Tom DeLay on Michael Schiavo

I've never really considered myself a "big fan" of Tom DeLay, but I respect a politician that will say what they're really thinking, consequences be damned, and that's exactly what Delay did at a press conference this morning while discussing the proposed legislation on Terri Schiavo was discussed:

Question from Reporter: Mr. Schiavo and his lawyer and his lawyer, and a lot of other people, actually, have been highly critical of you and Congress, saying that this was really none of Congress' business and that you were pretty heavy-handed with the subpoenas and how do you respond to that? Tom Delay: Well I've got to tell you, I don't have a whole lot of respect for a man that has treated this woman in this way. He has refused to allow her to have therapy. He has refused to even let her have an MRI. For the last five years, five years, she's been kept in a hospice and every time they've asked just to take her outside, which they can do, he has refused. She's not been outside, I think, for the last three years. Um..uh, I think his abuse and neglect of his position as guardian is outrageous. And, and,...and partnered with this judge that has allowed him to treat Terry like this for the last eleven years is outrageous. And my question is, what kind of man is he? Question from Reporter: Why is this a Congressional issue? Tom Delay: 'Cause the United States Constitution protects the lives of human beings from being taken by other human beings needlessly.

Yeah, what he said.

Update: Trey Jackson has the video here. A must-see.

Comments

[Buckley F. Williams]

I guess Tom D can throw down when he has to. I didn't even need my Politician-to-English translation book for that.

[zoe kentucky]

Yeah, I'm all for politicians speaking their minds but unfortunately much of what DeLay says about this case are lies and half-truths.

The reason that Terri Schiavo hasn't had an MRI-- although she has had many catscans and other tests-- is because of an experiemental therapy/treatment she had in the mid-90s where she had to have implants put inside her skull. (A treatment that Michael Schiavo pursued. Sadly, it didn't work.) But it turns out they can't do an MRI unless they remove the implants first.

So the fact that she han't had an MRI undermines the very thing that DeLay is implying, that Michael Schiavo hasn't tried to do anything to help her. It's because Michael Shiavo did try to help her that they can't do an MRI-- not without performing cranial surgery on her first.

[John from WuzzaDem]

zoe kentucky (or is it "bambi"? That's the name you used in your comment on the "Scum and Starvation" post),

Once again, since you are using different names when you leave comments, I'm making an assumtion that you are not a neurologist willing to share your medical credentials.

You're incorrect in your assertion that the implant surgery was done in the "mid-90s" - it was done in 1990. In August and November of 1992 a total $1.3 million dollars in damages was awarded to Terri and Michael Schiavo.

In 1993, Michael began to deny any medical treatment or therapy to Terri, including asking the medical staff not to give her antibiotics for a urinary infaction that he was told could be fatal if left untreated. That's part of the record and well documented.

The efforts by Michael Schiavo to provide therapy and treatment for Terri all occurred before the settlements were awarded. During those hearings, he told the court that he needed the money to pay for extensive therapy for Terri. He denied that therapy as soon as he got the money.

And once again (as I said in response to the comment you left under the name "bambi"), I'm not sure what your point about cranial surgery is. Are you implying that cranial surgery is too dangerous for Terri to undergo?

More dangerous than dying of dehydration?

And again, thanks for stopping by on Easter.