Blogging Against Senator Sam Brownback Since March 2005
According to the Boston Globe, the stem cell bill that recently passed with bipartisan support in the House will likely come up in the Senate next month. The Globe reports:
Frist, a heart surgeon, is ‘’uneasy about the content of the House bill,” but is open to bringing it up for a vote along with other legislation that deals with stem cell research, Call said. The content of any competing bills is not yet clear.
Call said no agreement has been reached yet, but aides to Democratic senators said yesterday that Frist has assured them a vote before the Senate breaks for the summer at the end of July.
Uneasy? He should be. The issue of embryonic stem cell research is an absolute winner for the Democratic party. A CBS News poll in late May found that 58% of Americans support embryonic stem cell research. The breakdown by party is similarly stacked against the republicans: 50% of Republicans, 65% of Democrats, and 57% of independents support the research. The PR value of this issue is easy to exploit. There are millions of Americans who are suffering from medical conditions that could be cured by this research. While we are arguing about clumps of cells, countries like South Korea and France are pulling ahead in the search for cures.
However, considering Senator Frist’s presidential aspirations, this is big trouble. The republican religious base hates this bill. They will not support anyone who votes for this legislation. On the other hand, In the general election he would need to be on the other side of the issue. Whoever is the Democratic nominee in 2008 will happily use stem cell research as a very effective wedge issue.
As you well know, Senator Brownback is planning on opposing the bill. The Boston Globe article continues:
Conservative senators, led by Senator Sam Brownback, Republican of Kansas, have vowed to mount a filibuster if the House-passed bill reaches the Senate floor. Embryonic stem cell research requires the destruction of embryos, sparking opposition from many in the antiabortion movement.
I imagine we will hear some filibuster bluster from Brownback this weekend as he talks at the National Right to Life Convention.
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Blogging Against Senator Sam Brownback Since March 2005
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July 5th, 2005 at 4:44 pm
Good ole Hypocritical Sam, going to filibuster stem cell research, that could perhaps lead to cures
for some very ugly and debilitating diseases, yet votes to continue pesticide research on
children.
Yes, Sam the Brownshirt, voted Nay on an Amendment submitted by Boxer (D/ CA), that would
prohibit the continued exposure of pesticides on humans for testing purposes. The Amendment
passed, 58 yeas, 37 Nays. Seems Sam only supports continued protection for children while
they are in womb, once out they are fair game for corporate exploitation. Gee Sam, how about
letting your kids become human guinea pigs for the Chemical companies.