[lbo-talk] Schiavo: big majority against the Reps

Yoshie Furuhashi furuhashi.1 at osu.edu
Tue Mar 22 06:53:53 PST 2005



>JBrown72073 at cs.com wrote:
>
>>>This ABC News poll also finds that the Schiavo case has prompted
>>>an enormous level of personal discussion: Half of Americans say
>>>that as a direct result of hearing about this case, they've
>>>spoken with friends or family members about what they'd want done
>>>if they were in a similar condition.
>>
>>Yes, I've told my spouse that if I'm ever in the same position I
>>want him to remove my feeding tube and wrap it tightly around the
>>neck of the nearest Republican politician.
>
>I really don't give a shit about the Schiavo case, but I think that
>the American Left is going to tune this out and end up getting
>screwed by the aftermath. All of the polls show that most Americans
>think the government should stay out of this difficult situation.
>But the issue here isn't ethics. The right wing is playing this as
>another opportunity to mobilize their grassroots. Just look at the
>presence of Terry Randall in this controversy.
>
>My gut take on this comes from what I'm seeing in my household. My
>mom and sister, who are ardent pro-life supporters, are following
>this case 24/7. My sister was even carrying a radio around tonight
>tuned into Michael Savage's show.
>
>Crazy spectacle!
>
>Chuck

Here we are, debating the anti-war mobilization on March 19th when (according to United for Peace and Justice) 765 actions took place nationwide. But on March 20th, the front page of the New York Times is silent on the nationwide protests, but it includes the lead paragraphs of a 1,655-word article "Congress Ready To Approve Bill in Schiavo Case" by Robin Toner and Carl Hulse. In the same issue, there are two more articles on the same subject: Abby Goodnough, "Protesters Hold Vigil for Schiavo at Hospice" (March 20, 2005, Section 1, p. 29); and Benedict Carey, "For Parents, the Unthinkability of Letting Go" (March 20, 2005, Section 4: Week in Review, p. 5). Robert D. McFadden's article "Hundreds of Rallies Held Across U.S. to Protest Iraq War," in contrast, is buried in page 35.

The Columbus Dispatch (a conservative newspaper that endorsed George W. Bush last November) at least put an article about our protest by Matthew Marx, "Hundreds Protest War at Statehouse," on page 2. Also, notably, the Dispatch featured "At Least He Made It Back" by Rita Price, an article about Sgt. Gary Boggs who lost an eye in Iraq, as the biggest article on the front page, with a huge photograph of the (only remaining) ocularist at Walter Reed Army Medical Center checking the acrylic eye that Sgt. Boggs received. The article is neither clearly pro-war nor anti-war, but the title that the Dispatch editor gave it speaks volumes. The two decent articles, however, are accompanied by an article that puts a pro-war spin on the dispatch poll results (Darrel Rowland, "Ohioans Mixed on War but Growing Happier with Bush." p. A1), even though the results themselves (shown in useful charts) include a very interesting finding of differences between Ohioans with "Family Member in Iraq or Afghanistan" and "All Respondents." The former are markedly more discontent with Bush's handling of his job as president (37% vs. 50%), Bush's handling of Iraq (36% vs. 42%), etc. than the latter, and fewer of the former (28%) feel that "Iraq is worth the toll in lives, other costs" than the latter (38%). Military Families Speak Out, Veterans for Peace, etc. have a good chance of growing far larger, and once they do, they can affect the rest of the working-class public. -- Yoshie

* Critical Montages: <http://montages.blogspot.com/> * Greens for Nader: <http://greensfornader.net/> * Bring Them Home Now! <http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/> * OSU-GESO: <http://www.osu-geso.org/> * Calendars of Events in Columbus: <http://sif.org.ohio-state.edu/calendar.html>, <http://www.freepress.org/calendar.php>, & <http://www.cpanews.org/> * Student International Forum: <http://sif.org.ohio-state.edu/> * Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osudivest.org/> * Al-Awda-Ohio: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Al-Awda-Ohio> * Solidarity: <http://www.solidarity-us.org/>



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