Stem cell switch imperils re-election

Defection from the anti-cloning ranks by Sen. Jim Talent, until now a rising star in the conservative movement, reflects deep divisions in the Republican Party created by the stem cell research issue. When Talent went on the Senate floor Friday to take his name off a bill to ban human cloning, he showed how those divisions imperil his re-election to a second term in Missouri this year.

Talent had been a longtime co-sponsor of Sen. Sam Brownback's anti-cloning bill. But Missouri business interests who finance the Republican Party are backing a state constitutional amendment that explicitly allows human cloning to enable scientific experiments on embryonic stem cells. Talent succumbed to pressure to step away from Brownback, basing this on the premise that there are new scientific developments. Talent's risk is that his social conservative constituency will abandon him at the polls.

Missouri has been a passionate battleground, beginning with the Civil War and more recently as a weather vane for national elections. The stem cell struggle there reflects nationwide tension between the country club and religious conservatives that has been kept under control in the largely dormant abortion debate. But Democrats want to use stem cell research as a wedge issue in the way Republicans used gay marriage. Talent had a political choice between the country club and his old right-wing constituency, and he picked the country club.

This column may have inadvertently hurried his choice. David Freddoso, my reporter, learned early last week that Talent was ''considering'' getting off the bill co-sponsored by Brownback and Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu. Talent's staff was unresponsive to our questions, talking vaguely about ''changing science.'' When I tried to talk to Talent starting Wednesday, he did not call back until after his 30-minute Senate speech Friday abandoning the Brownback-Landrieu bill.

Talent was under political duress. State Auditor Claire McCaskill, his formidable Democratic opponent for the Senate, on Jan. 24 opened fire on Talent for wanting to ''criminalize'' attempted research for ''life-saving cures.'' With Talent a narrow loser for governor in 2000 and narrow winner for senator in 2002, current polls show him running about even with McCaskill. Talent was not ready to respond Feb. 4 when he addressed a Missouri Republican conference in Kansas City and did not mention stem cells.

In his Senate speech Friday, Talent reaffirmed opposition to human cloning and relied heavily on Dr. Bill Hurlbut's experiment attempting to produce stem cells without creating a human embryo. Talent conceded to me that Brownback-Landrieu did not necessarily rule out Hurlbut's approach, but he added that the bill could impede ''a whole new world'' of procedures.

When I told Brownback on Wednesday that Talent might get off his bill, that was the first he had heard of it. GOP state Rep. Jim Lembke, leading the campaign against the cloning constitutional amendment, has been unable to speak with Talent since the middle of last year. Talent thus gave the impression he is switching sides. ''If you mess with your base in a close race,'' Lembke said, ''that probably is going to have negative consequences.''

But Talent still is refusing to take a stand on the cloning amendment, which is supported not only by Democrat McCaskill but also big-time Missouri Republicans: former Sen. John Danforth, Gov. Matt Blunt and Bush fund-raiser Sam Fox (who has personally contributed more than $1 million to Republicans).

Republican sources say the billion-dollar-endowed Stowers Institute in Kansas City, headed by GOP contributors, has threatened to move to Los Angeles if the constitutional amendment is not passed. Such a proposal is the law in California, enabling patent holders for certain research techniques and products to profit heavily.

Talent told me he could not take a position on the amendment because it is not on the ballot, is tied up in court and is not in its final form. In fact, it is sure to be on the ballot, faces no serious legal impediment and clearly permits human cloning in scientific research. Talent, having stationed himself in the middle of the road on a passion-provoking issue, risks being run over.

The GOP continues to sell out it's base to corporate wants. This time evangelicals. And since 2000, it's been small government conservatives.

Where is the payoff in all of this??

To reiterate Novak's point, it is bad politics to go against your base in what will be a close election for Jim Talent. The more pro-life people can and will sit out these kinds of things, on priciple. And to force policy change.

It is a very sad day, indeed, when someone who has played the part of a "social conservative" sells out to corporate $$$. For those who worked tirelessly and donated generously to get Talent elected in the first place, this must be a very bitter pill indeed, as it is very real that Sen. Talent no longer dances with the "one who brung him."

I suppose Talent believes that he will have less trouble getting reelected in MO with the major MSM not bashing him 24/7, for being against cloning (immoral to medical ethicists) as it promises to bring $$$ to the State. His opponent, Claire McCaskill, a "Catholic" was finally refused a speaking gig recently at a Catholic institution, over her pro-abortion stance, after many Catholics insisted that Catholic institutions not support elected pols who are against life.

Looks from where I am sitting, Talent is willing to sell out his morals for corporate $$$ and more importantly, get reelected (which would bring him more $$$ and a more favorable future in elected politics.)

Can anyone disagree with term limits undere these circumstances?

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