October 22, 2003
Troxler on Schiavo
Tuesday's banana republic mayhem was a spectacularly bad way to make new law. It was immature and intemperate. It was inconstant. It was law made up on the spot by a flock of clucking chickens jerking their heads in unison at loud noises and bright flashes of light.Posted by Norwood at October 22, 2003 08:23 AMThe emergency act passed by the Legislature is not even a "law," in the sense of being a rule for all of society to live by. It was more of a whim, a dispensation - an exercise of raw power that lives for exactly 15 days and applies to exactly one case. No citizen of Florida before or after enjoys the same protection.
The Legislature simply waved a magic wand and claimed to grant Gov. Jeb Bush a power that he cannot possess. The governor is not king, you know, no matter how much they want him to be. Both he and the Legislature may exercise only the powers granted to them by the state Constitution.
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