Post Election Optimism: the Missouri Ethical Reseach Inititative

I know I've given up blogging, but, just one more post....

Well, I told some friends of mine who were quite upset about the elections to get their chins up! It's odd, me being the optimist. Perhaps my medication is out of balance or something, but here I am, actually getting people to take heart is what seems like an all-out defeat.

As for the losing Republicans, so what? People, those guys weren't our friends. I know who my friends are. I wrote in Mrs. Curmudgeon for every office except one. It's true, I voted for Jim Talent. But it wasn't really a vote for Talent; it was a more effective vote against McCaskill than a vote for Mrs. Curmudgeon would have been (at least I won't regret that one, like I do my vote for that scoundrel Matt Blunt on the same grounds two years ago).

The neo-cons used us (as they have been since before 1980). When you start to feel sorry for Rick Santorum, recall two words: "Pat Toomey." Rickie sold right-thinking folks out last time. He deserved to lose. So did Talent.

You've probably read some clowns in Reuters and elsewhere writing about how the Republicans need to rethink their ties to the religious right. Well, how about this? The "religious right" and the paleo-conservatives need to rethink their ties to the Republicans. It's time for them to really take over the party and throw the neo-cons out, not just continue on as the door-to-door footsoldiers for the neo-cons. It's not time to throw the evangelicals and serious Catholics and paleocons out (although we all do need to have a little talk with some of the evangelicals about their embarrassing, over-the-top, flag-waving patriotism. It approaches idolatry. Also, they need to get over this Israel thing. The Israelis are not our friends, and the theology for supporting them is heretical. Anyways, I digress.). If we can't take over the Republican party, we need to leave it (that is, you need to leave it. I left shortly after voting in the 1988 elections). Without us religious freaks and right-wing nut-jobs, the GOP will have about as much clout as the Libertarian party does.

In the end, the GOP defeat will help the counter-revolution--if we play it right. Face it--none of the bad things that are going to happen in the next few years would be avoided because Denny Hastert and Trent Lott (or whomever it was until this week) kept the gavel. All that bad stuff would have happened anyways under the country-club Republicans, and we would have felt violated, to boot. All least now we can blame Obama Bin Ladin and Hilary and Teddy and those other folks for all the crap.

This big GOP loss could maybe get folks to quit waiving their damned plastic American flags (made in China, of course) and bring folks back to some first principles: away from centralization, ideological nation-building ("planting the seeds of democracy"), and "big bidness" and towards subsidiarity, local government, prudence in international entanglements, and "a preference for the old and tried, rather than the novel and unproven," to paraphrase Russell Kirk, who was paraphrasing someone else.

Anyways, to the other stuff on the ballot locally: I can't wait for my gondola ride past the Liberty Memorial! Y'all took my suggestion about Clay Chastain's absurd plan seriously! It'll be beautiful, floating through the air on a weekday afternoon in a gazillion-dollar, gold plated gondola, looking down on a monument that celebrates Woody Wilson's deceitful intervention in the Great War and the American role in the final destruction of Catholic Europe. Yes, it'll be beautiful. I'm surpised the gondola ride won't be routed past the Stowers Institute facilities, since they're seem to be on the upswing after the passage of Amendment 2.

Or are they really on the upswing? Our local Canaanites, Jim and Virginia, blew about 30 million bucks on their little child sacrifice referendum, and for all that money, they continually lost ground throughout the campaign. Too bad it didn't go on another week, eh? The Stowerses and their bottomless purse were very nearly beaten by a rather uncoordinated, rag-tag group of evangelical and Catholic volunteers in a half dozen organizations, a couple of Catholic bishops, a bunch of people throwing $5 and $10 bills in a basket, a freelance designer with a hole in his head, and some guys stuffing bumper stickers into envelopes while they drank beer in their basement! What does THAT trend bode for the future of Stem Cell research in Kansas City?

There was an article and a column in that despicable rag, the Kansas City Star, today. Kansas City Catholic, has some commentary on it. The article forewarned of continued efforts to bring the mad scientists at Wash U. and the Stowers Institute back to reason.

What might those efforts look like? I was thinking about it while I was working the polls on Tuesday morning, and I decided it might look something like this:

Missouri Ethical Stem Cell Research Initiative (Petition/Ballot Language)

Shall the Constitution of the State of Missouri be amended to (a) conform the definition of "clone a human being" to the current, generally accepted scientific definition, i.e., to create a human blastocyst, identical to one of the cell donors, by asexual means; (b) require that stem cell research within the state of Missouri be conducted in accordance with generally applicable laws; and (c) ensure that the legislature and state and local agencies retain the same policy-making authority and discretion when considering public incentives for stem cell research organizations that they exercise with other applicants for such funding.

Could it be that there's no reason for celebrating over at the Missouri Coalition for Lifesavin' Cures? Could it be that they suddenly realize their lawyers have just built the coffin they'll be buried in?

Just some thoughts.