Christopher Reeve, Stem Cells, & Kerry/Edwards

Some Republicans are claiming that John Kerry/Edwards are exploiting the death of Christopher Reeve. Having read both of Reeve's books and having read numerous speeches that he has given since his accident, in no way do I believe that they are exploiting his death. Sure the quote from John Edwards* make me a bit uneasy because it is political grandstanding, but there's no way that it should be considered exploiting his death when he is championing a cause that Reeve himself was passionate about.

What makes me even more upset than the claim of death exploitation, is the claim by Republicans that Democrats are giving false optimism with their talk about what further research with embryonic stem cells might eventually cure. Yes, it is optimism, but how can you claim it's false when you don't even support research that would explore the possibilities. Seems to me that the conservative opponents of this research are making sure that it will always remain false optimism by restricting the amount of stem cells available for research. What will happen if further research is done privately and that research leads to cures for paralysis, Alzheimer, etc. What could possibly be the Bush team's response to that: "Oops, we're sorry"? And W said, "I never want to impose my religion on anybody else." To me this is a perfect example of our President's warped leadership motto of "What Would Jesus Do?" strangling medical advancements for, not anybody else, but for everybody else.

It's sad that Christopher Reeve died, but it's sad in a whole different way for Republicans than it is for you or me. While I mourn the loss of someone I admired and who was a part of my childhood, they mourn the fact that a beloved American figure that opposed their ideas has died so soon before the election. They mourn the thought of not having a death on their side that they can "exploit". If only Ronnie could have held on a few more months.


*"If we do the work that we can do in this country, the work that we will do when John Kerry is president, people like Christopher Reeve will get up out of that wheelchair and walk again."