Perhaps the issue of cancer can unite the parties in '08

[journalist3072]

So this evening, as I digested the news that Tony Snow's cancer has recurred as well, I was thinking that perhaps the issue of cancer could unite the 2 major parties (and ALL Americans) in the next presidential election. Wouldn't it be a great thing for those living with cancer (as well as their families) if the 2 major parties could come together over this issue?

I was thinking that legislatively, the Democrats and Republicans in Congress could agree to put the National Cancer Institute's budget in a "lock box." The NCI's budget (specifically any areas of their budget that deal with funding for research) would not be subject to ANY cuts for the forseeable future. The NCI would at least know what their budget would be at a minimum each year, and they could go to Congress for any requests in augmentation/increase.

I think that if the Congress were to show that NCI's budget is a priority, and agree that it would not be subject to any cuts for the forseeable future, that would send a powerful message.

I'm probably just dreaming here, but it would be nice.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. no way. however

it can unite the people from both parties who are so tired of both sides' multiple failures, their arrogance and assumption that either one or the other MUST be our choice.

in other words, the vast majority of America.

[newburgh]

2. Oh, yeah, just like Nixon's "war on cancer". Billions of dollars and 30+ years later

no cures and more cancer. No thanks. So maybe you could clue me into why more money for the NCI would yield better results.

Some may take this personally- as it is an emotional issue- but there are ways to deal with this without resorting to all the overpriced medical-tunnelvision research including...

http://www.cancertutor.com/Cancer/RawFood.html

My partner had lung cancer that had spread throughout his body, or so the doctors said. He escaped the hospital AMA, moved to a farm, where he did a lot of outdoor labor, and in a recent hospital stay- 10 years later- not a trace of it was found. (He also volunteered in the WTC cleanup effort early on.) He didn't take the raw food route but he did something right. Obviously there are more ways to deal with this than throwing money- and medically-centered research- at a health problem. You'll never see alternative methods given the credence they deserve because the medical industrial complex controls all the research- and the government related departments and the researchers and the medical journals, &c. The NCI just further feeds this giant failure.

[NNN0LHI]

3. I don't think you understand. Most Republicans are hoping people like you and I get cancer

And the others ones couldn't care less if we did get cancer.

Don

[Bucky]

4. Come together? With them?

Cancer is a nice nonissue. It's not like anyone is pro-cancer. But the point of elections, the point of politics in general is to argue, to subject different ideas to voter every so often, just to see what works. No one can campaign on a cancer platform. Besides, even if everyone agreed on a policy, it wouldn't replace other differences like on the deficit, tax policy, the war, civil rights, affirmative action, abortion and zillion other matters.