When party leaders have a view of reality that is at odds with that of their base, they’ve got a looming political problem. I suspect that Hill Republicans think that they have just gone the extra mile for pro-lifers with the Schiavo bill and therefore should be cut a little slack on stem cells. Most motivated pro-life voters, on the other hand, are going to be coming at this with a totally different mindset: By their lights, the Republicans waited until the last minute to act in the Schiavo case–and then failed. They are not going to be happy with Republicans who are deliberately and freely choosing to highlight an issue where the politics are difficult for pro-lifers right after they have had a bitter defeat.