Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Endorses Prop 71 ($3B Stem Cell Research)

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Endorses Prop 71
Republican Governor Joins Effort to Fund Stem Cell Research Stating Initiative Furthers California's Position as World's Global Leader in the Bio-Tech Industry

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has joined a broad, diverse and growing coalition of business groups, elected officials, medical organizations and patient groups in endorsing a YES vote on Proposition 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative, on the November 2 statewide ballot.

Prop 71 will support stem cell research at California hospitals, medical schools and universities, to develop lifesaving therapies and cures for diseases that could save the lives of millions of California children and adults, reduce state health care costs and provide a boost to regional economies and the state at large. Scientists believe that stem cell research holds the promise to treat a multitude of diseases that include cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, ALS, arthritis and spinal cord injuries. These diseases affect 128 million Americans, including a child or adult in nearly half of all California families.

In a statement released today by the Office of the Governor, Schwarzenegger said, "I am, of course, a supporter of stem cell research. Research that we do now holds the promise of cures for tomorrow. California has always been a pioneer. We daringly led the way for the high-tech industry and now voters can help ensure we lead the way for the bio-tech industry. The creativity and resources are right here in California. We are the world's bio-tech leader and Prop. 71 will help ensure that we maintain that position while saving lives in the process. I encourage Californians to join me in voting for Prop. 71."

"We are extremely pleased Governor Schwarzenegger has decided to endorse Prop 71," said Robert Klein, state chairman for the Prop 71 campaign. "The Governor's remarks today and support for the initiative in the final weeks leading up to Election Day confirm what California voters believe about Prop. 71: Beyond its potential to generate life-saving cures and treatments for some of our most debilitating diseases, Prop 71 includes key fiscal provisions that will protect California's budget and provide an enormous boost to our economy."

The Governor joins a bi-partisan coalition of grassroots supporters including Nobel Prize-winning scientists and medical experts, more than 175 state and local elected officials, faith-based organizations, families involved in patient advocacy and efforts to cure diseases, and organizations like the Alzheimer's Association California Council, California Medical Association, American Nurses Association of California, California Association for Nurse Practitioners, American Diabetes Association, Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Sickle Cell Disease Foundation of California, California Arthritis Foundation Council, ALS Therapy Development Foundation, Parkinson's Action Network, California Congress of Seniors, Gray Panthers and the National Coalition for Cancer Research.

In addition, a long list of business leaders and organizations are praising Prop 71 for its economic provisions, including the California Chamber of Commerce, San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, San Jose/Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce, Valley Industry and Commerce Association, Los Angeles Business Council, Orange County Business Council, United Chambers of Commerce of the San Fernando Valley, Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, California Healthcare Institute, BIOCOMM and the Latin Business Association. Additionally, the state's two fiscal officers, State Controller Steve Westly and State Treasurer Phil Angelides, have both endorsed the measure, citing its fiscal soundness and potential economic benefits. A complete list of endorsing organizations can be found on the campaign's website, www.YesOn71.com.

Prop 71 won't increase or create any taxes. It authorizes tax-free state bonds that will provide an average of $295 million per year over ten years to support stem cell research at California's universities, medical schools and research facilities. These bonds will be self-financing during the first five years, so there's no cost to the state's general fund during this period of economic recovery.

Prop 71 is also expected to help reduce California's skyrocketing health care spending costs, which now total more than $110 billion per year. By leading to new cures that reduce our health care costs by only one percent, Prop 71 will pay for itself. And, the potential savings could be far greater -- possibly reducing our health care costs by tens of billions of dollars in the decades ahead.

Proposition 71 was developed by a coalition of California families and medical experts determined to close the stem cell research funding gap. Currently, our state has no effective mechanism to fund stem cell research and political roadblocks have severely limited federal funding for some of the most promising types of stem cell research.

Considering how Arnold is selling us out with his support from Propositions 62 and 72, I recommend that folks check out Tom McClintock's recommendations on the propositions.

It's time to ditch the RINO and go with the Conservative.

