Terri Schiavo and the Constitution

Finally I have found a thorough article on the Terri Schiavo case that takes a good hard look at the Constitutional implications of the Palm Sunday intervention by Congress. Entitled, "Brain-dead in D.C.: Has Congress gone around the bend?" it is by George Ochenski and is published by the Missoula Independent of Montana. Here's how it begins:

Recent actions by the United States Congress indicate it might be time to check the Capitol water coolers -there's apparently something in them that makes people go crazy. The evidence, especially since Republican majorities took over in the latest session, seems irrefutable. Gone are the checks and balances, gone are the House ethics rules, and now, with the bizarre congressional intrusion in the case of Terry Schiavo, gone too is the very Constitutional separation of powers upon which the nation was founded. When those who make the laws go so far astray, those who live by the laws must fear for the future of their country.

This week, for instance, the U.S. Senate is contemplating an overthrow of traditional filibuster rules -the single most powerful tool the minority (regardless of political party) has against the tyranny of the majority. A case in point is the so-called "nuclear option" to ban filibusters of President Bush's judicial nominees. Given the power of federal judges, and the fact that they are supposed to render impartial judgment under the law, it makes perfectly good sense for the Senate to vet nominees with scrutiny and debate. Add to this the undeniable tendency of George Bush to appoint radical, right-wing ideologues to positions of immense power, and anyone can see the wisdom in our government's system of checks and balances.

A bit later Ochenski looks at what Congress did regarding the Schiavo case:

But hey, why stop with overthrowing the long-standing traditions of the Senate -why not go right after the Constitutional separation of powers that has served this nation so well for centuries? In fact, that's just what happened this week when, thanks to politically driven ineptitude, Congress waded into the complex case of Terri Schiavo.
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Not a single U.S. senator had the guts to oppose what many view as a blatantly unconstitutional intrusion of the executive and legislative branch into judicial affairs. However, at least one congressman, Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, hit the nail right on the head. "The American people have a distrust of excessive zeal, and some of the Republican leaders' determination to impose their religious views borders on fanaticism," said Frank. "They are playing God."

The people in power today in our government are not true conservatives. True conservatives think it is very important indeed to preserve the traditional rules of the Senate and the constitutional separation of powers. The people in power today are, rather, right-wing fanatics and the traditional conservatives among us are just as dismayed as are the liberals.