The only reason the government has a restrictive and ineffective stem-cell policy is the influence of some far-right elements of the Republican base. But, more and more, it appears that these factions are outnumbered, even within the GOP circle.
The embryonic stem cell issue flared during the 2004 presidential campaign and may soon come before the House. Republicans who dissent from President Bush’s policy are circulating a poll designed to show they have the party’s voters on their side even if many fellow GOP lawmakers are not.
The survey, taken among 800 Republican voters nationwide, showed 90 percent job approval for President Bush and 88 percent favorable support for Republicans in the House. Both levels far exceed recent results of surveys taken of voters of all political persuasions.
At the same time, 57 percent of those surveyed in the Republican-only poll said they favored embryonic stem cell research, with 40 percent opposed. On a follow-up question, 54 percent said it was more of a research issue, while 40 percent said it was more of an abortion issue.
The poll wasn’t conducted by James Carville; it was done by David Winston, who also does survey work for GOP leadership organizations in both the House and Senate. If you’re a Republican lawmaker who’s unsure how best to vote on this, you can’t exactly question the poll’s partisan leanings.
You also probably can’t help but see the writing on the wall here. Clear majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and independents want to undo Bush’s restrictive policy on stem-cell research, a bi-partisan House measure to do just that now has a whopping 198 co-sponsors, and a similar proposal in the Senate has nearly a filibuster-proof 58 co-sponsors.
The religious right is panicking — and with good cause. When a clear majority of rank-and-file, Bush-loving Republicans is on board with a progressive policy on stem-cell research, it’s going to be awfully tough for opponents to stand in the way, especially since Speaker Hastert has guaranteed a floor vote on the issue in the House.
Will Bush use his first veto to block life-saving medical research? Does the president really want to tell the nation that he’d reject popular, bi-partisan legislation that could save lives because James Dobson has Karl Rove on speed dial? Stay tuned.