DeLay's Reckless Threat
House leader Tom DeLay has issued a chillingly irresponsible threat against the judges involved in the Schiavo case. Following Terri Schiavo's death, DeLay released a statement warning that "The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior, but not today." This vague and provocative comment came in the midst of a broadside of attacks against those judges several of them self-described conservatives appointed by conservative presidents whom DeLay said typified "an arrogant, out of control, unaccountable judiciary." The New York Times reports that Sen. Edward Kennedy called DeLay's statement "irresponsible and reprehensible," and urged that "at a time when emotions are running high, Mr. DeLay needs to make clear that he is not advocating violence against anyone. People in this case have already had their lives threatened." Sen. Kennedy is right. Whatever his agenda or personal political troubles, Tom DeLay must disavow his irresponsible rhetoric.
THREATS AGAINST SCHIAVO JUDGES: DeLay's vague threat against judges yesterday wasn't just offensive, it was dangerous, especially given the serious threats against judges and others involved in the Schiavo case. Florida Pinellas County Circuit Court Judge George Greer has been "under 24-hour protection by two U.S. marshals due to increased threats against his life by those unhappy with his handling of the Schiavo case." Last Thursday, police arrested an Illinois man they said robbed a Florida gun store as part of an attempt to "rescue Terri Schiavo." The next day, FBI officials took into custody a North Carolina man for placing a $250,000 bounty "on the head of Michael Schiavo" and another $50,000 to murder Judge Greer. And police yesterday said they had "logged several bomb threats" to the hospice where Schiavo died and "the circuit and federal courts that refused to order her feeding tube restored."
EXTREME RHETORIC: Unfortunately, DeLay was just one of several high-profile conservatives who "renewed the combative tone they had used to advance the Schiavo legislation." Dr. James Dobson, founder of the conservative evangelical group Focus on the Family, said "the judges who would not stop the removal of Ms. Schiavo's feeding tube were guilty not only of judicial malfeasance - but of the cold-blooded, cold-hearted extermination of an innocent human life.'" Dr. Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention said of those who opposed congressional intervention in the case, "If they want to be vigorous defenders of Michael Schiavo and his right to have his wife killed by starving and dehydration, my words to them are 'Go ahead, be Michael's defenders' - and I wish on each of them a son-in-law like Michael Schiavo."
VIOLENCE AGAINST JUDGES: Such incendiary statements are even more inappropriate considering the recent high-profile acts of violence against judges, including the murders of the husband and mother of a federal judge by an embittered ex-plaintiff. Warning against such rhetoric, the American Bar Association last week issued a statement expressing concern that commentators had "crossed the line in using this tragedy to needlessly, gratuitously and viciously attack" judges. "They are not killers as some have called them, nor are they activists bent on pushing an ideological agenda. They are simply dedicated public servants called on to serve as impartial arbiters in a very difficult case."
