We certainly know the Schiavo death watch was something that excited the religious right base of the Republican Party. Heck, I've been blogging constantly about the shame that should smother these folks, Santorum, DeLay, Frist, Bush, Terry, etc. While their hypocritical stance is patent and right there on the surface, it is still not hard to understand why these Reptilicans attempted to take advantage of the Terri Schiavo family tragedy. I'll guarantee right now that the next corpse the Reptilicans will abuse is that of Pope John Paul. And it appears these guys will go moan over the Pope's corpse very soon, as he is in very ill health. Frankly, it might help Bush's numbers by going to Rome for the funeral.
Is it any wonder that these folks will try to take advantage of the Pope's death? John Paul, after all, began the downfall of Communism Ronald Reagan took credit for when he visited his native Poland just after his selection as Pontiff. Yeah, they've taken advantage of his work before. They love the Pope for his stances on abortion and on gays, and I'm sure they secretly love that the Pope would wish to ban contraception altogether. But we need to get out in front and make sure the Righties, likely going over the edge in their rapture, don't forget the parts of John Paul's legacy that goes directly against Reptilican values. (CNN Bio link)
We can't forget that Pope John Paul constantly spoke for Human Rights, whether directly in encouragement of Solidarity, to castigate Pinochet o of Chile, Marcos of the Phillipines, or Stroessner of Paraquay. As evidenced by Abu Ghraib and other incidents, Human Rights is far down the Reptilican list of values. And they can't hide in their rampant materialism either, as Pope John Paul spoke against that Reptilican value on his very first visit to the US. Indeed, when going over to the Pope's funeral George Bush will be celebrating a man who wasn't just passionately against the death penalty, but has prayed with his own attempted assassin, Mehmet Ali Agca. Bush, of course, has gone on record in favor of executing even the mentally retarded and children. (One of Bush's biggest supporters, James Dobson, somehow linked the courts letting Terri Schiavo die to the court's refusing to allow the execution of minors. How whacked is that?)
As the next week or two roll out in front of us, we must be very clear. Pope John Paul, as much as I might have difficulty with his stances on gays and abortion rights, is far more the face of the "culture of life" than any of Bush and the Reptilicans can aspire to. The whole world needs to be reminded that virtually every policy of Bush's, from Abu Ghriab and Gitmo torture to captial punishment to the War in Iraq, has come under Papal criticism.
Our job is to make sure Bush does not succeed in using the Pope's corpse to enliven his numbers.
