Truespeak

Well apparently the Lacrosse team isn't the only one to visit the White House who's known for their flip flops.

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."

My initial reaction to this was WTF? Then after regaining conciousness I began wondering why the evil Dr. Frist would change his position so drastically and so quickly. I've managed to come up with three possibilities for the turn-around.

1. Bill Frist has finally wised up. - In my opinion, this is the least likely of the options. Frist is a physician, so surely he knows the possible benefits of embryonic stem cell research. The fact that he has denied for so long is only proof of his allegiance to the Dobson wing of the conservative party.
   
2. Bill Frist or a member of his family could personally benefit from embryonic stem cell research. - This is a definite possibility. Maybe this is why he was trying to delay the vote a few days ago. He was waiting for a diagnosis for himself or a family member and now that it has come through,he feels compelled to support a potential cure. (This was Mrs. kissfan's take on the situation.)
   
3. Bill Frist is running a scam. - In my opinion, this is the most likely possibility. As I said before, surely Frist knows the potential of embryonic stem cell research. So his sudden change of heart makes me suspicious. Could it be that he's been taking a lot of heat lately for his actions? Maybe putting the NRA ahead of our troops was a bad move on his part. (Yeah, yeah, I heard his explanation and I thinks it's bullshit.) So in an effort to appease the majority and possibly ensnare some naive Democrats, Frist has thrown his support behind this bill knowing full well that Bush will veto it. Furthermore, Frist must know that the Senate would be unable to override Bush's promised veto thereby rendering the bill dead. This way he looks like a centrist to the average person all the while knowing that the bill has no chance of becoming law.

Who knows? Maybe Frist just finally pulled his head out of his ass. Either way, I have to say, "Good for you, Senator Frist. If you're sincere, I welcome your candor and bravery. However, if you're running the scheme I think you are, you can go fuck yourself with the rest of your dipshit cronies."


Sidenote: - As the summer nears its end, Truespeak is going to take a short hiatus. My obligation to the summer theater schedule will be fulfilled after tomorrow and the whole kissfan family will be embarking upon a vacation that will take us into oldwhitelady's neck of the woods on Wednesday as we will be attending a St. Louis Cardinals game. So for the next week, there will be no posting here, although I will most likely still be visiting my favorite bloggers on a regular basis. So until August 8, be safe, be smart, and don't let the fuckers up for air. Take care and I'll see you in a little over a week.