A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME

Anyone else notice how, since last night, Terri Schiavo is being referred to as "Terri Schindler-Schiavo" as if her marriage is suddenly less legitimate? How Rovian! I've heard this all over wingnut radio and Fox News in the last 24 hours. Must have been part of the latest Repug talking points, in an effort to make the claims of her parents equal to, or superior to, those of her lawfully wedded husband.

And didn't you love Tom DeLay's rationale for interfering in the "sacred" institution of marriage? When a reporter queried House Majority Leader Tom DeLay Saturday about that point, he replied, “The sanctity of life overshadows the sanctity of marriage. I don’t know what transpired between Terri and her husband. All I know is Terri is alive…. Unless she has specifically written instructions in her hand, with her signature, I don’t care what her husband says.”

Another of the obvious talking points repeated ad nauseum from station to station: "Her husband wants to KILL her." Not let her die peacefully or with dignity, remind you, but kill (murder) her. It is so Rovian to frame this debate not as a poignant family choice issue but as an attempt to save a victim from a murdering husband. Who could oppose that? Except that we do. Americans are not buying that Michael Schiavo is a failed murderer -- 15 years after her collapse, where has there ever been shown any evidence or even implication that Michael was involved in a heart failure brought on by bulimia? -- and are, indeed, in large numbers opposed to governmental interference in what is, essentially, a private family decision.

It's after 3:00 ET now, and I'm listening to CNN's coverage of the hearing. CNN's legal analyst is declaring that the bill is dangerous, illegal, sets dangerous precedents, and is expected to be overturned. Every legal expert I've heard over the past few days has had a similar opinion.

I heard earlier that "Schiavo, in Italian, means slave." The context was that the speaker was implying that Terri is a slave of her husband's desires to end her life. Contrarily, I would say that she is currently a slave of political expediency and opportunism.