mattered was that the Democrats saw further opportunity to malign Republicans.

Now, just two weeks and one day after the death of Terri Schiavo, Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean has stated openly that the Democratic Party will use Terri Schiavo for its own political gain. Speaking to a gay rights group in West Hollywood, California, Dean stated, "We're going to use Terri Schiavo later on. This is going to be an issue in 2006, and it's going to be an issue in 2008..."

When Democrats accuse Republicans of politicizing Terri Schiavo, based on a memo written by an incompetent Republican staffer, the content of that memo is denounced by Republicans and the staffer forced to resign. However, when the head of the Democratic National Committee brazenly announces plans to politicize Terri Schiavo, he is embraced by Democrats and given a pass by the mainstream media. This has to be the epitome of blatant left-wing hypocrisy!