The newest political hot potato is being tossed around from the President, to the Speaker of the House; to presidential candidates - is childhood vaccinations.

And as the saying goes – politics is making for strange bedfellows.

Consider the latest salvo from presidential Tea Party contender Ben Carson – who supports President Obama’s call for parents to vaccinate their children.

Weird considering he blasted the government’s intrusion into healthcare in the presence of the President 2 years ago.

And he’s got the credentials to support his position. As a former pediatric neurosurgeon – despite having gained favor with the Tea Party, he’s seen how certain communicable diseases have virtually been eradicated since vaccinations had become mandatory.

"Certain communicable diseases have been largely eradicated by immunization policies in this country and we should not allow those diseases to return by foregoing safe immunization programs, for philosophical, religious, or other reasons when we have the means to eradicate them.”

And he’s not the only one on the side of vaccinations.

Another supposed proponent of parental choice is current House Speaker John Boehner – who said:

"I don't know that we need another (federal) law, but I do believe all children ought to be vaccinated."

All of this comes in light of statements made by the President on Sunday voicing his support for vaccinations – and responses made by likely Republican presidential contenders Governor Chris Christie and U.S. Senator Rand Paul who voiced their own opinions.

Christie was slammed for saying that his own children were vaccinated but that “parents need to have some measure of choice" in the decision to vaccinate children.

Later on, as opposition to that statement grew, his office issued this:

“The governor believes vaccines are an important public health protection and with a disease like measles, there is no question kids should be vaccinated.”

“At the same time, different states require different degrees of vaccination, which is why he was calling for balance in which ones government should mandate.”

Senator Paul, who’s an opthamologist and an ardent libertarian – took it a step further in saying that the government doesn’t own your children. Parents own them – and it’s an issue of freedom and individual choice.

He also added that he’s heard of many cases where normal children “wound up with profound mental disorders after vaccines.”

Here’s what scary about the whole scenario.
Who to believe?

Politicians who’d say anything to cull favor with one group or another?

Or scientists with vast experience in their fields of study with years of data showing how a good many diseases we’d taken for granted years ago have virtually disappeared – like whooping cough, polio, and measles.

Only to see cases of those diseases reappear as many parents voice their “choice” not to have their children vaccinated.

I’d go with science and leave politics out of it!

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