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July 23, 2005
On Political Courage
News coverage and buzz about the Congressional bill to expand stem cell research ebbed during Congress's summer recess, after passing easily (with significant Republican support) in the House of Representatives.
The bill has now moved to the Senate, where Pennsylvania Republican, subcommittee chair, and cancer patient Arlen Specter is its chief sponsor. As today's NY Times reports, the bill has stalled, and the White House is the reason.
During the House debate, President Bush threatened to veto the bill, should it become law. No doubt he was acquiescing to pressure from the religious right, which vigorously opposes using embryos (that will be discarded anyway) for medical research, claiming doing so amounts to abortion. After all, those folks got him elected, right?
The President has a small dilemma -- most Americans (something like 70%) disagree with his position on stem cell research; they want it. See, while it's all well and good to have an abstract debate about whether or not discarding using an embryo is abortion, most folks know family members, friends, or loved ones suffering from diseases like Alzheimer's, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, etc. But this President doesn't read polls (or anything else), remember?
Curious to think that President Bush, who, "right or wrong, you know where he stands", has never taken the ultimate stand against Congress -- and used his veto power over legislation. That's right, not one veto in nearly five years. Apparently, he isn't about to start, if he can help it.
Rather than stand up on principle -- the theme for which he is famous, and the reason he won a second term -- he would like to quietly make this bill go away in the Senate, preventing it from ever getting a vote.
This same President who decries that each of his judicial nominees "deserves an up or down vote" in the Senate, apparently doesn't think an incredibly important measure on the future of medical research deserves the same.
Why not? We know where you stand, right, Mr. President? It couldn't be that your lousy poll numbers, a wee scandal brewing with your top aides, or public concern over the future makeup of the Supreme Court have got you cowed, could it?
You're a man of conviction, of principle, remember? Not a flicker of doubt when signing those death row warrants, when leading our nation to war -- show us that famous resolve!
Stand up and be counted on this, Mr. President. If your judges deserve that up or down vote, surely so does the future of medical research. If you're going to veto it, as you said you would, then so be it, but let us have a vote.
You returned honor and dignity to the White House, remember? Don't hide behind Senate procedure -- show us the courage of your convictions, and remind us once again that we know where you stand.
Posted by houtopia at July 23, 2005 11:44 AM