Release: StemPAC TV ad takes on Frist
For Immediate Release
STEMPAC TARGETS FRIST FOR SLOWING-UP STEM CELL RESEARCH, LAUNCHES TELEVISION AD IN NEW HAMPSHIRE; “SENATOR FRIST, DON’T FILIBUSTER HOPE”
July 27, 2005
Contact: John Hlinko
John@StemPAC.com
Washington, DC – StemPAC, the highest trafficked web site in support of stem cell research and a newly launched 527 organization uniting pro-stem cell activists, today announced the launch of a TV ad targeting Senator Bill Frist for his refusal to allow a vote on the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (HR 810). The ad will air initially in New Hampshire, site of the first presidential primary, starting this week. (It is viewable online at www.stempac.com/frist/ ).
“For two long months, Senator Frist has been ignoring the will of the majority of Americans, and has refused to schedule a vote on this key legislation. Maybe the good people of New Hampshire will be able to exert special influence on the Senator,” said John Hlinko, founder of StemPAC, hinting at Frist’s rumored presidential ambition. “Senator Frist has had his eye on New Hampshire a lot lately, and we’re guessing it’s not just for its delicious maple syrup. We think New Hampshire folks deserve to be introduced to Senator Frist and his obstructionist position on stem cell research.”
The 60-second spot asks, “Why is Senator Bill Frist holding-up a bipartisan stem cell research? Why is he preventing us from being the world leader in stem cell research?” Then the spot urges viewers to contact Frist and to tell him to stop outsourcing jobs, exporting our nation’s leading scientists and to support stem cell research and the promise it holds for millions of suffering people.”
“It's still hard to believe that my 42 year-old sister Lisa passed away from breast cancer 2 weeks ago,” said Allyson Kapin, co-leader of StemPAC. “In two years I watched my adventurous sister go from climbing the Himalayan Mountains to a person who lived in constant pain and struggled to walk into the kitchen to make a meal. How many more people like Lisa need to die before Senators like Bill Frist will stand up for the living and support embryonic stem cell research?”
The commercial, produced by Democratic media consultant Bud Jackson, also discusses the hope that stem cell research offers for a range of diseases, and the danger to America of this high-tech industry of the future being “outsourced” before it’s even had the chance to grow. It features pictures from stories collected from real life individuals dealing with conditions that may be helped by stem cell research (see www.stempac.com for a list of stories, sortable by state and city)
HR 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, was approved by the House of Representatives with bipartisan support in late May. The bill would roll back overly restrictive restraints placed on federal funding of stem cell research in August, 2001. The bill has since been held up in the Senate, in spite of broad bipartisan support, by Senator Frist’s refusal to schedule a vote
(see www.StemPAC.com for details on HR 810)
About StemPAC
Officially launched in July, 2005, StemPAC is a 527 organization created to fight back against the extremists holding up the promise of stem cell research.
The StemPAC team includes:
- John Hlinko, VP with Grassroots Enterprise, founder of DraftWesleyClark.com, a shoestring effort that engaged tens of thousands of supporters, gained national media attention, and raised nearly $2 million in pledges for a Wesley Clark candidacy.
- Bud Jackson: National Democratic strategist and award-winning media consultant (www.jacksongroupmedia.com).
- Kevin McCann: Founder of the Fair Deal for Newfoundland campaign
- Allyson Kapin: Online marketing specialist, who has worked with leading national activist organizations
- Sabrina Cohen: Associate Director of the Genetics Policy Institute
- Sanford Dickert: Chief Technology Officer of the Kerry Campaign and Director of Internet Strategy for the Deutsch for Senate Campaign responsible for the integration of technology-enabled grassroots marketing solutions into activism campaigns
The core team is being assisted by a range of advisors, including:
- Scientists, such as Evan Snyder of the Burnham Institute;
- Grassroots visionaries, including Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, the founder of DailyKos.com;
- Longtime political professionals, such as Bill Romjue;
- Patient advocates, including Frank L. Cocozzelli;
For more information on the StemPAC team and advisors, please see www.StemPAC.com.
John Hlinko @ 07:35 AM
3 Comments
Comments
Senator Frisk is holding up NASA by prolonging stem cell's exceptance as a modern medical marvel and scientific breakthrough. NASA's voyage to the moon and a permanent moon base can never be accomplished using chemically based drugs to complete human medical physiology. Ajustments will be necessary as mankind is removed from it's peaceful earthly surroundings, and resettles in this most extreme hostile space environment. A feeling of wellness is not just the absense of illness. Disease-causing organisms are called pathogens. Not all diseases are infectious. Many non-infectious diseases develope because the body is not working properly. The way we treat our bodies in space will affect the onset of non-infectious diseases. Bacteria are blamed for most human ailments, but viruses are also important disease causing agents. Protists, fungi and different animal parasites also cause disease as a result of their activities inside our bodies.
Jul 28, 2005 11:25:59 AMBy SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
Published: July 29, 2005
WASHINGTON, July 28
- In a break with President Bush, the Senate Republican leader, Bill Frist, has decided to support a bill to expand federal financing for embryonic stem cell research, a move that could push it closer to passage and force a confrontation with the White House, which is threatening to veto the measure.
Mr. Frist, a heart-lung transplant surgeon who said last month that he did not back expanding financing "at this juncture," is expected to announce his decision Friday morning in a lengthy Senate speech. In it, he says that while he has reservations about altering Mr. Bush's four-year-old policy, which placed strict limits on taxpayer financing for the work, he supports the bill nonetheless.
"While human embryonic stem cell research is still at a very early stage, the limitations put in place in 2001 will, over time, slow our ability to bring potential new treatments for certain diseases," Mr. Frist says, according to a text of the speech provided by his office Thursday evening. "Therefore, I believe the president's policy should be modified."
Mr. Frist's move will undoubtedly change the political landscape in the debate over embryonic stem cell research, one of the thorniest moral issues to come before Congress. The chief House sponsor of the bill, Representative Michael N. Castle, Republican of Delaware, said, "His support is of huge significance."
The stem cell bill has passed the House but is stalled in the Senate, where competing measures are also under consideration. Because Mr. Frist's colleagues look to him for advice on medical matters, his support for the bill could break the Senate logjam. It could also give undecided Republicans political license to back the legislation, which is already close to having the votes it needs to pass the Senate.
The move could also have implications for Mr. Frist's political future. The senator is widely considered a potential candidate for the presidency in 2008, and supporting an expansion of the policy will put him at odds not only with the White House but also with Christian conservatives, whose support he will need in the race for the Republican nomination. But the decision could also help him win support among centrists.
"I am pro-life," Mr. Frist says in the speech, arguing that he can reconcile his support for the science with his own Christian faith. "I believe human life begins at conception."
But at the same time, he says, "I also believe that embryonic stem cell research should be encouraged and supported."
Backers of the research were elated. "This is critically important," said Larry Soler, a lobbyist for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. "The Senate majority leader, who is also a physician, is confirming the real potential of embryonic stem cell research and the need to expand the policy.".....
Jul 28, 2005 9:09:36 PM
Great ad...let's go after Santorum next!
How much $$ would it cost to get the rights to use Bon Jovi's "Bad Medicine" in the next ad??
Jul 27, 2005 8:03:21 AM