2006 Senate Race, States Check in, Whose in, how they doing

[usregimechange]

Claire McCaskill
State Auditor, 1999 to Present
Jackson County Prosecutor, 1993 to 1998
State Representative, 1983 to 1988
http://www.claireonline.com/

Recent Polling
Rasmussen: McCaskill 42% Talent 41%

Talent is the 81st most popular US Senator.
48% approve 43% disapprove according to Survey USA.

Hot Issue
Talent’s stand on stem-cell research has taken some confusing twists. For four years, he voiced support for federal legislation that would ban all human cloning, including that used in early, or embryonic, stem-cell research. The legislation was sponsored by Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, a fellow Republican.

That stand, however, put him at odds with some Kansas City and St. Louis Republicans, including former Sen. Jack Danforth, who want to turn the cities into life science research centers. The ban on human cloning backed by Brownback would severely hinder research at the new Stowers Institute in Kansas City and possibly scuttle plans for a major expansion.

Then, on Feb. 10 as his re-election fight with McCaskill heated up, Talent stunned Missouri’s anti-abortion leaders by renouncing that support. He instead proposed increasing federal funding for an alternative type of early stem-cell research that he says renders ethical issues obsolete — a conclusion disputed by many in the anti-abortion movement.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/politics/14477202.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

Notable Quotes

"There are people of principle who disagree with this form of research. I respect their principles. But what I don’t respect is someone dancing around science for political reasons."

“Most Missourians do not believe that making life-saving stem cells in a lab dish is the same thing as cloning a human being,” said Donn Rubin, Chairman of the Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures.

[yourout]

1. Talent has his finger in the air checking the political winds.

He will parrot what ever lines he thinks will get him re-elected.