Liar: McCaskill and the Cloning Amendment

There is no doubt that senate hopeful and State Auditor Claire McCaskill (D-MO) knows how to play dirty. After her attack campaign that allowed her to beat Gov. Bob Holden in the 2004 Democratic Primary, my dad — a dyed in wool Democrat — refused to vote for her in the general election, instead going Republican. McCaskill has been and continues to be willing to bend the truth to the breaking point for her politics of personal gain. I've been pretty calm on politics lately, but I just felt sick this morning listening to McCaskill.

She, like others promoting “Amendment 2 - Life Saving Cures,” has been trying to fool those who do not know better into thinking voting yes on this amendment will not protect cloning in Missouri — that it will actually ban cloning. I knew she's been saying that, but hearing her say it live on KMOX 1120 with Charles Brennon this morning just made me want to scream through the radio.

FACT: The bill protects Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer. This is cloning. When you create an embryo that has identical genetic information to the person who wants the “cure” (if there is such a thing to come out of this research), what exactly do you call that other than cloning? If you do not think SCNT is cloning, then be prepared to say Dolly the Sheep was not a clone.

FACT: The bill is both anti-life and anti-choice. Once the clone has been produced, it must be aborted. That not only proves disturbing for pro-lifers, but it should also bother pro-choice abortion proponents who normally advocate this so-called “right” out of a desire to promote freedom. If that is really the case, how do you support this?

FACT: None of this research is presently banned in Missouri, this bill only rolls out the red carpet to cloning research. By voting on this bill, you insure that scientists will be able to get better at human cloning, making it more and more likely a human clone will be born in the future.

(Incidentally, I liked the new commercial for Senator Talent that had him explain his rejection of Amendment 2, but I'd urge anyone on the fence not to see this as a Republican vs. Democrats issue. Even if you insist on voting for Auditor McCaskill for senator, you can still reject Amendment 2.)