frankenlies.com
#17: Al Franken Manipulates a Family's Tragedy
In one of the more unfortunate passages of his book, Franken claims that Republican Rep. Tom Delay acted hypocritically when he spoke out on behalf of the family of Terri Schiavo in the spring of 2005. Why? According to Franken, from page 157 of Truth,
"In 1988, DeLay, along with his mother, his aunt, and the rest of the family, decided not to take extraordinary measures to prolong the life of Tom's father, Charles Ray DeLay. Charles had been critically injured in a freak accident ... The family decided not to connect Charles to a dialysis machine ... In marked contrast to the Schiavo case, Tom DeLay never accused the DeLay family of an 'act of barbarism,' 'medical terrorism,' 'murder,' or 'homicide'."
In addition, Franken opened the March 28, 2005, episode of his radio show by claiming,
"Tom DeLay supported pulling the plug on his own father when his dad was in a Schiavo-like situation."1
Sadly, Franken's misleading statements are simply a nasty strike against the DeLay family.
The facts:
Charles DeLay had been in a coma ... Terri had never been in a coma.
Charles DeLay could not be kept alive without a respirator ... Terri breathed on her own.
Charles would have required dialysis equipment to remain alive ... Terri did not require such treatment.
Terri Schiavo simply needed feeding equipment and care to sustain life. That's all.2,3
The bottom line is that Charles DeLay's sad experience was nothing like a "Schiavo-like" situation.
Franken has misrepresented a family tragedy to forge a mean-spirited political and personal attack.
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Notes:
1 Alan Skorski, Pants on Fire: How Al Franken Lies, Smears, and Deceives (Nashville: WND Books, 2005), p. 283. The audio is at http://www.airamericaplace.com/upload/aaof032805.mp3.
2 "DeLay Said Agreed Not to Extend Dad's Life," ABCNews/AP, March 27, 2005. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=617584.
3 "L.A. Times Smears Tom DeLay on Father's Death," NewsMax magazine, May 2005, p. 25.