I apologize in advance if I'm saying something offensive to Michael J Fox, anybody who is hoping for the medical breakthroughs that are expected from Embryonic stemcell research. After all, I strongly support federal funding for embryonic stemcell research. I just don't think the reason for this issue's signficance has anything to do with medical breakthroughs....at least not here in Michigan. It has to do with 1 thing: JOBS!
Here in Michigan we have a hard fought governors race where the GOP challenger, Amway inheritor Dick Devos, has decided that he must save Michigan from dispair and has spend $30 million of his own money to try to convice us. Dick Devos has gone out of his way to pretend that neither he nor his family have ever taken a position on any social issues, and instead says that this election should be about 1 thing: CREATING JOBS. He has done nothing for the last 3 months, since Governor Granholm decided to awake from her slumber and joing the campaign, but blame Jennifer Granholm for all the job losses in Michigan and try to convince us that we are in a desperate death struggle for jobs and must ignore all other issues.
He has almost done that except for 1 small exception. He is against embryonic stemcell research. Now, it may be true that any medical breakthroughs resulting from embyronic stemcell research could be years away if they ever materialize. One thing that is a guaranteee though is that the people who are participating in the research will be EMPLOYED, highly educated, well paid, and thus spend their income in Michigan to create more jobs.
Now, I'm sure you're thinking that all these laid off autoworkers have the education for these jobs involved with embryonic stemcell research, and that's true. However, Dick Devos is also constantly saying that our kids all have to leave the state after graduating college(see nobody in his circle of friends actually worries about paying for college), these are just the jobs the 21st century that we could have to lure kids to stay here instead of leaving for Chicago, San Fransisco, NYC...
Now yes, I do realize that the future improvements to medicine will far outweigh the tenth of a point impact on the unemployment rate, however, we will never win this issue over with just that argument alone. We do need more, and in states like Michigan that are starving for jobs there isn't a job we can afford to take.
http://www.actblue.com/page/sinktheswifties