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Missouri Republicans Divided Over Stem Cell Research

by TChris

Karl Rove's strategy of pandering to religious extremists helped the GOP take control of the White House, Congress, and a number of state legislatures. Now the monster he nurtured may be coming back to devour the party that fed it.

Missouri Republicans are divided in their response to a proposed amendment to the Missouri Constitution that would protect stem cell research. Apart from the potential that stem cell research has to improve the lives of people afflicted with injuries and disease, some fruits of the research are sure to be lucrative. That's one reason the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry backs the ballot measure.

But moderate Missouri Republicans have to deal with those pesky party supporters who believe that improving the quality of life, or extending life, isn't "pro-life" if stem cells are destroyed to attain those goals. Because Gov. Matt Blunt defended the proposed amendment, Missouri Right to Life no longer regards Blunt as "pro-life."

"This referendum has the potential to rip our party apart," Representative Kenny Hulshof warned fellow Republicans at a recent statewide convention.

Missouri Republicans who align themselves with the "pro-life" position risk alienating the Missourians (two-thirds, according to a recent poll) who support the amendment. Politicians who depend on the religious right to win elections face a tough choice. Some are trying to remain silent, a strategy of evasion that will be difficult to sustain until November.

Among those caught in the middle is Senator Jim Talent, a Republican who faces a re-election challenge in November from the state auditor, Claire McCaskill, a Democrat. Mr. Talent recently dropped his support of a federal bill to criminalize the cloning of human embryos but has not taken a position on the ballot measure. Ms. McCaskill supports it.

Republicans like Stella Sollars, who opposes embryonic stem cell research, are monitoring Mr. Talent's every utterance on the topic. "That issue of stem cells is the undercover issue that people are going to be voting on," Ms. Sollars said.

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    Karl Rove's strategy of pandering to religious extremists
    I love the writting, but please refrain from blaming Karl Rove. It is Republican and Bush. Rove is just a soldier in the evil machine. To blame Rove is to set an excuse that it was Rove's fault and if Bush would just be aware of this everything would be all right. Again, it is Bush's Republican strategy as executed by Rove.

    Nah, I gotta take issue with that. Rove is Cyrano to Shrub's Christian. Shrub is not totally vacant but you don't need binoculars to see one hell of a view. He's pretty vacant. The Sex Pistols are thunderin' away on a tape loop behind them which is the only reason you can't hear shrub's brain rattle around like a BB in a boxcar. Shrub was chosen for one reason. Brand name recognition. Buyers remorse. Or more specifically, non-buyers remorse. People started buying into this myth that the old man got jobbed. That he wasn't the clueless, outta touch, blue-blooded twit he appeared to be. Actually, they're right, he was worse. But he does look good in comparison to his idiot son. He's got that going for him.