FINAL WORD ON THE SHIAVO AFFAIR

An E. J. Dionne essay from the Washington Post courtesy of Crooks and Liars:

The autopsy in the Terri Schiavo case provides a rare moment of political accountability. We should not "move on," as Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist suggested. No, we cannot move on until those politicians who felt entitled to make up facts and toss around unwarranted conclusions about Schiavo's condition take responsibility for what they said -- and apologize.

Nothing in the autopsy report prevents those who opposed removing Schiavo's feeding tube from continuing to insist they were right. It's legitimate and honorable to argue on philosophical grounds that every medical decision in a tragic circumstance such as Schiavo's should be made on the side of keeping the sick person alive.

But those who supported an extraordinary use of federal power to force their own conclusion against the judgment of state courts knew that philosophical arguments would not be enough. Most Americans were uneasy about compelling Schiavo's husband, Michael, to keep his wife alive if -- as the state courts had concluded and as the autopsy confirmed on Wednesday -- she had suffered irreversible brain damage and was incapable of recovering.

So the big-government conservatives had to invent a story. They had to insist that they knew, just knew , more about Terri Schiavo's condition than the doctors on the scene. They had to question Michael Schiavo's motives and imply that he wanted to, well, get rid of her.

Click here for the rest.

You know, I can deal with the fact that people disagree with my views. What I can't deal with is people playing fast and loose with the truth in order to "prove" me wrong. The Republicans behaved really atrociously on this one, but I think the lesson that should be learned here is that this is how they operate all the time. Years ago, when I was a teenager, I think that the right wing was much more principled in its opposition, but not today. Don't get me wrong; I know that there are many rank-and-file conservatives out there who still think facts are important, but conservatives in power lie about everything now. This Shiavo incident is a textbook example of how they work: avoid real argumentation, and go for the jugular with shit they've made up. That's why we're in an unwinnable war. That's why the polar ice caps are melting. That's why HIV infections are on the rise. And on and on and on.

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