Whose Politicizing The Terri Schiavo Case Again?

Following the death of Terri Schiavo we heard a lot of indignation from the Democratic Party and liberal establishment over the memo from a staffer within Sen. Mel Martinez's office that outlined how the GOP could profit politically from the whole ordeal. I agreed that the memo was inappropriate as well as incorrect, for the whole issue obviously backfired on any Republican hoping to score some political points. However it isn't only the Republicans who are looking to score political points from the tragic case of Terri Schiavo. DNC Chairman Howard Dean, the flowing fountain of gaffes himself, has now stated publicly that the Democrats will try to use the case of Terri Schiavo against the GOP in next year's midterms.

As Dean explained it, "This is going to be an issue in 2006, and its going to be an issue in 2008 because we're going to have an ad with a picture of (House Majority Leader) Tom DeLay saying, 'Do you want this guy to decide whether you die or not? Or is that going to be up to your loved ones?' "

So I guess it is absolutely abhorrent for Republicans to try and appeal to their base, yet it is fine for Democrats to try and score political points among theirs by taking advantage of a tragic situation. By Dean's comments it becomes obvious that the Democrats are more interested in exploiting Terri Schiavo to try and tear down Rep. Delay than trying to make an issue of end of life decisions. If Democrats were smart they wouldn't try and politicize this, as Republicans have learned the hard way. The American people aren't stupid, and they recognize a political ploy when they see one. Trying to use Terri Schiavo to get to Tom Delay will only hurt, not help their chances in '06 and '08.