I haven’t seen the Republican Party pushing Embryonic Stem Cell Research. Sure, there are some who signed on early, when the hype was there, but that hype had diminished in the face of successes in Adult Stem Cell Research. That hype has been further diminished by the demonstrated ability to manipulate Adult Stem Cells so that they are pluripotent, thereby eliminating the need for embryonic stem cells.
John McCain supports it. He declares his opposition to creating new embryos for the extraction of stem cells; his dodge is in accepting the destruction of pre-existing embryos. It's nice that McCain sees he can't ignore the pro-life constituency. What's not nice is that he thinks they can be suckered with a bait-and-switch. McCain's position on life is a political calculation; it's not principled. Since it's not part of the inner man, it can change at any time and is not to be relied upon.