Meet the new Orrin Hatch
I couldn't help but notice Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch's comments in The Salt Lake Tribune on Friday morning gushing about how he finally thinks he can get a bill passed to provide federal funding for stem cell research with the new makeup of Congress.
Congress passed the legislation last year, but it was killed when President Bush vetoed it. Now, says Hatch, after the election, there might be enough votes in the Senate and House to override a veto if Bush nixes the idea again. Hatch says with that possibility, he might be able to push the White House for a settlement and make federal funding for the research a reality.
So what is the new makeup of Congress that has Hatch so optimistic?
It now is controlled by Democrats who almost unanimously favor federal funding for stem cell research.
Remember Hatch's rhetoric before the election? Remember his quotes about what a disaster it would be if the Democrats took control of Congress? Remember how the terrorists were going to take over and life in the United States as we know it would basically be destroyed?
Well, the Democrats have taken over Congress and Hatch is optimistic. Now that the campaign season is over, we don't have to deal with the alarmist Republican rhetoric that was getting more and more shrill as the GOP desperately tried to hold onto its power in Washington.
But give Hatch credit. He has been swimming upstream against his own conservative base by championing federal funding for stem cell research for several years. He also has the skills and the clout to be a major force in forging a compromise with the administration that may finally lead to cures for numerous debilitating diseases. The election is over and Hatch doesn't need to be an alarmist anymore. Now he can be a diplomat, and he is very capable.
Cheers,
Paul Rolly
Congress passed the legislation last year, but it was killed when President Bush vetoed it. Now, says Hatch, after the election, there might be enough votes in the Senate and House to override a veto if Bush nixes the idea again. Hatch says with that possibility, he might be able to push the White House for a settlement and make federal funding for the research a reality.
So what is the new makeup of Congress that has Hatch so optimistic?
It now is controlled by Democrats who almost unanimously favor federal funding for stem cell research.
Remember Hatch's rhetoric before the election? Remember his quotes about what a disaster it would be if the Democrats took control of Congress? Remember how the terrorists were going to take over and life in the United States as we know it would basically be destroyed?
Well, the Democrats have taken over Congress and Hatch is optimistic. Now that the campaign season is over, we don't have to deal with the alarmist Republican rhetoric that was getting more and more shrill as the GOP desperately tried to hold onto its power in Washington.
But give Hatch credit. He has been swimming upstream against his own conservative base by championing federal funding for stem cell research for several years. He also has the skills and the clout to be a major force in forging a compromise with the administration that may finally lead to cures for numerous debilitating diseases. The election is over and Hatch doesn't need to be an alarmist anymore. Now he can be a diplomat, and he is very capable.
Cheers,
Paul Rolly
1:30 PM
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