We Can’t Trust Rossi to Advance Life-Saving Research

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STEM CELL RESEARCH

Rossi parrots George W. Bush on stem cells but tries to hide his extremist stance by saying he doesn’t understand why stem cell research would benefit Washington State. 

• Rossi Stem-Cell Rhetoric Cribbed From Bush: Dino Rossi said he supported adult stem cell research but opposed expanding federal funding beyond existing stem cell lines.   Rossi also said he had “reservations” about embryonic research the same year Bush banned federal money from new embryonic stem cell research, stalling progress on research that could potentially aid nearly 100 million Americans suffering from diseases like Parkinson’s, diabetes and Alzheimer’s. [Chicago Tribune, 7/27/2004; Seattle Times Editorial, 10/14/2004; AP, 10/8/2004, Puget Sound Business Journal, 12/17/2004]

• Rossi: Stem Cell Research Doesn’t Make Sense.  In 2004 Rossi said “It would be about as logical as taking half a billion dollars of taxpayers’ money and starting up a research facility for – to build a better car to compete with Detroit.  It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.”  Today private investors, along with the University of Washington, are pouring money into a stem-cell research facility.  As the Seattle Post-Intelligencer notes, “‘The potential benefit from this research is simply striking,’ said ex-Starbucks Chief Executive Orin Smith. Smith, who donated $5 million to the cause and has hosted fundraising events, is chairman of the board for the UW medical school. ‘We have to do this if we want to retain our best people,’ said UW President Mark Emmert.”  [King 5 Debate, 10/13/04; Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 9/28/07]