Danny Neumann

I'm gonna do something sacreligious here in the state of Wisconsin (puts on a University of Michigan hat) --

I left that UN conference so empowered . . . I went home to Ann Arbor and saw new buildings going up on the campus that I knew were meant to house labs.

Then I went on the internet.

And my heart went into my stomach. Along with North Dakota and a few other dark states, Michigan was outlawing stem cell research. So I was sitting at a Pistons game next to my friend Andy Meisner and I said we needed to do something.

We met with people at MSU and Wayne State, and we created a group called Michigan Citizens for Research and Cures. Everybody who had a stake in the outcome was part of this group.

We needed to go out and educate the citizens what this research was about--because our legislature was beyond reaching. The Republican senate would not even have a floor debate. So, we created a ballot initiative. We wanted Michigan to be a leader; we have some of the best researchers in the world. We went out to get signatures--needed 380,000 and got more than 500,000.

However.

Our state is dominated by the Right to Life. Our economy is in terrible shape.

It's not going to be enough to win on November 4th, but that is not going to be enough. We're going to be out on the streets educating the people about what the deal is.

In WA DC, here's what we need to do. Be like our opponents and put egos aside. They speak with one voice, they mobilize their troops, stay on message, leave the infighting somewhere out of sight. We need to do that.

The Republican platform now has a complete ban on human embryonic stem cell research. That's their goal.

I'm here for my 5-year old daughter, who I hope will never have to suffer from things that could have been cured, if only we worked a little harder.