Who can forget the Terri Schiavo debates? Republican leaders would like to, it seems. They took a strong stand in defense of religious extremism and, as a consequence, lost significant support from everyone but religious extremists. They haven't been able to do much to push their social and religious agenda since then.

The Gainesville Sun explains:

Within days [of the Terri Schiavo vote] polls showed a jarring disconnect between what Congress and the president had done and what the public thought they should have done. From 70 percent to 82 percent of Americans opposed federal involvement. The Republicans' approval ratings suffered, too.

''It really was the first instance they stumbled,'' said Ross Baker, a congressional scholar at Rutgers University. ''For the first time, their political weakness was exposed. They read the public mood completely wrong.''

It should not be assumed that the Republicans were acting in order to fulfill the will of the people. Is it not more likely that they were acting to fulfill the will of their supporters among religious extremists? These extremists have long been more important than the general public, it seems

Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., said Schiavo was one of many factors that have contributed to the public's declining support for the Republican Party. ''Was (the Schiavo bill) a mistake? Yes,'' he said. ''I think most Americans agree. There are things the government should stay out of - and that was one of them.''

Rep. Chris Shays of Connecticut, one of the five Republicans who voted against the Schiavo bill, said it prompted members to question their leaders' judgment and made many worry that the GOP appears too beholden to the party's right wing.

What, exactly, has been lost?

But conservatives had expected - and the congressional leadership had planned - for many more, including constitutional amendments banning gay marriage, banning the desecration of the U.S. flag, and promoting prayer in school; a "fetal pain'' bill, which would require a woman having an abortion to be told a fetus can feel pain; and the Informed Choice Act, which would require women seeking an abortion to get an ultrasound image of their fetus and a description of its physical features.

''Everyone was talking about ''values voters' last year. Back then, everyone seemed to realize that values had driven the election. What has the GOP done for values voters this year?'' Family Research Council president Tony Perkins said Wednesday in his daily Washington report, broadcast on the group's Web site... though they once described the Schiavo bill as the top moral issue facing Congress and the nation, Frist, Santorum, DeLay and Weldon all declined interview requests to discuss it now.

The Terri Schiavo issue was almost designed for extremism. There were hardly any opportunities for an even remotely moderate position to be taken — either you supported the right of the husband to withdraw her feeding tube (even if you might not decide to do it yourself) or you didn't. Compromise wasn't really possible.

This forced the Republican Party to adopt an extremist stance in order to please their religious supporters. Everyone who supported the right of the husband to fulfill his wife's wishes was trashed as an opponent of morality and God. Republicans further couldn't control the debate by framing the issue with as much disinformation and innuendo as they usually manage.

More and more Americans are facing the sorts of choices and problems which Terri's husband faced and few are willing to be extremist here. They recognized the religious extremism of the Republican leadership and wouldn’t accept it.

With any other issue, the extremism could have been hidden, but not here.

 

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