Some in GOP Fear Effort May Alienate Voters
WASHINGTON — The extraordinary steps taken by congressional Republicans to save the life of Terri Schiavo have won plaudits from evangelical Christians and other conservative activists, but some Republicans worry about a potential backlash among others who view the intervention as an overbearing use of government power.
Just as Congress passed and President Bush signed legislation allowing federal courts to review whether Schiavo's feeding tube should be withdrawn, a poll by ABC News found that 70% of those surveyed believed congressional intervention was inappropriate.
Though some GOP strategists have argued that the issue is a political winner for the party because it appeals to religious conservatives, other Republicans warn that the bold maneuver risks alienating swing voters as well as Republicans worried about government invasions of individual privacy.
"It goes beyond shameless politics," said Tony Fabrizio, a Republican pollster. "It becomes a more crystallized proof point that we are no longer the party of smaller government. We have become a party of 'It doesn't matter what size government is as long as it is imposing our set of values.' "
Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), before voting against the bill Bush later signed, asked: "How deep is this Congress going to reach into the personal lives of each and every one of us?"
Still, some Republican analysts say the immediate poll results -- and the concerns raised by Shays and others -- are not politically significant because the activists pushing to keep Schiavo alive care more passionately than those opposing that view.
"Intensity matters," said Gary Bauer, a conservative leader who ran for the GOP presidential nomination in 2000. "The people who know the most about this controversy are the most likely to believe" that Schiavo should be allowed to live.
The Schiavo controversy does not split lawmakers or the country strictly along ideological lines; many people are influenced as much by their personal experiences as they are by political leanings.
The decisive legislative action on the Schiavo controversy is widely viewed within the political community as a show of strength for social conservatives, who are preparing for even bigger congressional battles.
Many of the activists are urging GOP leaders to move more aggressively this spring to win confirmation of Bush's judicial nominees.
