Book Authors: Stem Cell Research Is Winning Mainstream Issue in 2006 Voting
Wednesday November 8, 2:22 pm ET
*** 2006 Election Vote Analysis ***
Impact Assessed in 25 Races, Ballot Measures by Authors of Forthcoming 'Stem Cell Research: Promise and Politics'
WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Stem cell research was a big winner in the 2006 mid-term election, according to an analysis of 25 races and ballot measures by Pam Solo and Gail Pressberg, authors of the soon-to-be-released "Stem Cell Research: Promise and Politics" (Praeger Publishers, 2006). The book will be shipped to bookstores nationwide on December 4, 2006. In a statement issued this morning, Solo and Pressberg said:
"Support for stem cell research played a prominent role in several key U.S. House, Senate and gubernatorial races, as well the closely watched constitutional amendment in Missouri. This is a health issue and people supported candidates of both parties who are either new to the issue or are 'tried and true,' such as Republican Congressman Mike Castle in Delaware. The power of politics from below and the role patients have played in keeping this issue at the forefront of the national agenda was reinforced again in this election.
In our overnight analysis of the outcome of 25 separate votes yesterday across America, we identified the following trends:
* Missouri was the bellwether state in terms of stem cell research, with
both a hotly contested U.S. Senate race and a constitutional amendment
up for grabs. The support of Missouri's middle America voters for stem
cell research was evident in the outcome: Democrat challenger Clare
McCaskill defeated incumbent Jim Talent, and Amendment 2 won on a 51-49
percent vote.
* At least four out of six Senate candidates who campaigned prominently in
support of stem cell research were victorious: Ben Cardin (Maryland),
Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota), Bob Menendez (New Jersey) and Sherrod Brown
(Ohio). Two other U.S. Senate races where stem cells figured in a major
way remain undecided as of this morning: Montana and Virginia. In both
cases, the Democrat challenger who actively campaigned in support of
stem cell research leads in the unofficial vote counts.
* Of the three gubernatorial races we identified, all three stem cell
research supporters won -- Jim Doyle in Wisconsin, Chet Culver in Iowa,
and Jan Granholm in Michigan. Of particular interest here is Wisconsin,
where Jim Doyle made stem cell research a centerpiece of his campaign.
He won re-election by a 53-45 margin.
* We also identified 15 House races where the issue of stem cell research
played a prominent role. In seven of those races -- Democrat Harry
Mitchell in AZ 05, Democrat Jerry McNerney in CA 11, Democrat Bruce
Braley in IA 01, Democrat Mike Arcuri in NY 24, Democrat Joe Sestak in
PA 07, and Democrat Steve Kagen in WI 08 -- the Democrat challenger
supporting stem cell research won. In four races, the Democrat who
campaigned in support of stem cell research lost - Tammy Duckworth in IL
06, Linda Stern in NJ 07, Dan Maffei in NY 25, and Eric Massa in NY 29.
Four races have not been officially called involving the following
candidates who focused on stem cell research -- NM 01 (Democrat Patricia
Madrid), OH 15 (Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy), PA 08 (Democrat Patrick
Murphy), and WA 08 (Democrat Darcy Burner).
What is the message here? There is a growing and grassroots demand for action at the federal level on stem cell research. This is a core lesson of the 2006 mid-term election: People want this research to go forward and politicians will be rewarded for taking a clear and unambiguous stand on the issue. This reflects the fact that stem cell research is not a 'right' or 'left' issue -- it is something that mainstream America wants to see happen."
As the forthcoming book "Stem Cell Research: Promise and Politics" notes: "Ever since President George W. Bush limited federal funding for stem cell research, the topic has been top of mind for many, including the organized patient population representing every major disease now afflicting approximately 100 million Americans ... How did scientific and medical research on something smaller than a period at the end of a sentence come to such prominence in American political life? ... Few areas of public policy have such far-reaching implications. This fact alone accounts for the remarkable level of information and sophistication by the broad general public."
In the book, Solo and Pressberg explain how the campaign for stem cell research was built in a bipartisan way across party lines. "Confounding the traditional polarized politics of the country previously dominated by anti- abortion and pro-choice politics, the politics of stem cell research may be redrawing the contours of public life. New political partnerships have been formed across party and ideological lines. Unusual and remarkable collaborations between scientists and patients have created a deeply informed constituency as advocates for the research. Rarely has a so-called cultural or value issue broken through the reflexive ideologies of left and right, conservative and liberal, as has the politics of stem cell research."
As Robert Goldstein, MD, PhD, MBA, Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, notes of the new book: "From its inception the debate about support for stem cell research has been a mixture of science and politics. Solo and Pressberg make an eloquent case that the discussion should not be left either to scientists or politicians alone but rather should include a vocal and informed public -- after all, the public has the largest stake in the outcome of this debate. They have defined a new role for public opinion -- active, intelligent, and outspoken-- and significantly raise the bar and define the potential role for public advocacy in future debates about other complex issues."
"'Stem Cell Research: Promise and Politics' makes it clear that the promise of stem cell treatment lies not in the halls of politics, but in the hearts of people," said Patti Davis, the author of "The Long Goodbye," a book about her father's struggle with Alzheimer's disease and the care that her mother, Nancy Reagan, provided. "No government can stand in the way of hope."
AI
