Election 04 > The Issues > Stem-Cell Research

Direct democracy is good, but it is also dangerous. InstantReplay firmly supports putting issues on state ballots to let voters decide on specific policies; this is generally a better reflection of the will of the public than a law made by elected officials with special interests and lobbies in mind. As long as constitutions protect the law against the "tyranny of the majority", referendum-based laws can be effective ways of deciding divisive public issues.

The other side of the coin, of course, is that fifty million Californians can be wrong. Referenda highlight the real hearts-and-minds battles at the basis of American polity. Beyond the fancy machines and sophisticated spin, do Americans really agree with a policy?

In this case, the policy is stem-cell research and the state is California. Stem-cell research is already allowed there, as elsewhere; but Governor Schwarzenegger is supporting a ballot measure to approve a $3 billion bond issue funding stem-cell research in the state and intended to catapult California past other states - and other countries - as the bio research capital of the world. With the collapse of the dot-com boom California has been struggling to attract businesses to its high-priced tech Meccas.

Outside of the ethical issues surrounding cloning, which I won't get into here, Californians have to decide whether the measure is desirable and fiscally responsible (which, by all accounts, it's not). Christian Science Monitor has a good article on this, going into more detail and also noting that the measure enjoys 46-39 support among Californians at latest poll.