Reaction to the Party of Pander...

The DNC shows us what the country thinks of playing politics with Terry Schiavo:

There can be no doubt that extreme Republicans have used the Terry Schiavo case to score political points. While they parade in front of cameras, millions of Americans are questioning how far Tom DeLay and Bill Frist are willing to go when it comes to interfering in difficult family matters.

The outrage is palpable and widespread. DNC Research has compiled some quotes from editorial pages across the country denouncing the GOP's politicizing of one family's tragedy. Here are just a few:

USA Today: "Shameful Political Grandstanding." "It is shameful political grandstanding. It also is an appalling precedent for political interference in the most painful decisions any family can face." [USA Today Editorial, 3/22/05]

Chicago Tribune: Congress's Actions "Improper and Overtly Political Intrusion." "Washington's improper and overtly political intrusion is only the most recent attempt by outsiders to hijack the Schiavo case. … In our constitutional system, the job of applying the law—and resolving Terri Schiavo's fate—belongs to the Florida courts. They have done that job to the best of their ability, and Congress and the president have no grounds to try to overrule them." [Chicago Tribune Editorial, 3/22/05]

New York Post: "Political Opportunism." "[T]he idea of Congress convening a weekend session to push through a potentially precedent-setting law for one single individual, with little regard to the long-term consequences, is profoundly troubling. Political opportunism? No question about it." [New York Post Editorial, 3/22/05]

The Charleston Gazette: GOP Is "Playing Politics With This Family's Trauma." "The congressional action is disturbing in this case for two reasons. First, it deprives the state of Florida of its jurisdiction. These sorts of questions have always been the province of states. Second, members of Congress are clearly playing politics with this family's trauma." [Charleston Gazette editorial, 3/22/05]

The Charlotte Observer: "Members of Congress, In Particular, Should Be Ashamed." "There may be no right medical or ethical answer in the case of Terri Schiavo, but there is a right way for politicians to behave. They should make the law governing such difficult situations and then let it work. The refusal of some elected officials to do so is politically opportunistic meddling at its worst. Members of Congress, in particular, should be ashamed. This is plainly a matter for state law and the courts." [Charlotte Observer Editorial, 3/22/05]

New York Times: Bush and Congress "Have Done Real Damage" to "American Democracy." "The new law tramples on the principle that this is "a nation of laws, not of men," and it guts the power of the states. When the commotion over this one tragic woman is over, Congress and the president will have done real damage to the founders' careful plan for American democracy." [New York Times Editorial, 3/22/05]