I've been anxiously awaiting some smoking gun, some overwhelming piece of evidence that will bring about a British-style downfall of the current administration. I keep wondering what morning I'll wake up and there will be Colin Powell with a videotape of Rummy and Cheeeeeeney (It's pronounced this way according to Mary back in the 2000 campaign) rubbing their hands together while plotting the destruction of all who oppose their proto-utopian worldview.
Maybe one of my news flash links would hit me with eyewitness accounts of a naked and frothing John Bolton rampaging through the halls of the NSA screaming out the names and passwords of any agent whose spouse EVER gave one thin goddamned dime to the Democratic party. Perhaps one, just one, journalist could put together a fact-based, logical and concise news story that could be used as a template to bash G-Dub over the head with every time he changes his justification for invading the wrong country. Short of a drastic, radical change in the prosecution of the Iraqi War, this thing is a failure. Period. Whether it is the Downing Street Minutes of a 21st century Deep Throat, the story is coming. It feels like the problems with the War on Terror are starting to take on a kind of creeping awareness, a Bush weariness. But the debacle of the Iraq war doesn't do much to split the party. When you break it down, the war is the fault of a few people and the president. Call the run up to war whatever you want, but everyone who voted it will be able to wrap themselves in the fact that G-Dub manipulated, massaged, impeded or promoted the intelligence to fit the endgame. Everybody can claim they were tricked, the Pubs lose some seats and the right goes on attacking the Democrats as abortion-loving, gay pandering, terrorist harboring, anti-war dope smokers. But there may be a tree I missed while studying the forest. Stem cell research.
I've only been keeping about half an eye on the issue until recently. Much activity has taken place:
* South Korean scientists have cloned human cells and extracted stem cells form them
* G-Dub has a press conference with a group of Snowflake babies
* The Senate has a stem cell funding bill pending that the president promises to veto. Arlen Specter, a Republican, claims he has the votes to override
* While not veto-proof at 238-194, the vote to lift restrictions by the House was a bit of a surprise
* More and more Republican lawmakers and are supporting stem cell research
* Nancy Reagan's for it
* Individual states are passing their own funding laws and guidelines for the research
* A large majority of the American people support stem cell research
The split isn't just happening between moderates and evangelicals, though. The big split is between the corporate interests and the social re-engineering wing-the God-as-ruler-of-America set. I'm not suggesting that a formal relationship exists like the type in place between Catholics and radical Dobsonites on culture of life issues or the fundiecons teaming up with Jews on Israel biblical prophesy crap. Corporations' and evangelicals' goals have dovetailed into a common ground to help propel the Republicans into power but I'd like to see a more godless place than a big pharma boardroom. Everyone knows that big business doesn't give a rat's ass about abortion, home schooling or smut on TV. They don't care if Tom Delay is going to "protect" the sanctity of life or whether or not Rick Santorum really, really believes that an embryo is a life. The scientists around the world don't care if a few Southern lawmakers believe in the lord's wrath. The media is constantly giving the wingnuts a platform for their crazy agendas but don't look for the biotech companies to care about having a dialogue with these people. Does anyone actually believe that the Fristians won't use stem cell derived treatments based on their religious views? Oh wait, only Democrats have abortions, I forgot.
The beauty of this issue is that the Democrats don't come across looking like it is us against those with morals. We win this by supporting our Republican colleagues, let them do the heavy lifting. The one issue that the religious nut right will not budge on is abortion. And that's what this whole culture of life garbage is based on, fighting and ending abortion. Democrats don't need to go on the screaming head shows and defend the research. People like Arlen Specter can do that for us. I have a hard time believing that Hannity will attack Nancy Reagan. The single most effective weapon for fighting the religious right is the bright, shiny light of day. Moderate Republicans are driving this issue and the wackos will be forced to defend their views to the world. Brownback is already helping out the progressive cause by suggesting that we should eliminate or severely curb IVF. Perfect. That's just the type of action we need from the wingnuts. John Cornyn, The Hammer and all their buddies will have to toe the line or risk being targeted by the "christian" spin machine. I fantasize about the '06 elections and candidates on the hard right being forced to defend their opposition to stem cell research the way Democrats have had to defend their support of abortion.
Fear not progressives. There is one thing to always remember about wacko christians, they are pathologically prone to overreaching, they cannot help it. Let the games begin.