Stem Cells for Everyone!
Sorry to interrupt all the grade/rankings/clerkship/transfer students talk, but...
President Bush vetoed a bill today. The bill would have allowed stem cell research on embryos created after August 2001, and it enjoyed relatively strong support from both the House and Senate, though probably not strong enough to override the veto.
This veto is important for a bunch of reasons. Of course, stem cell research is an important issue in and of itself. And, it is significant that this is Bush's first veto in his 5 1/2 years in office. But part of the importance of this issue may not be felt until November, both in 2006 and 2008. The Democrats have been flailing around for a few years now, looking for a popular issue to rally around (or, at least, to effectively rally around).
Is this that issue? Most of the country is on the Democrats' side here. Advocating stem cell research can energize the Democratic base without alienating more moderate voters. While the extreme Right may agree with Bush here, generally speaking the President is a dinosaur on this issue, and most Americans find themselves aligned politically and morally with the Democrats.
Regardless of your political leanings, there is little doubt that Democrats have been completely unable to exploit Bush's missteps the past few years. Today's veto is yet another opportunity for the Democrats to shed the incompetence of the past few years and welcome some new members into the tent. It will be interesting to see if they can take advantage of it.
Okay, now back to anonymously announcing how many HH's you have....
UPDATE: I should back up my claim that President Bush is out of step with the American people on this issue. From the New York Times: "According to the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan polling organization that tracks the issue, roughly two-thirds of all Democrats and independents favor embryonic stem cell research, while nearly half of all Republicans do."
President Bush vetoed a bill today. The bill would have allowed stem cell research on embryos created after August 2001, and it enjoyed relatively strong support from both the House and Senate, though probably not strong enough to override the veto.
This veto is important for a bunch of reasons. Of course, stem cell research is an important issue in and of itself. And, it is significant that this is Bush's first veto in his 5 1/2 years in office. But part of the importance of this issue may not be felt until November, both in 2006 and 2008. The Democrats have been flailing around for a few years now, looking for a popular issue to rally around (or, at least, to effectively rally around).
Is this that issue? Most of the country is on the Democrats' side here. Advocating stem cell research can energize the Democratic base without alienating more moderate voters. While the extreme Right may agree with Bush here, generally speaking the President is a dinosaur on this issue, and most Americans find themselves aligned politically and morally with the Democrats.
Regardless of your political leanings, there is little doubt that Democrats have been completely unable to exploit Bush's missteps the past few years. Today's veto is yet another opportunity for the Democrats to shed the incompetence of the past few years and welcome some new members into the tent. It will be interesting to see if they can take advantage of it.
Okay, now back to anonymously announcing how many HH's you have....
UPDATE: I should back up my claim that President Bush is out of step with the American people on this issue. From the New York Times: "According to the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan polling organization that tracks the issue, roughly two-thirds of all Democrats and independents favor embryonic stem cell research, while nearly half of all Republicans do."
posted by Anonymous at 6:13 PM
8 Comments:
Out of touch, maybe, but certainly no shortage of touchy-feely.
Just ask the German Chancellor:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPArZwLHi2Y
Just when you think he couldn't get any worse.
I don't get it. If they don't use the embryos, they get destroyed/discarded anyway right? So instead of going towards research that could save lives / end suffering, let's just dump them in the trash.
Last night Arnold, speaking before the Commonwealth Club of SF, criticized the veto--no surprize there, but the criticism is worth noting. Of course, had he supported it, he would have done himself no favors in seeking re-election this Nov.
As a moderate Republican, I have to say that I'm quite dismayed that Bush chose to use his veto power on this, as opposed to the pork-laden highway and energy bills that exemplify the worst of what goes on inside the Beltway.
1:52: Arnold already supported stem cell research when he came out in support of the CA bill which will fund it. Support of stem cell research certainly hasn't hurt him at all. Now if only he could use some of that muscle to get CA's program off the ground. Apparently tons of money is available to support the research, but red tape is keeping the CA program from moving forward.
I hate to say it, but Arnold is growing on me. He just authorized a $150 million loan to fund California's stem cell institute, which has been stalled by lawsuits.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060720/ap_on_re_us/schwarzenegger_stem_cells
Armen,
Sorry to hijack this thread and to treat your blog as a common carrier but I had a notice I wanted to get out to Boalties and this seemed the only option because class mailing lists aren't ready yet.
On August 4th, at 1:30 pm, in San Jose, I will be on a panel with legal aid lawyers dealing with hypos on the ethics of that practice area. I can bring along three Boalties. The presentation might be most interesting to students headed toward the direct services end of public interest law, but any Boalties who are interested in attending can shoot me an email. It will be a realistic glimpse on what those practice areas are really like. If we have more volunteers than slots, we can hold a lottery. I can be reached at john.steele @ fr.com
thanks,
John Steele
You cite that ultra-liberal rag the New York Times (citing some allegedly "non-partisan" research center) as some sort of authoritative source. Show me the Fox New poll, then I'll believe Bush is out of touch. (NB: tongue firmly in cheek).
3:59--here you go (even if your tongue is in your cheek). From foxnews.com:
"The House and Senate votes reflected public opinion polls. A May Gallup poll showed that 61 percent of respondents found research of human embryo stem cells morally acceptable. The same poll, however, showed that only 43 percent believed abortion was morally acceptable."
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