The Democrats' New Litmus Test

Time will tell whether becoming known as "the Human Cloning party," will help or hurt the Democrats. But there seems little doubt that advocacy by its most prominent members on behalf of cloning as a medical treatment to date has been rife with factual falsehoods and reckless hype. Remember when Ron Reagan told the Democratic National Convention that cloning would permit each of us to each have a "self repair kit" waiting for use at our local hospitals? And when Senator John Edwards outrageously claimed in 2004 that a vote for John Kerry would allow paralyzed people to get out of their wheelchairs and walk? Vilsack's lies are merely the latest addition to this sorry list.

Wesley J. Smith is a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute and a special consultant to the Center for Bioethics and Culture. His website is www.wesleyjsmith.com.