Darling shows courage, then caves into extremists on stem cell research

State Sen. Alberta Darling took a courageous and compassionate stand on Tuesday.

She defied Wisconsin Right to Life, which pulls the strings of every Republican and too many Democrats in the legislature, to take a stand on something she felt strongly about.

Darling, a River Hills Republican, proposed an amendment to an anti-cloning bill (AB-499)pushed by the extremist right-to-lifers, to exempt therapeutic stem cell research from the bill, but still ban human cloning.

Darling, like many state and national legislators, has some personal experience that has shaped her views. Her 60-year-old brother suffers from multiple sclerosis, one of the diseases for which stem cell research offers hope of an eventual cure.

Banning therapeutic research would deny hope to people like her brother, she told fellow Senators during a sometimes emotional debate on the amendment and the bill.

One of Wisconsin's "great strengths" is medical research, including on stem cells, that began on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, Darling said, according to the Journal Sentinel's story. Wisconsin is a national leader in stem cell research, despite the Republican legislature's attempts to restrict it.

Darling's amendment lost 17-16. Two other Republicans, Robert Cowles and Mike Ellis, also had the courage to vote with her.

But the next day all three lost their backbone and voted for the bill as it passed 21-12 and went to Gov. Doyle, who will veto it. Democrat Jeff Plale did the same thing, voting for Darling's amendment, then voting for the bill without the amendment.

So Darling voted -- in her own words -- to deny hope to her brother and others who suffer from MS, spinal cord injuries, Alzheimer's, juvenile diabetes, and other diseases for which stem cell research holds out hope for a cure.

Why? Fear of retaliation from the group Democrat Robert Jauch called “Right to Lie," charging them with intimidating lawmakers and intentionally distributing inaccurate information about legislators who oppose their opinions.

“Did the Right to Life people get to you?” State Sen. Fred Risser asked Darling. “I’m just shocked… I’m just amazed with the 180-degree turn.”

"My glass is half full," said Darling, who said it was important to ban human cloning. She said she hopes the debate over therapeutic cloning will be revisited. That won't happen as long as Right-to-Lie is pulling the strings.

"The real purpose of the bill is to restrict stem cell research, which holds enormous potential for our state as well as the promise of curing juvenile diabetes, spinal cord injuries and Parkinson’s disease,” Gov. Jim Doyle said in a statement. Doyle has some personal experience, too; his mother, Ruth, has Parkinson's.

"Allowing our scientists to search for cures to the world’s deadliest diseases isn’t about being liberal or conservative. It’s about being compassionate," Doyle said. "I do not understand how anyone can, in good conscience, tell a family whose child is suffering from a life-threatening disease that politics is more important than finding a cure."

In the long run, this is an issue likely to hurt Republican candidates. The voters --even Republicans -- overwhelmingly support embryonic stem cell research. Being pushed by special interest extremists to take a view that is far out of the mainstream could have some serious political consequences. May poll

Dubya Is Fredo says State Sen. Joe Leibham, R-Sheboygan, who sponsored the bill, is trying to suck up to the right-wing extremists as he gears up for what could be a tough reelection campaign in '06.