Dear George, Part II

A followup to an earlier post (and letter):

25 July 2006

President George W Bush
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest
The White House
Washington, DC 20500-0003


Dear President Bush,

As a lifelong Republican (who voted for you twice), and as a diabetic and the husband of a cancer survivor, I wanted to write you personally to express my dismay and displeasure regarding your veto of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (H.R. 810).

I find it absolutely incredible that, of all the noxious and poorly thought-out bills that you have signed into law during your two terms of office, you chose this particular occasion to exercise your first Presidential veto.

I am thoroughly disheartened when I see how the stem cell issue has been hyped, abused and demagogued by religious extremists in my own party... and as someone who believes that biotechnology is a key industry for America’s economic future, I am appalled at your failure to empower sensible, ethical legislation for stem-cell research. You are essentially conceding the next generation of advances in biotech research to the likes of South Korea and Singapore, a decision our native biotechnology industry may never recover from.

You let down millions of Americans who suffer from illnesses that might one day be treated with gene therapies derived from stem cells, all in the name of pandering to a scientifically illiterate base and demonstrating a bloody-minded false consistency on any topic that can be remotely associated with the abortion issue.

As the 2006 elections come up, and as 2008 approaches, I and many other Republicans who do not agree with the radical right’s social-conservative agenda will be carefully evaluating our options.

You made it a little bit harder for me to remain a Republican last week, and I won’t forget it.


Sincerely,


Barry T. Campbell