Big Effects Of Little Stem Cells

It's Claire McCaskill versus Jim Talent in the Missouri Senate race

Last week, in Ev'rythin's Up To Date In Kansas City, I discussed the stem cell ballot initiative in Missouri. The New York Times devoted a long article to the issue in its October 15, 2006, Sunday paper: "Missouri Candidates Step Lightly on Stem Cell Measure".

The article mentions that "polls indicate that a majority of Missourians support" the initiative. It also suggests that the issue of stem cell research is so controversial that both Senatorial candidates, Democrat Claire McCaskill and Republican Jim Talent, are largely avoiding the issue on the campaign trail. Despite such reticence, however, the candidates' positions on stem cell research (McCaskill supports it, while Talent opposes it) will almost certainly influence who wins Missouri's Senate seat in November. And, who wins in Missouri could determine whether or not the Democrats regain control of the Senate.

Success for the stem cell research initiative probably favors victory for McCaskill, in Missouri, and the Democrats, in the Senate. Increasingly, tiny stem cells are having a big impact on politics and the law in the United States.