From: http://www.tommcclintock.com/

McClintock on the Propositions

I've been getting a lot of calls about the various ballot propositions.
Here's how I see them:

1A. Watered Down Protection for Local Governments. YES, I suppose. Extends limited protection to local governments against future raids by the state AFTER the state finishes ripping off another $2.6 billion over the next two years. I support it because the protections are a slight improvement over
existing law, but if you really want to protect local governments, Prop. 65
is the ticket.

59. Public Records, Open Meetings. YES. Louis Brandeis said it best:
"Sunlight is the best of disinfectants." Public business should
be public.Period.

60. The Right to the Party of Your Choice. YES. This measure guarantees
all parties access to the general election ballot, and was written to knock
out Prop. 62.

60A. Selling Long-term Assets for Short-term Spending. NO. Sounds good on
the surface - sell surplus state property to pay for general fund spending.
Here's my problem: when surplus assets are sold - and they should be - the
funds should be used for the purpose for which they were raised. For
example, Caltrans land was paid for by highway taxes. When it's sold, it
should be used to build highways, not pay for this year's welfare increase.

61. Children's Hospitals Bond. NO. Our borrowing is out of control -
general fund supported debt is up 54 percent in 14 months. No matter how
appealing the purpose, California needs to stop borrowing until it has
brought its credit card binge under control.

62. Election Primaries. NO. They call it an "Open Primary," but what this
really does is to trade California's primary election system for a two-step
general election. The result: the power to determine the official party
nominee is taken away from the voters in the primary and returned to
backroom political bosses. A giant step backward from clean and open
elections.

63. Soak the Rich - And Then Us. NO. An extra tax on those making over $1
million might sound good to the rest of us - but beware. California's taxes
are already so disproportionate that the top 1Ú4 of 1 percent of income
taxpayers pays nearly one third of all income taxes. It doesn't take many
of them re-arranging their affairs to claim residency in Nevada (where there
is NO income tax), before there's a dramatic reduction in tax revenues. And
guess who they'll tax then?

64. Honest Work for Lawyers. YES. Puts an end to predatory law firms
that extort money by filing huge lawsuits against employers for technical
violations of law. About time.

65. Real Local Government Protection. YES. A lost cause - the proponents
have abandoned this measure in favor of Prop. 1A - but if you believe in
protecting local government funds from continued raids by the state, this is
the measure that will do so.

66. Weakens Three Strikes Law. NO. Under current law, in order to qualify
for a third strike, you have to be convicted TWICE before for VIOLENT
felonies. This bill requires the THIRD strike also be a violent felony.
Call me prudish, but after a thug has been twice convicted of raping,
assaulting and murdered his fellow citizens, I'm out of patience.
California's Three Strikes Law works. Don't weaken it.

67. Phone Tax. NO. A half-billion tax increase - about $60 a year for an
average family in both direct taxes and tax-driven price increases. Who
says talk is cheap?

68. Casino Grande. NO. I don't believe it's any of government's business
how grown-ups chose to spend their time and money as long as they're not
hurting anyone. But I object to the extortionate provisions of the measure
that would force Indian tribes to accept outlandish conditions or face
financial ruin.

69. DNA Samples. YES. Requires DNA samples to be taken from all felons and criminal suspects. It means that violent crimes will become much easier to solve - and with far greater certainty than ever before. It will give "Cold
Case Files" lots of new material.

70. De-politicize Tribal Gaming. YES. Provides a standard gaming compact
for any legitimate Indian tribe that asks for it, assessing the corporate
tax rate while restoring a free market to operations on Indian land. It
would remove gaming from the tortured political environment that now has
pitted tribe against tribe in winning monopoly franchises. A standardized
system is the best protection against the unjust political favoritism that
we're seeing today.

71. Stem Cell Research. NO. Stem cell research is a promising field, but
why are California taxpayers suddenly responsible for funding research for
the rest of the world? Worse, any discussion of research data when making
research grants is exempt from the Open Meetings Act and the Open Records Act. Want to know what your $3 billion has bought? Sorry, that's
confidential.

72. Health Care Coverage. NO. Here's a great idea. Require every
business with more than 20 employees to provide health insurance.

My guess:
a lot of businesses with between 20 and 40 employees will suddenly
have 19 -and an awful lot of folks will be without health care OR jobs. We're from the government and we're here to help.

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